Why do you all hate Cats?- Page 3

[neocomposer]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 9:57am

What I think ALW's biggest fan keeps missing is that it's just a matter of taste. I do not condemn the show, and neither does anyone else here. In fact, I actually really like a few of ALW's shows!! This one, I didn't enjoy at all. I already said why, so I won't repeat that info, but it doesn't mean I think everyone should hate it, that all shows have to be deep, or that ALW is a jerk.

I just didn't enjoy it. Hmph.

And thank you for your continued posts, Margo. They are inspiring to say the least.

Updated On: 11/22/05 at 09:57 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 9:59am

Jon---Love your analogy of Starlight. Bravo!

[leefowler]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 10:03am

If Cats had been a big flop, you would only read positive things about it on this board. There's no better shortcut to looking smart than putting down a big hit. When all is said and done, Cats is a perfectly pleasant, though sort of dull, musical

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 10:21am

People here already hate Wicked and Rent.

Well, it's not so much that we hate these shows as it is that we hate that these shows have been co-opted by people who don't understand thing 1 about the form (nor do they care to learn anything beyond how great idina is, or how cool la vie boheme was last night).

Cats is a wonderful show -- but when people who don't understand or care to understand write trite comments, our lives are not improved. We hope that by talking down on the shows, it will inspire them to research what it is they like about the show -- and have an intelligent discussion.

[gavrochegirl]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 10:25am

"... and if there happens to be a plot in Cats it's lost in the bad musical numbers and confusing characters and lack of resolution."

This is what a friend told me about CATS in an e-mail.

I completely agree with him. (And I'm seeing him on Friday!!)

^_________^

[BluCat500]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 10:26am

"1)great music
2) great staging
3) Interesting social examination of the human world
4) The creative process is ingenious in and of itself."

The issue is that is a completely subjective analysis. You think it is "great", "interesting" and "ingenious," that does not make it fact however. Why should everyone conform to your opinion?

Some people like it, others don't, there are valid arguements for both sides, its a matter of personal taste.

If you are trying to make the arguement, that it is a flawless show beyond all reproach then you're going to have to provide a much more intricate analysis then the word "great"...

If however, you are only trying to prove that it can be enjoyable, then you've done it,some people DO find it enjoyable. You just have to allow for the fact that some people don't enjoy it as well.

The end by blucat500

[ALWrules]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 10:30am

Yes, but most of you,( I give Margo credit for justifying her opinion) fail to tell me exactly why you dislike it. You say a reason, I question that reason, and I get no response except that "people have different tastes." I want to know why you think it is superficial, or why Memory is bad, or why you dislike it. I want an in depth presentation of why Cats is disliked, and I want someone to convince me that their opinion is valid. Margo is the only one who has done so over this post. I am not trying to make everyone "Conform to my opinion" I just want a healthy, educational debate on the matter.

[BluCat500]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 10:43am

Proclaiming something is great, is just as vague as proclaiming something is bad...


"4) The creative process is ingenious in and of itself."

Explain this statement. What about the creative process? What aspects of the creative process? And what made it so different than that of others show that opened on Broadway? What are your feelings on Sondheim's creative process?"

When you were asked to elaborate on why you like the show you simply ignored the request...

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 11:35am

Not everyone hates CATS, ALW, and it seems like you just want people to say that you're right and we've all misjudged the show. Everyone has some sort of aesthetic, and CATS simply doesn't appeal to everyone, regardless of its record run. If we judged film quality in terms of tickets sold, the list of greatest films ever would be quite different.

I don't hate CATS at all, in fact, I loved it when I was a teenager and I thought Memory was a great power ballad. It's not even close to being the worst Broadway song I'VE ever heard, but that's just me. A great deal of the backlash emanates from its enormous success and the fact that Memory has been recorded ad nauseum. People just tire of it quickly, much like Send in the Clowns, Don't Cry For Me Argentina, On My Own, or the like. These aren't necessarily bad songs at all, but enough already!

It's perfectly acceptable for you to love CATS and I'm sure I could see a production that I would love as well. But seeing so much time, effort, and MONEY spent on such an endeavor when far more stimulating work suffers creates an animosity amongst theatre folk that is unfortunate, but almost required.

Not liking CATS is much like having an aversion to cauliflower--some people just don't like it and they don't have to have a reason. I like Ragtime because I found it moving, I disliked Taboo because I thought I didn't like the subject matter, the direction, or the score--that doesn't mean that someone else is a fool for loving it though--they just have a different sensibility, simple as that. I find Vin Diesel to be the hottest man alive, but that doesn't mean that Anthony Rapp is any less attractive. And that's called taste.

[Color and Light]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 11:42am

I dislike "Cats" just because it really seems to serve no purpose. It's not that I don't like shows that are 'light-hearted' entertainment. I love the Producers/Spelling Bee/Avenue Q/DRS/etc - there is nothing wrong with just wanting to be entertained. However, the difference between those shows and Cats, in my opinion, is that I can connect with them in some way. The Producers' tremendously funny statement about the entertainment industry, Olive's relationship to her self-serving parents in Spelling Bee, etc. - not the most profound statements ever made, but they have a point.

Cats just seems like meaningless excess. Sure, the costumes, sets, and lighting are neat - but to me they only try to hide how little substance the show has.

And please don't whip out the 'you don't understand T.S. Eliot's poetry' argument. I'm an English major/Eliot enthusiast - not to sound pretentious, but I like to think I have a general understanding of poetry. And while the poems used in the show are certainly charming and clever, as other have said, they are by no means as profound as some of his other works. They were written for children. But we've beat that dead horse ...

I don't see anything in Cats - there is nothing particularly entertaining about it and I see no point to any of the spectacle. It's humorless, shallow, and the music (which can sometimes save a show from a bad plot/book/etc.) runs the gamut from okay-to-terrible.

But that's just my opinion. If you like the show, then it is perfectly fine with me. I certainly don't think less of anyone who does. People are always going to have different tastes. You can't expect your arguments to hold much water with other people, just as I can't with mine.

And I hate cats (as in the pets) ... so maybe I'm biased.

Updated On: 11/22/05 at 11:42 AM

[WonderBoy]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 11:53am

I have absolutely no problem telling people that I indeed love CATS. Doing the show was a dream come true for me as well. We all have different tastes. SO what? Who cares? What is brilliant to one is lack lustre to another.

[jacco]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 12:01pm

I can't say I'm a big Cats fan, but it was one of the first shows I visited, and that leaves a soft spot. The great thing about Cats was that I was in a theatre with my parents and my grandparents and we ALL liked it. After seeing a lot of children's shows this was the first time we all saw the same show and all enjoyed it. I do not consider Cats a masterpiece, but it was THE show that made me LOVE musical theatre. I never dared to return, but next year it's coming back to Holland, so I might give it a try again (and I have been known to sing the Jellicle Cats song OUT LOUD.....)
Updated On: 11/22/05 at 12:01 PM

[robbiej]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 12:20pm

I saw CATS for the first time as an adult. It was the sloppiest thing I've ever seen in my life. The tap dancing sequence sounded like an enormous bag of nickels being dropped on the floor. Everyone appeared to be sleepwalking through it. And Liz Callaway was out.

The problem is CATS does not present itself as light entertainment. It's HUGE. From the sets to the costumes to the friggin trapeze to the hooker cat being sent to the big junkyard in the sky on a flying tire, NOTHING about it says 'light entertainment'. It announces itself as a grand piece of theatre, but it's slight score and story eventually is crushed by the spectacle.

[ALWrules]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 5:55pm

I'm back.

Firstly, in answer to the question about the creative process. On the cats DVD there is some very interesting matierial of how the show was made. Firstly, about Webber, who read the poems, heard a meter and was able to compose a diverse score based on some poetry Eliot had written. Then comes the journey that the story took. It was originally intended to be a journey of humans into the world of the cats until that was changed. Than the story of the set design that Napier came up with, and the directing by Trevor Nunn that created the show. It is a very interesting process.

And to the response that you can't convince people your arguments hold water if you disagree, I say this is completely wrong. I think that someone convince that they have a well thought out view point that I disagree with. I don't think people are fools for hating Cats, but I am perplexed and want to know why. The only reason I have gotten is that it doesn't send a message and all musicals should send a clear and deep message. I feel no one has given me a good warrent for that claim. I want to know why Cats doesn't affect you and it does affect me, not just that we have different opinions so I should drop it. Imagine how our world would work if that is how debate functioned.
And I do think a lot of the people in the theatrical community have a bias against Cats and more specifically ALW. Again, I want to know the warrent behind the claim.

[today4u:proofpositiv]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 6:03pm

I like Cats! I thought the music was excellent, but I wasn't too crazy about the plot.

[Flahooley]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 7:30pm

I saw the Original Los Angeles Production. I was rather young and I was dazzled by the theatricality. I couldn't wait to see it again. Three months later I did see it again. I was bored ****less. I wanted to leave after about 20 minutes. I've never had that kind of experience with a show before.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 7:34pm

I love CATS - the animals & not the show

[iamemma]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 7:39pm

umm i dont hate cats persay but i mean i like things with plots and storys.... the music is good and i like the poetry but if i want poetry go to a coffee house... although some lyriccs are like poetry.....hmmm the dancing is fun good music i jjust want story

[greenegirl87]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 7:42pm

I don't know exactly why I dislike Cats.. it just does not appeal to me. Like everyone else is saying, it's just a matter of taste. Thank god we dont all love and hate the same things for the same reasons. In this case... I just generally don't enjoy the musical, the music is not my favorite and to be honest the cats kind of creep me out.

[Danielm]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 7:49pm

ALWrules, I think people have answered your question, you just want to argue. People, for the most part, have said it's just not their taste, accept that.

I don't hate it, but I do find it cloying, cutesy and I'm annoyed by the cat movements. I liked the score (especially the British cast recording) when it came out but over the years some of the songs have worn on my nerves. I liked the dancing, but it did get a little tired over the years when the cast members started having trouble even faking the energy.

[ALWrules]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 8:33pm

People have not answered my question; they have made claims of why they don't like it without providing a warrent behind those claims. Be specific, and say what it is that is so unappealing, not just "I need a story" or "I didn't like the music." Tell me why, not just that you do. If one has to defend a political view, one should explain why something is bad, not just shallowly claim that it is. So again, I say, please answer "why." I am not trying to pick a fight, I am simply thinking Socratically and asking questions. "Why is a story nessecary?" or " Why isn't a large amount of sentimentality OK in a show?

[jimmirae]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 8:55pm

"Cats" was just great back in it's day, You weren't expecting a major revival anytime soon were you? Maybe we can get Faye Dunaway in as Grizabella, You could try something like that.

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 8:57pm

I don't see how disliking the story or the music aren't valid reasons for disliking Cats. I also don't think a musical being fluffy is any problem. The book was never meant as anything more than light entertainment, and so's the musical, no matter what ALW says. Light entertainment is just as valid as serious, but it doesn't mean you have to love it. I simply find things that are provocative or have deeper meaning more entertaining than three hour pastiches of contemporary rock music and Puccini.

I liked Cats when I was a little kid. I never loved it, but I liked it. I only had the recording. I think it was a worthwhile experience for me to see the video. Do I feel like I need to see it on stage? No. Do I think it has a compelling score that offers a lot of reasons to go back to it, or characters that make great parts for actors? No. Do I think it's fun? Sure, if you're a little kid and you enjoy acrobatic dancing. At this point I'd much rather sit down with the book of poetry for a half an hour and enjoy Eliot's wordplay. Or, you know, read more mature Eliot.

[ALWrules]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 8:59pm

Disliking the story or the music ARE valid reasons, I just want to go one step further and ask WHY the story and music are disliked.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 9:01pm

My utter disdain for CATS stems from the fact that ALW stole so much of the music from Puccini. The Chinese sequence in the show is lifted note for note from the great composer's TURANDOT. (Similarly, the love theme from PHANTOM OF THE OUTHOUSE is lifted from LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST.)

I no longer see ALW musicals.