Dame Judi Dench is Glad She Didn't Do Cats

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 9/30/17 at 8:57pm

lover her even more, now!

 

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Dame-Judi-Dench-Reveals-She-Was-Almost-in-CATS-20170930

Updated On: 9/30/17 at 08:57 PM

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 9/30/17 at 9:13pm

I'm glad she didn't either, much as I love her. The best moment of that show is Grizzabella belting out Memory and we wouldn't have had that moment with her in the role. 

[Justin D]

Posted: 9/30/17 at 9:34pm

what I found most interesting is that they were going to combine those 2 roles, which I guess could work. Found it odd in the original cast too that they combined bustopher and deuteronomy, leaving only 1 sone for change of costume and makeup

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 9/30/17 at 9:52pm

I always suspected she was let go from Cats because she didn't have the voice for "the song." Torn Achilles' tendon? It's possible...but yeah, it worked out well for everyone anyway.

[A Director]

Posted: 9/30/17 at 10:09pm

Why would Dame Judi lie?

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 9/30/17 at 11:10pm

“The song” wasn’t yet in the show when Judi Dench tore her Achilles heel. Andrew Lloyd Webber was still playing with the melody during rehearsals and famously played it on a radio program the night Dench had her accident (actually her second) forcing her to withdraw from the show.  Elaine Paige heard the melody on the broadcast and loved it and the next morning was surprised to receive the call to replace Dench. The lyrics came even later (in previews Paige alternated between lyrics for the song written by Tim Rice and the ones kept permanently written by Trevor Nunn).

So while the song was being planned for the character Grizabella even while Dench was attached, she never performed it in rehearsals as it was not written yet.

[Nickhutson]

Posted: 10/1/17 at 8:31am

Good thing Ravel wrote the melody in 1928, then! :) 

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 10/1/17 at 9:09am

I thought I had heard from an interview or read somewhere that ALW first developed the song Memory for a stage version of Sunset Blvd but then ended up using it in Cats.  I don't recall where I had seen/heard this though.

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 10/1/17 at 9:09am

I thought I had heard from an interview or read somewhere that ALW first developed the song Memory for a stage version of Sunset Blvd but then ended up using it in Cats.  I don't recall where I had seen/heard this though.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 10/1/17 at 10:26am

The story Webber tells is that he wrote it for a musical he had in mind about Puccini as he was writing La Boheme. Webber tells that he played it for his father, who was a musical expert on Puccini and asked him if it sounded like Puccini. His fathers response was “what it sounds like is a million dollars in the bank.” He was right of course...

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/1/17 at 11:51am

God, that's a terrible article.

[123musicalfan]

Posted: 10/1/17 at 12:16pm

BuddyStarr said: "I thought I had heard from an interview or read somewhere that ALW first developed the song Memory for a stage version of Sunset Blvd but then ended up using it in Cats. I don't recall where I had seen/heard this though."

I also vaguely remember reading something about this on an old Michael Crawford fansite about 12 years ago. I think there was a 3 second snippet of Michael singing what it was supposed to be a song for Norma titled One Star ... to the tune of 'Memory' - 'One star, there is only one true star'.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 10/1/17 at 12:21pm

QueenAlice said: "The story Webber tells is that he wrote it for a musical he had in mind about Puccini as he was writing La Boheme. Webber tells that he played it for his father, who was a musical expert on Puccini and asked him if it sounded like Puccini. His fathers response was “what it sounds like is a million dollars in the bank.” He was right of course..."

 

He was right! Because the song had already been written... by someone else... and it was a success.  Leave it to ALW and his thievery to "rewrite" the truth with this ridiculous story. 

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/1/17 at 2:33pm

I love Judi Dench and I hate Cats, but I don't think I would ever want to hear Memory sung as a smoky, husky, torch song. 

Updated On: 10/1/17 at 02:33 PM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/1/17 at 3:16pm

“So, Judi.  What do you think about Elaine Paige?” 

[Valentina3]

Posted: 10/1/17 at 3:26pm

I have a feeling people would buy the tickets if she played the Rum Tum Tugger, if only to sing the new rap - Dame Raps

Oh and for those who haven't seen the British show Vicious - I highly recommend it. There's an episode about Dame Judi Dench which is frikkin' hilarious.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 10/1/17 at 4:14pm

ALW is always making up stories like the one with his father.