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Friday, February 10, 2012
'Cats' Out of the Bag and into the Circus
by Tina Armour, published on August 19, 2009 at 12:41 AM
Storyline: Events in Sacramento
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The Jellicle felines of Cats made the Music Circus purr, Tuesday night.
The dark theater glowed green cat eyes as the 24-person cast filled the small round stage of the Music Circus to sing “Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats.”
Although the musical has no set storyline,the situations flowed perfectly into one another.
Director and choreographer Richard Stafford created a thrilling musical piece full of lifelike mannerisms and situations that any cat lover would understand, any dog lover would appreciate, and even non-pet lovers would be delighted by.
The cast of the normally huge Broadway play utilized the small stage as well as the aisles in the crowd, with a variety of dance styles including classical ballet, jazz, Dunham and tap.
Musical director Craig Barna and the live orchestra gave an outstanding performance. Although, they were not needed for most of the dance numbers, as the performers tapped and twirled to the rhythms of their own bodies.
Rum Tum Tugger (played by Kevin Loreque) stole the show with his rock 'n' roll attitude, huge hair and amazing voice, even pulling audience member Janet Payne on stage for a dance during his eponymous song, “The Rum Tum Tugger.”
The costumes were over the top, leaving nothing to the imagination. Some were little more than a nude leotard with a tail; whereas one, worn by Jellylorum (played by Heather Meiko) was embellished with long white glittered fur and pink sequins.
The original Broadway play was inspired by T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. The music was created by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
This classic show was definitely the cat’s meow.
Photos courtesy of Charr Crail.
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Greg Majewski
August 19, 2009 | 2:57 PM
Did the Broadway style of the play seem hampered by the intimate nature of the Music Circus?I'm kind of curious if it translated well because the original show is so big. Also wonder if they made any significant changes to the performance.
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Tina Armour
August 19, 2009 | 3:02 PM
I haven't seen the original performance but I do think that they might have shortened it quite a bit. But i think since the setting was so intimate it made the show better because there were little details that were fantastic that would have been missed on a huge Broadway stage.
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Anthony Bento
edited on
August 19, 2009 | 3:49 PM
I saw a Music Circus performance of Cats several years ago, and found the choreography to be claustrophobicly constrained by the innate limitations of the 'in-the-round' format. Perhaps the director and the choreographer have found innovative new ways of using the the space.
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Tina Armour
August 19, 2009 | 4:42 PM
I think that they used the space wonderfully they had elevated props in the isle ways during some of the performances that the actors danced on and that created the illusion of more space. But I do understand the cramped feeling at some points.
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Holly Ilfeld
August 19, 2009 | 6:16 PM
It is a magical show and I am glad to hear from someone who had never seen it before that it translated so well to theatre in the round. Broadway theatres, for the most part, are small and a great deal of action in some of Weber's musicals happens on ramps all around the theatre. Starlight Express had the performers rollerskating on ramps all around the theatre!
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