Posted: 6/11/20 at 1:46pm
Posted: 6/11/20 at 2:22pm
I love the show, but like alot of my other favourite shows, i have more of a sentimental connection to it, so i love it on that level rather that because of what the show is about.
Was my second cast recording and second ALW show recording so i did get into the music, then I bought a london brochure and was fascinated with the character makeup and wig design. Only saw the original London version and the Broadway revival, i regret not seeing the original brodway production with the whole pirate ship thing. I also have most of the foreign language recordings which is nice when you are into the music of a show, because when you listen to a recording where you cant understand the language, you appreciate the music on another level.
seeing the recent revival was a true highlight for me in recent years, although I did not care much for them cutting growltiger and sending Grizabella up on a wire.
Posted: 6/11/20 at 2:34pm
I think cats are fine creatures who deserved a much better musical made about them.
Posted: 6/11/20 at 2:38pm
People love to hate Cats, but it was considered by some to be groundbreaking at the time, partly because it was so unusual and because it was thought to be the first time Britain had produced a successful dance musical. A fanciful dance musical based on a book of poems about cats set in a junkyard. It shouldn’t have worked but it did!
The plot is light, but it does have a narrative if you choose to look closely enough. It is very much a concept show similar to Hair and A Chorus Line. The Eliot estate put a ban on the inclusion of original material not written by T.S. Eliot, and I've always been impressed how Andrew Lloyd Webber, Trevor Nunn, Gillian Lynne and John Napier were still able to construct an evening of musical theatre with the available poetry. They were forced to create a plot using the unpublished poem of Grizabella, Eliot's "Rhapsody on a Windy Night" for Memory and the unpublished fragment poem of Eliot's that a cat would travel "Up, up, up past the Russell Hotel and "up, up, up to the Heaviside Layer". It's not a perfect show but it worked like a charm for decades.
Updated On: 6/11/20 at 02:38 PM
Posted: 6/11/20 at 3:23pm
Broadway61004 said: "I think cats are fine creatures who deserved a much better musical made about them."
Accurate and succinct.
Posted: 6/11/20 at 4:20pm
I think they're in general soft and cuddly and adorable. Although mine is kind of a nightmare sometimes...
Posted: 6/11/20 at 4:40pm
We love cats. Our cat companions allow us to share their home and lives in Sunny Southern California. Two girls (Zeeva and Cloud) and one boy (Spot).
And CATS the stage musical and film? Yeah, we love those, too.
Posted: 6/11/20 at 6:02pm
The choreography and design of the original production were lovely.
Posted: 6/11/20 at 10:48pm
When I finally saw it on Broadway because a friend was in it, it wasn't as boring as I feared it would be.
Posted: 6/12/20 at 2:29pm
Honestly? I haven't seen a production. But I think every show means something to someone. Every show has memories (no pun intended?) people associate with that show. So I think to judge someone because they like it, is just not fair. Let people enjoy things!
Posted: 6/12/20 at 3:42pm
Posted: 6/12/20 at 7:23pm
I'm allergic to Pussy.
Updated On: 6/13/20 at 07:23 PM
Posted: 6/12/20 at 8:58pm
I saw the show shortly after it opened on Broadway. I was mildly entertained and thought it was just a ho-hum show. I was happy to see it just to know what all the hype was about, but once was enough. My opinion is that iCATS a curiosity.. My opinion has nothing to do with the fact that I'm a dog person, lol.
Posted: 6/12/20 at 10:54pm
I've never seen the show but I think the score is terrible, really derivative and boring, and nowhere near as good as Andrew Lloyd Weber's best score, which is .... which is .... umm .... I think the score is terrible.
Posted: 6/13/20 at 12:11am
For the longest time, it was in my Top 10 favorite musicals (only recently knocked out by some newer things I have discovered and falling in love with). And I think I like it so much because... it actually makes me think. Not think as in to figure out the "plot" but in trying to imagine more depth in the plot then people give it credit for. I think people don't appreciate all the subtle stuff happening in the background of this show. While unspoken in lyrics, if you REALLY watch the actors in the background, here is a LOT of story going on here that you can figure out! And that's all thanks to amazing ensemble actors.
Again, this is hard to explain without visual example so I point to the 1998 filmed version for reference at this point if you have ever seen it. You can watch that and see things happening upon re-watch that connects characters behind the main action. Certain cats that are always interacting with others in positive or negative was. Certain cats that always seem to be protective of others. You kinda start to see patterns BUT the best part is that being that nothing it ever out right said, a lot of it is open to viewer interpretation. So for me, my imagination SOARS trying to connect the dots in my head. Like I am convinced that in the 1998 filmed version for example that the character of Jellylorum is most like the mother of Victoria because you see Jelly motherly protecting the Victoria both times Grizabella arrives in act 1. That is just one example.
A lot of people write Cats off as "It's just about Cats" but you can tell that the actors have put a lot of thought into who their cat is. How does that cat feel about the other cats around it? Who are their family? Who are their friends? Who is their mate? There is just enough to give you a loose suggestion of what is going on in the background but also just enough to let your mind wander and connect the dots yourself.
Posted: 6/13/20 at 6:00pm
When I went to see the original Broadway cast of Cats I left my brains in the car. Because of that, I had a perfectly wonderful time. I had no expectations of anything deep or challenging. (And thankfully nobody broke into my car when I was at the show. I'd hate to lose my mind in midtown.)
Posted: 6/13/20 at 7:07pm
My parents tried playing the cast recording when I was very young but I disliked it enough that they turned it off during the first song. Then when I was about 12, my friend made me watch the filmed version. Even though I love real cats and casually liked musicals at the time, I watched it begrudgingly and was unimpressed by the lightness of the plot.
Fast-forward to the recent touring production, when I finally saw it live. Maybe it was my low expectations, but I found it surprisingly enjoyable. I appreciated the dancing and how unapologetically weird it was. Maybe ALW's at his best when he's not even attempting to grasp characters or a plot and is just trying to be entertaining, though I enjoyed it more for the overall production rather than the songs. So I could kind of see why it was a phenomenon and I was rooting for the movie to be another freak smash hit. Oh well.
Posted: 6/14/20 at 1:27pm
I rarely think about it anymore, but it was the first big splashy Broadway show I saw -- that being the first tour that sat down in San Francisco for, what was it, 1 or 2 years? It was magical to me and I saw it 3 or 4 times. I later saw it in both NYC and London, the latter I was in Row D and on the turntable which I never understood the need for. Loved seeing Growltiger's ship flip down and was bummed in London all it was was a big orange crate or something dragged on to represent the ship.
Love it or hate it, it had legs so it touched alot of people and gave steady paychecks to countless cast and crew members. And I bet alot of people got introduced to musical theater by it. My sister-in-law is one example. I took her to the SF tour and it ignited a life-long passion for musical theater. After that and before she passed away she became a staunch patron of the regional theater near her home, even served on their board for many years. The theater gave her a lovely tribute, and she left them a good chunk of money so future generations can appreciate theater. All because of some dancing cats.
Posted: 6/14/20 at 9:34pm
Posted: 6/14/20 at 11:49pm
I went to see this in England on my honeymoon in 1992. We got tickets a few seats apart in the same row. At intermission I leaned over and said to my wife, "Do people actually like this?" The answer was "Yes" I think everyone who heard me and joined in the discussion indeed liked it. I hated it.
Posted: 6/15/20 at 1:55am
Saw the stage show in London where the seats moved---don't know why but that's all I remember.
Then a couple of times in Australia, purely for the person singing Memories, and I hate that song out of context. Love the music/dancing/spectacle and would go again.
The movie, loved most, hated the obvious, BUT, loved that I could hear every word and could actually follow the poetry[story] in each song.
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