Judi Dench and Cats
Judi Dench and Cats
Jappe
Swing Joined: 11/18/08
#1Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 1:22pmWe all know she was supposed to play Grizabella in the original London cast of Cats but didn't make it to the stage. Is there anywhere a recording or a video of her singing Memory? I'd like to hear her take on it...
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#2re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 2:05pmI always wondered about this because Judi Dench is not a belter. When they brought Elaine Paige in, did they turn "Memory" into a power ballad?
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
#2re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 2:07pmApparently Memory was not in the show until Elaine was brought in! So Judi never had to sing it!
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Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#3re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 2:09pmWell then what the heck did she do? Memory is the only reason Grizabella's in the show.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
#4re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 2:10pm
I don't think there are any audio/video evidence of her in the role. I was in London when CATS began previews, and they were giving away the programs because they list Dame Judi in the cast, complete with photo and bio. Elaine Paige was an insert.
(I grabbed a handful, still holding on to them.)
As for "Apparently Memory was not in the show until Elaine was brought in! So Judi never had to sing it!" - I don't know about that - there was an orchestral 45rpm of MEMORY (orchestral only, but with reference to the T.S. Eliot "Rhapsody On A Windy Night" on the sleeve) also available as previews began.
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Updated On: 11/18/08 at 02:10 PM
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#5re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 2:13pm
"and they were giving away the programs because they list Dame Judi in the cast"
You should get Judi Dench to sign one of those.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
philcrosby
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/17/04
#6re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 2:45pmOh the song was there, she just sang it differently. Dench was the best ever Sally Bowles, IMHO, and she belted the hell out of "Cabaret."
#7re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 2:52pmIndeed Memroy was part of the show. Judi Dench did not appear at any performances,I believe and left, injured, before the 1st preview.
#8re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 3:00pm
How sad 
She would have been the best Grizabella ever.
"TO LOVE ANOTHER PERSON IS TO SEE THE FACE OF GOD"- LES MISERABLES---
"THERE'S A SPECIAL KIND OF PEOPLE KNOWN AS SHOW PEOPLE... WE'RE BORN EVERY NIGHT AT HALF HOUR CALL!"--- CURTAINS
#9re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 3:30pmI'm not 100% of the chronology, but I believe Memory had been written by the time she was injured. It just didn't have lyrics yet. Don't forget that Judi was also playing the Gumbie cat so even without Memory she had plenty to do. There were several versions of the song. At one point it was even called "Good Times" with lyrics by Don Black. It wasn't until the last minute that Trevor Nunn finished the lyric based on "Rhapsody on a Windy Night" and even then it was still not the final version as there was some confusion as to which lyric Elaine was going to sing at the first preview. It's talked about in great detail by Cameron, Andrew and Trevor on the DVD bonus features.
Bwayidiot
Understudy Joined: 10/5/08
#10re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 4:29pmIf I am not mistaken, and I could be as I haven't watched it in a while, Judi sings Memory on the video of MR. PROUDECER, the Cameron Mackintosh concert video. I don't believe it has been released on DVD, at least not in the US.
#11re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 4:32pmYou are mistaken I'm afraid. Elaine Paige sang it in the show (Hey Mr Producer).
#12re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 4:35pmYeah Elaine sang it at HMP. It was right after they wrapped the video & the majority of the cast performed on it.
#13re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 7:03pmI know that Judi was at several rehearsals, because she snapped her Achilles tendon at a rehearsal, then returned on crutches, then injured herself again at a rehearsal. So there must have been something for her to sing in the show. But I don't know if she was ever recorded singing "Memory." (Which is actually my least-favourite song from "Cats...")
In my pants, she has burst like the music of angels, the light of the sun! --Marius Pantsmercy
#14re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 7:14pm
So there must have been something for her to sing in the show.
There was. She injured herself during rehearsal for the Gumbie Cat number and then again when she came back in crutches. That's actually what baffles me most. Why did she want to get up and dance when she wasn't fully healed? And who let her?
MamasDoin'Fine
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/28/08
#15re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 7:26pm
'Memory' was always i the show it was just rearranged for Ms paige to sing it when she stepped in.
Dame Dench has done many concerts over the years for many different charities. Without fail, on being asked to perform at these galas, she is asked to sing 'Memory'- she has always declined.
#16re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 7:37pmI don't think it was always in the show. Judi Dench signed on when Trevor Nunn suggested that she could play two opposite cats, Grizabella and the Gumbie Cat. That's what interested her. "Memory" was added during the rehearsal process as the show was still taking shape at Trevor's urging that each of Andrew's shows prior had a Puccini aria moment. Trevor suggested to Andrew that Grizabella should have a song of her own. That's how "Good Times" came about and then eventually "Memory".
#17re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 7:41pmOh, wow, really? I never knew that Grizabella and Jennyanydots were originally a double role. And... I'm unabashedly fond of CATS. That musical was my childhood.
In my pants, she has burst like the music of angels, the light of the sun! --Marius Pantsmercy
#18re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 7:47pmIt's all in the interviews on the double disc DVD. That's the only reason I know about any of this.
MamasDoin'Fine
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/28/08
#19re: Judi Dench and Cats
Posted: 11/18/08 at 8:13pmPerformance wise its always been there , thats what I said!
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