And the Category is… “CATS: The Jellicle Ball” Realness
CATS is the 5th longest-running Broadway show in history, having played 7,485 performances, from 1982 until 2000. It was the first Broadway show I ever saw in 1987 when I was in high school, and it probably sounds cheesy, but it forever changed me. I knew that I wanted, more than anything, to be up there like those cats one day. Well, it took eleven years and more than a few auditions, but then at long last I made it to the final callbacks, which took place onstage at the Winter Garden Theatre. I had made it up there just like I dreamed about in 1987. And I also ended up getting the job!
I absolutely
loved performing the role of Munkustrap in the 1998 Broadway touring company.
And that culminated in my access to the “Private: Invite Only” Broadway closing
performance and after-party on September 10, 2000. It was not lost on me how
lucky I was to be in that final audience, filled with others who knew all the
lyrics and choreography to this Andrew Lloyd Weber phenomenon, all of us doing
our best not to crawl up onstage and join the final company of cats up there!
Hahaha. Also, I was able to have a cocktail and chat with Betty Buckley, the
original Grizabella, at the after party, which once again my inner theatre kid
from the 1980’s was freaking out over.
So, CATS
was closed. The famous slogan, “CATS – Now and Forever,” was no longer
viable. There was an underwhelming Broadway revival of CATS in 2016 and the
2019 film version was a complete disaster according to critics and moviegoers a
like. But don’t lose all hope…
There are some
new kitties in town for this radical reimagining of CATS,
inspired by the Ballroom culture which was born out of NYC over 50 years ago, moving
them from the junkyard to the catwalk. In case you’re not familiar with this
type of Ballroom, it’s best described by the New Yorker as “the once
underground drag milieu introduced to the mainstream in works such as the 1990
documentary ‘Paris Is Burning’ and the TV show ‘Pose.’ This type of ballroom
features voguing dance battles and catwalk strut-offs.”
So, residing
on the corner of Broadway & Ballroom, CATS: The Jellicle Ball, may not be “Now and Forever” but it has been extended twice at its off-Broadway
home at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in downtown Manhattan. A mixture of
Broadway icons and alums & Ballroom-famed housemothers and their children,
this quasi-immersive “Jellicle Ball” takes place on a 57-foot catwalk (and
surrounding tables) and is purrrfect (sorry I couldn’t resist) for people who
hate CATS, because it’s completely different from the original concept, and
also for people who love CATS, because it’s an innovative retelling of the show they already hold dear. Win-Win!
Zhailon
Levingston, the show’s co-director says it best when discussing this immersive
revival that is free of felines and unfolds as a ballroom competition:
As a
concept, it maps onto the musical with surprising ease and heart. Think about “Cats”
being street characters in a junkyard and ballroom being these historically
marginalized people. In ballroom you have a centering of legacy and chosen
family, the way cats have a tribe. Both take what’s given to them and turn it
into something beautiful. The Jellicle Ball was conceived as a succession of categories
(said like CAT-egories), with performers vying for ballroom glory rather than
deciding which cat will ascend to the Heavyside Layer.
I could take
you on a deep dive of all the characters and what they do in this version
versus the original and how I think they compare, or not. But I’m not sure most
of you would be interested in all of that (if you are though, just send me an
email and we can discuss). Instead, I will just say that booking CATS was one
of the most joyous moments in my life up to that point. It’s something I had
wanted for so long and it finally came true. I remember calling my parents to
share my news from a phone booth (yes, a phone booth) in the subway station while
waiting for a train to Times Square. The train was arriving, and it was so loud,
so I just kept screaming over and over again: I GOT THE JOB! I’M GOING TO BE IN
CATS!! To this day, I’m not even sure if they heard me or if they just put the
pieces together when they first saw me in full makeup, bodysuit leotard, tail
and leg warmers. Hmmm, I’ll have to ask them.
And for those of you who do fancy a deeper dive into “CATS: The Jellicle Ball,” I would start here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/18/theater/cats-ballroom-revival-pac-nyc.html
https://pacnyc.org/whats-on/cats-the-jellicle-ball/ (scroll all the way down in this link because you'll find some short videos too)
“A lightning
strike! Cats: “The Jellicle Ball” has managed a Grizabella return,
reincarnating itself in fabulousness. It sets the joy free!”
-
The
New York Times
“Paris is
purring! The fur flies in an absolutely fabulous reconception. Levingston and
Rauch’s vision fits Cats like a long sequined glove.”
-
Time
Out
“FOUR STARS!
A Raucous Success!”
-
New
York Post
“The hottest
ticket of the summer! Absolutely the talk of the town.
- NBC NY Live
Upper Left: Andy Karl (Rum Tum Tugger) - Olivier Award & Drama Desk Award winner (Groundhog Day);
Three Tony Award nominations; 13 Broadway shows
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