How to spell overrated: C-A-T-S
Webber’s musical disappoints, lacks cohesive qualities
By Denise Cruz
and Robert Stevens
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Here’s a money saving tip.
The gimmick behind Andrew Lloyd Webber’s highly successful and
world renowned musical "Cats" is that … well, they’re cats.
This tremendously effective theatrical device  people
acting like cats  is entertaining for a good twenty minutes.
Perhaps coming into "Cats," the longest running musical on
Broadway, with the contextual knowledge that it’s more smoke and
mirrors than plot and storyline would enhance the play’s
enjoyability. However, looking for a point, a sense of cohesiveness
or complex character development is a waste of time.
"Cats" is a lot like a "Saturday Night Live" skit. Sure, the
original concept is interesting enough, but after endless
repetition of the same idea it just gets old. And imagine a
two-and-a-half hour SNL sketch.
Lifted from the lines of T.S. Eliot’s "Old Possum’s Book of
Practical Cats," the story behind "Cats" reflects the poetic nature
of the original. Eliot’s book compiled poems he wrote about cats
and their lives. The cats in Eliot’s poems had no clearly visible
lines connecting their stories. No matter how poignantly the
musical translates from poetry to lyric, "Cats" can’t create a
strict storyline Eliot’s poems.
The first act introduces the "jellicle cats," dancing beneath
the moon in a "Jellicle ball." As the wise old cat Deuteronomy
(John Tracy Egan) points out, every cat has his own individual
spirit. Each cat illustrates societal archetypes  the rocker,
the cat burglar , the magician, the leader, or the aging beauty.
Are these characters intertwined somehow?
Only if you count the fact that they all appear in the same act.
Each character has his or her own moment in the spotlight, the lead
role in a small sketch of the cat’s "personality."
The only attempt to tie together the loose ends of each
character’s part within a larger picture is the repetition of the
"Jellicle Ball" and "Memory" motifs. "Memory" introduces the theme
of the second act, as the cat characters Asparagus (Richard Poole),
Mr. Mistoffolees (Christopher Gatteli) and Grizabella (Jeri Sager)
deal with age and transformation.
Sort of.
But while the play’s lack of a true plot is something that can’t
be remedied by the company, the actual performance at the Shubert
Theatre, actually under the cast’s control, was excellently
done.
If humans acting like cats is one of the main reasons behind the
play’s success, the company’s actors were cats. With their backs
stretching and arching, their heads turning quickly from side to
side, and their eyes penetrating the darkness, the cats leapt and
purred, crawled and meowed across the stage.
Showing almost flawless mimicry of feline behavior, each actor
portrayed the perfect image of their cat character, from the fat
tabby to the exotic Siamese kitten.
The music accompanies each cat’s story with a different genre.
The cat burglars, Mungojerrie (Gavan Pamer) and Rumpleteazer (Maria
Jo Ralabate) playfully pounced into a slapstick number as they
boast their skill and cunning. Rum Tum Tugger (Ron Devito), the
resident leather-clad playboy, made female cats swoon as he gyrated
through his rock number. Sager’s Grizabella broke into the ballad
of regret with "Memory."
The company’s performances worked well with the set and lighting
to draw the audience into the cat’s realm. From dramatic shadow
effect and flashes of bright spotlights, to Christmas-like strings
of lights and the use of a simple flashlight, the light effects
brought to life the cats’ fantasy-like domain. The larger-than-life
bicycle wheels, shoes, rusty cans and flat tires in the set’s
backdrop shrunk the human "cats" down to true feline size.
The cats also attempted to project their reality off the stage,
parading down the aisles and staring into the audience members.
Each cat seemed to move spontaneously from the stage, whether it
was Sager making a dramatic yet dignified exit or DeVito picking a
woman and jumping into the audience to dance with her
Still, even a good performance could only go so far.
Besides, good performances are not too hard to find in Los
Angeles. And if you can find something with plot, driven ideas or
even long-standing interesting features, go there instead.
THEATER: "Cats" at the Schubert Theatre, ABC Entertainment
Center, 2020 Avenue of the Stars. Tickets $60, $50, $25. Running
until Nov. 6. For information call (800) 477-7400.