"Cats was a show on Broadway," Dad told me. "You know, near the Radio City Music Hall, where we saw Blue's Clues Live?" (We lived in New York at the time.) "It played at the Winter Garden Theatre."
"Can we go see it?" I asked.
"We can't. It closed." (Cats had played its final performance nearly three years before this conversation, and I guess Dad didn't know that the show also toured.)
Dad decided to satiate my curiosity by buying me the Cats VHS tape - the "Commemorative Edition", which came with a bonus tape detailing the behind-the-scenes process of filming a show like Cats, and sketch cards of John Napier's costumes (I wish I still had those). I spent the entire summer transfixed by the music, the characters, the costumes and makeup, and especially the choreography. Specific characters such as Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, Victoria, and Munkustrap caught my eye. I'd watch Victoria's solo dance during 'The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball' and try to copy her movements. Later, when I learned how to use the Internet, I often browsed Cats fansites such as The World of Jellicle Cats, Munkustrap Kitty's Cats Layer, and The Jellicle Looney Bin. Then, after me and my family moved to Florida, I got to see the Cats national tour twice, in Orlando and Tampa. Needless to say, I got hooked on Cats like a cat gets hooked to catnip.
A year into our Florida residency, Mom enrolled me at a dance studio owned by an alumnus of the Cats national tour and Broadway casts. Mr. John never really discussed his time in Cats. He had a giant poster autographed by several cast members hanging in the studio's lobby, but that's about it. In fact, when I wore my t-shirt from the tour to my first day at the studio, he said, "Been there, done that," almost as if he viewed Cats as an old shame.
Boy, was I wrong.
A couple of years later, Mr. John announced "The Cats Experience", a two week long summer camp where kids would stage a truncated version of Cats. He promised we'd learn the original choreography and songs, how to apply cat makeup, and get to hear and see personal stories and videos of his tenure in the show. This sounded like my idea of paradise, even more than the Magic Kingdom! Mom and Grandma promised me that if I raised my Math grade up to a B, they'd sign me up for the summer camp. And lo and behold, I managed to get my grade up, and I earned a spot in the camp. A dream of mine was about to come true. I was going to be in Cats!
"The Cats Experience" lasted for two weeks in July 2007. In that time, me, about forty other children, and Mr. John's staff worked our tails off to get ready for the Jellicle Ball.Cats performers go through "Cat School" to learn feline mannerisms and movements in order to better portray a cat. You bet we did that too. One of the things we learned was how to hold our hands a certain way so that they looked more like paws. In scenes when we weren't dancing and just merely observing other characters, we needed to remember to do that.
I auditioned for a featured singing role in the show. I didn't have a specific character in mind, but I knew I wanted to be one of the named cats from "the video". After auditioning with a rather horrible rendition of 'Macavity: The Mystery Cat', I earned the role of Noilly Prat, a cat whose name I didn't recognize from any production of Cats I wasn't happy about this for a bit, but then I realized this gave me the opportunity to develop my own Jellicle character (so, in other words, a fan character of sorts). I think I played Noilly Prat closer to a kitten such as Etcetera or Pouncival in "the video" - young, frisky, and one of the Jellicles curious about Grizabella.
(Turns out Noilly Prat was in some versions of Cats. She has her own Wiki page!)
Our version of Cats trimmed some of the fat from the original production. We closely followed the show, but we didn't perform 'The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball', 'Bustopher Jones', 'The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles', the mating dance portion of 'The Jellicle Ball', or 'Growltiger's Last Stand'. There were also some changes made to let kids cast as less prominent characters a chance to shine. For example, usually Munkustrap sings, "Do I actually see with my own very eyes/a man who's not heard of a Jellicle cat?" at the end of 'Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats', but that line was actually given to me. I got to rip the audience a new one for not knowing what Jellicle cats are. "What's a Jellicle cat?" Mr. John directed me to say that line in an offended way.
A week into camp, we moved our rehearsals from the studio to the theatre, a high school auditorium. Our set utilized several past prop and set pieces from Mr. John's old recitals. Obviously, we weren't working with a Broadway budget, so there were some limitations and substitutions. A rock from a previous recital's Little Mermaid themed number stood in for Old Deuteronomy's tire. Several crates and boxes became a playground for us Jellicle cats to hang out and crawl on, even while we weren't rehearsing. And poor Grizabella couldn't ascend to the Heaviside Lair on a giant staircase or flying saucer - she could only walk offstage.
We performed our production of Cats on July 27th and 28th, 2007. Mr. John banned photography and videography during his shows, so unfortunately I don't have any footage of my performance, only photos from after the show. I remember my favorite number to perform was 'Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat', specifically the part where we built the train. It's a very upbeat moment in the show. I also enjoyed doing 'The Naming of Cats', because that's when the Jellicles are sort of scary at first, almost territorial. Some of the Jellicles got to go into the audience and scare the crap out of people. I wasn't one of the Jellicles chosen to do that, but I noticed my cousin Tommy in the audience mocking whoever came over to him. When we locked eyes, I hissed at him!
Performing in Cats was a fantasy come to life. From learning the complicated choreography of 'The Jellicle Ball' to backstage antics to trying to finesse my makeup (with varying success), I enjoyed every single moment of attending The Cats Experience. If you'll pardon the pun, it's a Memory that'll live on Now and Forever.
Click here to see pictures from The Cats Experience!
