Velvedere Troika Tour 2

October 20, 2001 -- Memphis, Tennessee

CATS. Saturday night. The Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee. Front row seats. A fellow CATS fan accompanying me for her first live show. What more could a feller ask for?

Picture books would be nice!

I had made it a point to ask the ladies selling the CATS merchandise outside the show in Charlotte when they would be getting in the picture programs for this tour cast of CATS, and though they couldn't give me an exact date, they assured me they would have the books for sale by the time the show went to Memphis. Perhaps they were mistaken, and they probably were, but nonetheless they were wrong. At Memphis they only offered me the same phone number to call and order the books when they finally came out that I had gotten in Charlotte, and left me one disappointed fan.

Oh well. It didn't last long.

Originally I had bought two tickets for this performance of CATS because I had been going with my mother and she said she would like to see it. As it turns out, with my luck, a few days before we were to leave Mom caught one of her perfectly-timed colds and felt nothing like sitting through a show as loud as CATS. She gave up her seat, and in not wanting to let the spent money go to waste I asked a friend if she'd want to go. Lauren, the girl who had boldly taken up the part of Macavity in our sorry excuse for a show of CATS at school, said no the first time I asked her, but wouldn't tell me why. I didn't think about it much, since I figured I might as well settle for sitting by myself. But somehow Demetria got word that I was going--I sure as heck didn't tell her!--and asked if she could come along. Nevermind she'd dropped all of our theatre projects and conspiracies for some guy and the cheerleading squad. Nevermind she had barely spoken to me since that happened. Nevermind I was still mad at her for all that, she asked if she could come. So rather than explode in her face, like a proper *cough*gentleman*cough*, I told her I'd think about it. I know...I'm a milksop.

Thank Heaviside Lauren came back and said she'd go.

That settled, no hard feelings between me and Dem that weren't already there, and on Friday my mom, Lauren, and I made for Memphis.

Saturday evening Lauren and I were walking the two blocks from the hotel Mom stayed us in to the theatre. It wasn't a very long walk, and really Memphis isn't that crowded...that is, as long as we kept away from Beale Street. (That place was nothing but bars and full of weirdoes!) It was getting dark, and in passing an alley between two buildings Lauren chanced to glance inside, and pointed out a cat that was sitting there for no apparent reason.

"Which one's that?" she jokingly asked me.

"Mistoffelees," I said at first, going by the cat's tuxedo coloring, but with a second glance: "No, wait...he's too fat. That'd be Bustopher."

I can't justify or explain it, but after seeing that cat as we kept walking and found the theatre, I couldn't help but feel like something awful was going to happen. Maybe I was just nervous...I dunno, but that was the distinct grim foreboding that I felt as we slipped inside the theatre.

It was an awesome place. The building used to be an opera house...and it was huge! Inside the auditorium was like a cathedral: high domed ceiling with rusty red paint and gold trim with three enormous chandeliers. The foyer outside was equally awesome. The carpet was thick with the same red-colored pattern going through several rooms where there was a lounge, a bar, and the stand where they were selling the CATS memorabilia (but no picture books!). It wasn't the Winter Garden, but hey, it was one awesome theatre.

We settled down in our seats at about eight o'clock. Actually I was surprised. The row said on the tickets was row B, seat 101 and 103, so I had assumed we would be in the second row of seats. But the design of the audience seats were a little weird, and row B was the front row on the extreme left orchestra level. Our seats were one on the aisle and the one next to it, so it was agreed that I could have the aisle seat in the first act and Lauren could have it on the second. Sitting where we were on the left we could only really see the right part of the stage, but it was enough. At least we could see the stage and the set...not like in Charlotte.

Was wasn't alright was when the announcement over the intercom said that both Skimbleshanks and Tumblebrutus would be played by understudies that performance. Not that I have anything against understudies, but I've yet to see one who's as good as the regular. Besides, in accordance with my last trip report, I really liked the regular Skimble (John Sechrist). And from what I saw, neither of these understudies were as good as the regulars. Tumblebrutus was really slow in his cartwheels and backflips, and Skimble...well, I dunno, I just didn't think he was as good. Those kicks that I liked last time he didn't do the same, either.

Anyway, we had a nice laugh when the announcer over the intercom said that no cell phones were allowed, and right after she finished her usual announcements and the lights dimmed, somewhere in the audience a phone rang. In the darkness Lauren and I glanced at each other, and though I tried to keep a straight face neither of us could help breaking into knowing grins.

I realized that as the Overture progressed I wasn't as excited as I remembered being for when I saw the show on Broadway. That performance I saw twice, and can barely remember what the theatre even looked like...I was that excited about being there. And why not? It was Broadway, for Heaviside's sake! But this was just a tour, I think was my frame of mind, and I wasn't as excited. It wasn't that the tour shows were any less amazing, but Broadway was just...heck, it was Broadway. That's the ultimate in my book. Nothing better.

Ahh well, back to Memphis...

It was Lauren's first live show of CATS, and though she knew the cast members come down in the audience during the Overture, she was still surprised when suddenly Demeter appeared beside us wearing her green eyes. Lauren made this kind of squeak that's kinda...hard to describe...but she was smiling at the same time, so... *shrug*

Demeter...oh boy!

Demeter will never stop tormenting me! The same amazing, talented Jessica Lea Patty who I nearly had my paws around in the last show of CATS I saw in Charlotte came down, but instead of facing my way she poked fun at the old man sitting across from me in the front row. All I saw was her back and tail. Does she like teasing me or something?! I reached for her tail, but just barely brushed it before she moved away. Lauren asked me who that was, and I told her.

"The one Demetria played..."

"Yeah, that's her."

The Prologue has got to be one of the best songs out of the entire show! And why exactly is that? Oh, who cares? It just is. At the beginning the cats came out in their same pattern: Pouncival bouncing out and taking up his strange, one-legged stance directly in front of us. I don't know if Pouncival remembered me as we started up a little staring contest. I had told David Blonn I was coming to see the show that night, but I doubt he remembered who I was. Either way, I sure as heck remembered him! And he won the staring contest...

At the end of The Naming of Cats they came down into the audience, just like before. I remember Bombalurina slipping past me and Sillabub stopped just at my level as she chanted on. Again, the old guy across from me got the attention, but I could still see her fairly close. How close? Well, I could see her makeup design, and I remember thinking she looked like she had no nose at all because the black mark where it should be on a cat was so small. That's close!

Something about Jennyanydots's tap-dance song stuck in my mind. I guess it was just the jazzy music and the tap-dancing that I liked, but the up-beat and catchy music was still ringing in my head three days after the show. And I wish I could draw! That scene where Jenny comes to the front of the stage with two of her beetles I can remember perfectly and I think would look great as a sketch. She came forward, put her hand on the stomach of the beetle on her left and grabbed the knife from the beetle on her right to hold up for a trumpet fanfare, looking entirely noble and proud had it not been for the beetle on her left that bent over, I guess in some show of disrespect. The audience didn't quite get it, but Lauren and I thought it was funny.

Now for Pretty Boy...

I know Lauren really liked Tugger...she got to dance with him! A set of steps led off each side of the stage and not through the middle (it would have had to go over the orchestra pit), and Tugger headed for the side we were on when the time came for his usual audience romp. I thought he might go for the older woman who was sitting in the same row with her husband and her kid (who was remarkably quiet and still through the entire show), but I guess he saw Lauren first.

"Would you like to dance with Rum Tum Tugger?" his (in my opinion) way-too-high voice said only loud enough for us to hear, and I guess she was too shocked to answer because she just took his hand and stood up. Being this close I could hear him tell her what to do as they went: go under his arm, back around, kiss to the audience, and a major whoop and thankyou afterwards as she sat back down. The audience applauded like they usually did (heck, so did I) and with a grin of absolute embarrassment Lauren tried to bury her face in her hands, laughing at the same time. I don't know who was the better dancer, either: him or her. Pretty good way to start off a first live show, eh?

Now I know Tugger never dances with guys, but I kinda wished I could have the opportunity for a little male rivalry when he came down in front of us. I know I could never dance as good as he could, at least, not yet anyway, but I'd like to try. Be a show-off...but then, Tugger never dances with guys. (And if that's true for all cats, then why were Mistoffelees and Mungojerrie dancing together on the Jellicle Ball when all the other toms were paired with girls?)

Just thought I should mention something about Cassandra... Great dancer, really, but except for Mistoffelees's song she didn't seem to stand out that much. Even when she had a solo line it was kind of quiet and very brief. I also think they should have designed her wig a little sleeker...heck, it looked like the hairdo my mother has!

Bustopher's microphone didn't work at all when he came out. Being front row Lauren and I could still hear him--plus we knew the words--but as he sang he patted his bib where the microphone was probably hidden and projected as loud as he could, but in such a large theatre it was plain to see he was having trouble. The people sitting in the balcony probably couldn't even hear him. But I had to admire that...he kept going like nothing at all was the matter, doing his best to make up for the mistake. What was even more admirable was that Mistoffelees and Skimble, who were standing on either side of him, pitched in an acted as though they were brushing off his shoulders and straightening his bib while I could tell they were really trying to help with his mike. But it wouldn't start up again. And when BJ got up, putting his back to the audience I could see his arm up and still fiddling with it. But they never slowed or stalled in anything. Now those are professionals!

A few other notes about Bustopher: I noticed that when he came out on stage he jumped back as though startled at seeing the audience, and Pouncival seemed Heaviside-bent on pouncing his white tail tip. BJ also tossed out a white flower to a woman in the audience that he didn't do the last time I saw the show.

There were a few things I noticed about Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer... The first was that Mungojerrie was a VERY powerful singer. Heck, on the solo line he had in The Prologue ("Are you tense when you sense there's a storm in the air?") stood out in my mind for some reason. It was loud, steady, with the "air" held out a few extra notes as he gazed up at the sky. Okay, I'll just say it: I loved the way he sang that one line. It was really powerful...well, that, or his mike was turned up extra loud. It sure was a lot louder than any of the others' solo lines in that part of the song. And singing that powerful is okay for solos, but when he sang with Rumpleteazer it sounded like he was drowning her out. I could barely hear the female half of the duo, and when she sang her solos his previous ones were so dominant it made hers sound pretty pathetic. And when Rumpleteazer said her "uh oh" I distinctly remember it being not as...as...how do I say this? It wasn't as kittenish or pathetic as it sounded in Charlotte. Still got a lot of laughs, though.

I remember Mungojerrie as being very expressive. He made some seriously weird faces during the Naming, and always seemed to be the most outstanding of the kitten group. By outstanding I mean he stood out with his energy, caught my attention more often than the others. Heheh, I remember that after Old Deuteronomy arrived, when the music began playing as though The Pekes and the Pollicles was about to start before being interrupted by Macavity, all the cats were mingling and excited, but Mungojerrie--I think it was him, kind of hard to tell--was down in a crouch by himself and just started spinning like crazy! His tail flung out behind, I think he hit Cassandra in the face with it, but just kept spinning as fast as he could. It was funny to watch... Also, at the beginning of Jennyanydots's song he did a somersault over Plato's head, which I don't think he appreciated at all. And again (if this out-of-order thing bugs you, sorry...but I'm writing these as I remember them) during his song, when he proudly proclaimed "It was Mungojerrie!" for the last time, he stood in a way that I think really fit his character. It wasn't really that spectacular, either. It was a simple wide-legged stance with his arms up in the air as though displaying himself, his head arched back a little. He said his line with the usual flare, followed by one of those "ahhs" like one would make after taking a nice cold drink. I don't know why I thought it was so good...I guess the way he did it just fit his character. He did the same thing during Addressing of Cats when Deuteronomy says: "O Cat!" and it was...well: fitting.

One last thing about Mungojerrie and I'll try to shut up about him. I don't know it if it was intentional or not, but after Naming of Cats when he was going back up the stairs to the stage...he tripped. He didn't seem hurt, and maybe he did it on purpose, but either way it got a few laughs from the audience.

I remember the way Munkustrap landed after the Jellicle Ball. While the others were crouched low, he was reared up in the middle, his hands reaching towards the sky. I know it was the same position he landed in the video, but seeing it live was just more...more powerful. The entire show is like that. Seeing it live is like being drawn into CATS entirely, and makes the entire concept of the video rather absurd. At least, I think so. After seeing CATS live so many times I've decided I don't like the video very much. Well, I know I can't hate it, because the video was a large contributor to me being a CATS fan at all, but I just don't get the same kind of thrill anymore watching the video that I do watching the live show.

During Intermission Lauren and I talked with one of the ushers who came down to stand beside the stairs leading up to the stage, probably to keep people from going up on the stage while Deuteronomy sat on the tire...dangit. He said that the previous performances that week had all been heavy disappointments, such as the one Friday night there had been several problems with their sound system (the examples he gave were Grizabella's microphone dying during the climax "Touch me" verse of Memory, Macavity's spark noises coming much too soon before he had the change to even grab the wires, and during the Jellicle Ball the sound died completely and left the cats dancing by themselves), and on Thursday night the entire show had been ruined by a fire alarm that was set off by mistake; the theatre had been evacuated entirely. Bummer...I guess that might explain Bustopher's problem.

Well, whatever feeling of dread I had originally come to the show with was entirely misleading. It was perfect! Is there a word better than perfect? Well, if there is one, that's the only thing that can describe that show. Heaviside, if it's even possible to say there is a word to describe it!

I noticed a lot of improvements from the last time I saw the show, mainly in Gus and Growltiger. Just little things, like noises and choreography, that were changed made the entire bit of Gus/Growltiger's performance seem so much better. He was spectacular! Much better than last time. I keep being reminded how much I like that character...so much in fact that I didn't want to take my eyes off of him. But I couldn't help it! Seeing Demeter reaching down from the top of the pipe to pet Pouncival as he lay inside it was enough to draw my eyes from anything out of jealousy--err, no, I mean envy. I also really liked the change when, during Growltiger's Last Stand, while the crew was singing, Growltiger marched back to where Munkustrap still stood at the ship's helm. On Munkustrap's pirate costume there was a green parrot attached to his shoulder, and I thought it was hilarious when Growltiger reached up, grabbed it, and bit its head off! (Well, he didn't really, but it was greatly implied.)

I don't know what it was about Growltiger's Last Stand that I liked so much, but it was the same way with Skimble: I just did. I remember Mistoffelees looked really, well, for lack of a better word I'll use "cute", as Lauren put it, in his cabin boy outfit. The five of them--Munkustrap, Tugger, Skimble, Alonzo, and Mistoffelees--were great as the crew.

Macavity was one of the few characters who I think did not improve. I still can't get over how much I think he doesn't look like a dancer. Macavity should be sleek, and this guy for sure looked like a football player. I didn't like his costume much, either. His wig wasn't, well, "wild" enough, and even as Plato he didn't impress me the way Keith Wilson had. Oh well. Lauren must have felt pretty much the same, because she agreed fully when I leaned over and mumbled: "You were a lot better than that."

At least I think I got some attention from Demeter and Bombalurina during the song. Can't be sure, though. I know Demeter looked our way a lot. And she was...was...outstanding! Her voice was as powerful as Mungojerrie's when she sang, and her dancing...phew! She was great. (But then, do I really need to say that?) Bombalurina was just as good. Although I thought her singing was a little rough and hard for such a feminine character (but hey, Tugger didn't sound exactly masculine, either), she was really into her persona. I remember her putting much more emphasis on the hip and shoulder movements than Demeter when they did them together so it was obvious their difference. Also, during Macavity's attack, when he slashed out at the cats usually they spun away out of fear or pain, but when he swiped at Bombalurina she swiped back! But still, I daresay Demeter was a little bit better performer than Bombalurina.

Personally I think Demeter and Alonzo also made some improvements in their little "love scene" so that it came out much better. I can remember it pretty well...the light swung around, Demeter hurrying into it while Alonzo was just turning away from some other cat who was checking if he was alright, and stopping immediately when he saw her. She reached out to brush his face and he jerked back, I guess because earlier in the show he had approached her several times and she'd hissed him away. She reached for him twice, and each time he coiled back, but the third time he let her hand brush back through his wig and they fell forward, hugging and nuzzling. Lauren thought that was sweet... I thought it was much better, and couldn't understand why I heard someone chuckle behind me.

Mistoffelees seemed to be having a lot of fun on his song. When shooting out his sparks, he did three or four, and while that was happening Pouncival slid down to sit in front of us on the stairs. The fourth time Mistoffelees's hand shot out as though making another explosion of sparks it was towards Pouncival, but it was a fake-out. Pouncival jumped, crouching down as though to duck, but the sparks never came. Mistoffelees twirled away with a smug grin while Pouncival scowled and hissed at Lauren when he caught her laughing at him. Mistoffelees himself was just plain amazing! 25...count `em...25 pirouettes! (If that's even what they're called...I ain't big on dance terms.) Lauren couldn't get over how amazing he came out as during that dance solo, so that was pretty much what established her favorite character, I think. His music, I noticed, on his solo also sounded kind of Jamaican, which kind of surprised me. It was...different.

Blast people who always cough during the best songs! Blast it! Blast it! Blast it! Everytime any Grizabella breaks into Memory all I want to do is sit back and get totally wrapped up in the music, the emotion, and her voice. Staring at her, leaning forward in my seat, I could always get that trill of being involved, like I was up there on stage with her, but as the song softened, sure enough, an attack of coughs came from behind me: the audience that was majorly made up of senior citizens. Jeez, you'd think they'd have enough respect to keep their coughs at least muffled! I mean, what do other people think when they're trying to listen and all they hear is their neighbor coughing? Like me... And what do the performers think when they're trying to sing a low, sad song and all they can hear from the audience is hacking? No, I know how they feel...I've been there. Cripes...that always makes me mad!

But Grizabella herself was wonderful. Her acting I thought was much better than what I'd seen from Linda Balgord on Broadway, and when she hit those notes on the "Touch me" verse...phew! I've never heard another recording of that song that equaled what I heard that night. Her voice was so strong...so clear and steady...heck, I thought I was falling in love again. Nah... It was probably just temporary infatuation...

I remember trying to watch each and every move the cats made as they accepted Grizabella back...Tugger gave her a two-fingered salute; Rumpleteazer came up behind her and seemed afraid to touch her at first, but after a brush or two she had more confidence and petted her like a real cat; Mungojerrie was quite the opposite: he was one of the first to slide up to Grizabella and rub against her legs; and Munkustrap...oh ho, Munkustrap. That boy made it clear he and Grizabella had some connections. When Grizabella left from taking Bombalurina's hands she kind of stumbled, but Munkustrap caught her, and when she looked up their faces met for a long moment. I sure noticed... And earlier, when Grizabella came out at the end of Act One, Munkustrap at first stood up to her, then turned away, and they were on opposite ends of the stage when Jellylorum sang "the border of her coat is torn". Grizabella turned back to look at him, and instantly he backed away, shaking his head as though he couldn't stand it and ran off-stage. Also, at the end of the show after the cats came out into the audience for the curtain call, Munkustrap ran past us going back to the stage, and I heard him whoop. It was funny at the time, because usually you don't hear him make noises like that.

I think it was the sight of several male cats coming across to hug or congratulate Munkustrap as he stood with his back to me and Lauren, watching Grizabella go up in Journey to the Heaviside Layer, that gave me the idea for the story of writing out the entire events that go on in the show...I mean all of it! It'll be a long story, I know, and would take some serious memory to complete it, but I think I could pull it off. Anyway...

During The Addressing of Cats Munkustrap was standing directly in front of us, and as much as I think I made eye contact and mouthed along with the words (not often...didn't wanna be a distraction) I couldn't get anything from him. I guess I didn't expect to. That nod from him in the last show I saw was pretty neat... But Jennyanydots was standing behind him and seemed a little more social. She had one of the prettiest and biggest smiles I've ever seen...I doubt it was just her makeup.

Again, I could swear the show didn't last but fifteen minutes, it seemed to go by so fast! When Lauren and I headed out of the theatre through a side exit the music was still playing for the end title, and all around me people were humming or whistling along. But Lauren and I weren't humming or whistling...we were singing it. Outside the theatre in the front were some speakers playing the Original Broadway Cast recording, which previously in the day when we wasted time walking around the city and along the river waiting for eight o'clock we made a point to pass by the theatre five or six times just to hear it. It was about eleven o'clock when we got out, and Lauren was tired, so rather than sticking around backstage (the door was clearly marked with a sign that I, again, was tempted to steal) for autographs we went ahead and toddled on home--hrm, toddled, there's a new word--and talked about CATS the entire way. Lauren kept on referring to Munkustrap as "Deuteronomy's servant" which I didn't object to much, since the show is basically open to interpretation, but it made me wonder if I'd portrayed Munkustrap that way when we did our show. Normally that wouldn't bother me, except that I hadn't been wanting to portray him that way. Oh well. She still loved it.

I had a dream that night after seeing the show. In it I was Munkustrap-big surprise, eh?-dressed as a pirate during Growltiger's Last Stand, and I was standing with the rest of the crew singing. But I couldn't sing! I could hear the other voices around me, see Growltiger stalking in front of us, but when I opened my mouth to sing I couldn't manage a single sound, and even if I did it was nothing but a small squeak. It was weird, though, because at the same time I don't remember thinking anything about it. I just kept going as best as I could. I wasn't even disappointed. Maybe it was symbolic, maybe it was actually a nightmare, or maybe it was just a re-written version of Bustopher's microphone going out. Anyway, I remember it distinctly, and there was something else later on about a friend of mine--Obsidia--having Rumpleteazer's pearls, but that's all I remember.

A few nights later I had another dream, and in this one the school was doing CATS and I was Gus. Good dream, too. When I woke up for a split second I thought it was real, but no...that was too good to be true. I kept being reminded of how much I wanted to be in CATS by things like this. Now I never really held the belief that certain people were born to do specific things in their life, but if that has any remote truth then I think I found mine. =)

--Velvedere >^..^<