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white-cat-of-doom · 1 year

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The White Cat Sees CATS (Again!) in Hamilton (04 December 2022)

Let me start off by saying that this was meant to be written back in December, and I apologize to anyone who was left burning waiting for my unimportant thoughts. At the beginning of December, I was hoping to attend more shows around Ontario, but I decided against it for the shows during the week (in London), and the Saturday show in Kingston was unfortunately cancelled, cutting the six show mini-tour down to four shows, and meaning that I will likely only see this cast once unfortunately.

The show was luckily at one of my favourite theatres and not terribly far from where I live, which was nice. I also had a great seat close to the stage to see all of my Kitties, being in the middle of the second row from the stage.

As I said last year, the performers in US Tour 6 (and in other CATS productions worldwide) are living my dream right now, as I wish I could be onstage night after night in a show that means everything to me, and to which I owe such a great deal personally. Everyday I get closer in my head to being onstage, you guys watch out ;).

This should be a relatively short collection of my thoughts on US Tour 6 compared to the in-depth one I wrote for the three shows I saw in Ottawa 14-16 March 2022. If want to know what I think about the general US Revival show format in addition to the cast performances, you will find it there, taking away much of the negativity in the review below.

Megan Arseneau was the only cover of the night, on for Jennyanydots instead of Michelle E. Carter, with all the other performers being the principal cast since the tour started once more for the year last September in 2022.

If you want a very short review, I thought that this cast was absolutely amazing! They are a phenomenal group and I enjoyed them more as a whole (and generally individually) than the cast last year. Many performers gave me more of what I was looking for in terms of characteristics for a large portion of the Cats, which I loved! Like the cast for the last tour cycle, I would not hesitate to see them again, and I am a bit sad that I will not.

A longer piece with my thoughts is found below. This likely does not include all of my original thoughts on the show I saw because we are months after now and I have forgotten some finer details!

I will try to keep this review as subjective as possible, which means minimal comparisons to the cast last year for characters, unless they are a returning performer. As stated in my last review, please note that my opinions or preferences are personal, everyone is allowed to think what they like, and anyone is free to disagree with me or point out where they think I am being too critical. I always welcome the feedback, as I love hearing about what others think about the show! I do have specific viewpoints on how I like performances of CATS to be presented, and I tend to be very specific when it comes to how I want any performer to sound when they sing or how they conduct themselves for a given character. This is where my personal opinions and criticisms are focused, and your views can be completely different.

For those reading this, I appreciate it! This is nothing more than my thoughts on seeing the production of CATS that fortunately toured close to where I live, and which I am also fortunate enough to see!

Being back in the Junkyard after 263 days since the final date in Ottawa, it once again almost did not feel real that the show happened in front of me, which seems silly to say. It is such a magical feeling to become immersed in the show, and one that I would not trade for much else in the world!

The Overture was great to see once more live, returning me again to the special night of The Jellicle Ball. With the pageantry and final push, it kicked off to Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Songs with a newer cast for me. Watching Nora DeGreen emerge from the pipe, they had an intense look of fear and paranoia which was interesting. They definitely played up the fear that Demeter experiences in a way that I enjoyed and I thought fit well with the character, and I will touch on that later. Everyone was in top form during the opening prologue, and a few fantastic performers were back! Lexy Bittner, the enigmatic and unique Cassandra of the US Tour, is still a force to be reckoned with throughout the show! She was one of my favourite performers with the last cast and I was happy to see her return. Lexy still sings her lines with a slight manic delivery and it is immense fun! The rest of the dressed company were great as well. Few things make me happier than seeing Jellylorum, played here by Allyson Duarte, come out for the first time to sing her lines. It is pure, unrestrained joy to see my favourite character! Kade Wright, who plays Munkustrap, added a bit of flair to his role in the opening, and I love to see performers whose dreams involve being in CATS! I was also incredibly excited to see Erica Lee Cianciulli as Bombalurina, an alumni of CATS from previous Casts (10 and briefly 11) of the Oasis of the Seas! Erica was one of my favourite Bombalurina performers before she was cast in this tour, and she is amazing onstage and I felt lucky to see her! One thing that was apparent to me, even before seeing the show, is that the makeup for everyone is being done very well! I am not going to speculate why or how, but it is very nice to see an improvement over the previous tour cycle. With a point of the finger and an important question posed, What Is A Jellicle Cat, Oh Man Over There?, the energy for the rest of the show was set high!

The Naming of Cats was done wonderfully, with the great effect of select Cats' faces, mainly Coricopat and Tantomile, being highlighted with the stage lights. John Anker Bow, probably my favourite live performer of the former cast, still was having his fun sliding down stage to stare at his audience as Asparagus/'Peter'. It is always so much fun to be investigated by the clowder onstage!

The first moment that I had been waiting (and hoping) for since I purchased the tickets for the show was next, and it was time for the White Cat Solo, one of my absolute favourite parts of the show! A bit of a sidetrack, when they first announced just the names of the cast before their respective roles (I still think that was a bit funny it took them almost a day to update the website!), I was crossing my fingers that Yuka Notsuka would be Victoria, and she very excitedly was! I had been looking forward to seeing her onstage for those prior months leading up to this show, and she was everything that I wanted in a Victoria! I absolutely adore when Victoria is always beaming and happy, and I do not think Yuka stopped smiling for basically the entire show! She was so precious! I saw her joy and passion through her dancing and she is an incredible performer! Her White Cat Solo was great and I am so happy that I got the chance to see her onstage! I am also happy that Yuka continues the representation of having an Asian woman play Victoria. I hope that she inspires many young performers like Hyla Mayrose Perillo did last year! Beautiful job Yuka!

Getting into The Invitation to The Jellicle Ball, Ibn Snell presents himself as a confident and more mature Mistoffelees, which I enjoyed. He is not too showy or pompous, and that fits better in my mind than the center of attention style some performers have with the character. Ibn is a fantastic dancer, definitely one of the best in the entire company, and it was a joy to see him throughout the show.

Another song that I always look forward to is The Old Gumbie Cat! I will be honest in saying that I was *really* looking forward to seeing Michelle E. Carter as Jennyanydots, one of my favourite performers from last year who I was happy to see return, and I was more than a bit bummed to have Megan Arseaneu cover instead going into the show. I was still very excited regardless, as the song is one of my favourites! The Gumbie Trio of Erica as Bombalurina, Nora as Demeter, and Allyson as Jellylorum harmonized beautifully and I loved seeing them sing about the Gumbie Cat alongside Munkustrap. Megan did an excellent job covering Jennyanydots, and the role was in great hands! Out of the eight roles Megan covers as a Swing, Jennyanydots is probably the one I wanted to see her as the most, so I had that chance. She was not quite as animated as I would have hoped, but she got the job done more than effectively. Megan's tap solo was on point and everyone had fun joining in as the song progressed, but I cannot help but wish I saw Michelle instead, who I just love! Michelle is the epitome of Jennyanydots and I missed seeing her. I think I would have enjoyed the song more with Michelle, as it did not leave as much of an impression on me as I wanted it to, being one of my favourites in the show. Having one of your favourite characters performed by someone outside of one of your favourite cast members is hard to live up to! Saying that, Megan is supremely talented and it was great to have a chance to see her perform onstage, showing off her technicality and talent as a super Swing! The Gumbie Tap and Coat are some of my favourite costumes to see, so I can never be too disappointed by who is wearing them!

The Rum Tum Tugger was up next and Hank Santos as the titular character knows how to control an audience! With an abundance of (chaotic) energy and plentiful charisma, he comes on stage ready to go and does not let off the gas for the entirety of the scene. Incorporating a bit of menace, Hank annoyed Munkustrap without becoming (too much of) a pest and riled up the other Toms as well. Hank did a perfect job at balancing the Rockstar attitude with the general anarchy of the Curious Cat, without delving into becoming overly annoying or juvenile, and it made for some great entertainment. The Queens loved him as usual, and Erica as Bombalurina was quite forceful in trying to have Tugger all to herself, sensual in her pursuit. The whole number was capped off by some proper over exaggerations from Hank to have his own spotlight, and a fun Jellylorum belt to close everything before the playout. Good stuff all around!

Our first view of Grizabella, played by Tayler Harris, comes next with Grizabella, the Glamour Cat. The first thing I noticed about Tayler's performance was that she was playing Grizabella as much more angry and bitter than the shows I saw her in the previous tour cycle. Her tone and delivery were quite pointed and I enjoyed the added emotion behind it. One of my main criticisms last year with Tayler was that she seemed to be going through the motions too much to my liking and I wanted more depth in her performance. I thought that she did better this night, and I liked the anger and remorse! I want Grizabella to hold resentment for her past family that has not welcomed her back (yet). Nora as Demeter seemed very hesitant and stressed to see Grizabella initially, but still stuck around to serenade the Glamour Cat. I thought Nora did a great job with the attitude that I wanted to see from Demeter during this song, and with Erica as Bombalurina joining in, her attitude reflecting the anger of Grizabella, it added to everything. Very good!

Bustopher Jones was, and always is, a fun time! Everyone is happy to see The Cat About Town, and John Anker Bow is incapable of having a bad performance in my mind. Although the US Revival version of the scene is still not favourite, everyone did a perfect job. There was not as much interaction with Bustopher and Jennyanydots or Jellylorum, something that I enjoyed last time. I think the more small, silly interactions here add to the song, as it a light-hearted scene. The Kittens at the end of the song sang clearly (and loudy!) and I enjoyed that. I will say once again that I missed Michelle as Jennyanydots, as I really enjoyed her vocal delivery, mannerisms, and character interactions onstage here. Megan still did a great job, however!

The first Macavity scare leads into Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, another fun song. Former (and current to be honest, considering he still covers six tracks) super Swing Brian Craig Nelson is the principal Mungojerrie and he brings some passion to his onstage performance which I noticed. Taryn Smithson as Rumpleteazer, the other half of the Notorious (and Horrible) Cats, is *very* excitable, and it is on full display here. I do have a preference for both characters to be darker characteristically in portrayal, especially Rumpleteazer who I consider the smarter one, and I did not really get that. Although I loved seeing how happy Taryn was, she seemed too innocent to be a seasoned cat burglar. These two Cats are just early in their lives of crime and will harden with age! The performance of the song was still great, and I finally got to see the trademark double cartwheel live! Great fun, as the shows in Ottawa did not have it due to performer injury.

With the arrival of someone important on the horizon, it is time for another performer that I have been looking forward to seeing live, Cameron Schutza as Old Deuteronomy! The chorus of Cats to welcome the Jellicle Leader was pleasant, and Kade as Munkustrap and Hank as Rum Tum Tugger were great together, with Hank playing up some of the lines a bit for comedic effect. No one was more excited to see Old Deuteronomy than Yuka as Victoria, smiling brightly at the wings of the stage for him to come out! Cameron's tenor voice as Old Deuteronomy was quite powerful (even moreso than I was expecting, but he *is* a classically trained opera singer after all!) and he definitely has the voice behind the character. Just fantastic!

The second (still in my mind unnecessary) Macavity scare led into The Jellicle Ball, one of my favourites in the show. Everyone did a fantastic job singing during the first half with The Song of The Jellicles. Of course, the main event is The Jellicle Ball itself, and it is an honour to see the movement of some of the best dancers anywhere in performing arts! The US Revival choreography will never be my favourite, but with everyone in perfect form, it is still an amazing spectacle! Catching glimpses of the excitement and joy on each of the performers' faces is a rewarding experience, and once again, Yuka as Victoria was an absolute beacon of happiness! Her pas de deux with Samuel Buchanan as Plato is a tender moment for Platoria fans everywhere (like me), even if it is still a bit overdone with the choreographic changes in my opinion. The lead up to that moment gives Yuka time to shine once more as Victoria, her movements performed with a wonderful fluidity and passion to them, and I absolutely loved it! The entire cast carried the high set energy from the opening number throughout the first Act, and now it was time for them to have a much needed rest with Grizabella interrupting the celebration again.

Tayler still carried her resentment from earlier in the Act while watching everyone leave the stage, eventually dropping it in favour of the sadness and longing to be back in the Tribe after trying (and ultimately failing) to capture the spirit of The Jellicle Moon in her dancing. I again enjoyed the increased emotion in Tayler's performance for Act I Memory, as the final notes rang out to end Act I as she left the stage.

Everyone comes back fairly orderly for The Moments of Happiness, and Cameron as Old Deuteronomy again has his chance to demonstrate his powerful voice. There is a wonderful clarity and emotion behind his singing that is a joy to experience in person, and it gives off an authority as The Jellicle Leader. Sam Bello as Sillabub gave a fantastic performance of the Moonlight portion of the song, and she had such a rich voice that I really enjoyed. She gave me the feeling of seeing a Cat with former lives behind her that she expresses in her current one, giving a voice with the added maturity to it. I would love to see Sam in a more vocal heavy role, and I think she would be great at them!

It was now time for my favourite song of the entire show, Gus, the Theatre Cat! I had been waiting for months to see and hear Allyson as Jellylorum and she did an excellent job. She was so cheery, which I think is essential for all Jellylorum performers (it is right in her three words!), and did her best to hype up Gus. Her voice was very sweet and beautiful, but lacked a certain maturity that I prefer for the character, but regardless was one of my favourites of the cast (and any cast). Allyson was not acting so much as strictly a caretaker of Gus, as many other Jellylorum performers tend to do, but rather more a devoted fan of The Theatre Cat, still being gentle with the older Tom. You could see Jellylorum's passion for Gus' performance history, but not as much for the Cat himself, as if she was still early in the phase of taking care of him and is still fairly young. I would have liked to see a bit more of a connection between them, given my familiar views of the two characters, but the level of passion for Gus from Jellylorum was really nice to see. John was fantastic as Gus, just like the three nights I had seen him perform in Ottawa, with that voice that is guaranteed to soften the hardest of hearts. He always puts in the right amount of drama and silliness to make the character very dynamic, and John remains one of my favourite performers in any current cast.

The Pekes and The Pollicles was a fun scene afterwards, with John reliving Gus' glory days as The Rumpus Cat. The entire company has fun here, with a chance to be a bit less serious, even more so when mostly everyone is in costume. Kade again provided a bit more Munkustrap drama, here mirroring Gus, and it was great to see.

Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat was next, a highlight to see when the train is assembled. John Zamborsky is a fun Skimbleshanks and seems happy to sing about their endeavors in keeping The Midnight Mail running smoothly (even if they are a bit late due to a cat nap!). John's Skimbleshanks is excitable and brings a high level of energy to the song, but is too young in my preference (as with all the recent US Revival castings). Their voice is somewhat immature for the role, but I view it more that Skimbleshanks is still in the heydays of their train career, instead of coming towards retirement. Continuing on from the more loose song prior, the Cats play around listening to rail life, and are all excited to build the train! I could once again see Yuka as Victoria onstage absolutely beaming, helping to keep the train rolling down the tracks before the inevitable deconstruction. Everything is put away and the Cats finish up their field trip with Skimbleshanks at the helm.

One last interrupting crash, and Macavity is finally here, stealing away Old Deuteronomy. I had been looking to seeing Nora and Erica together in action for a while, interested to see their dynamic live. Throughout the show so far, each time there was a Macavity scare, I could see the fear and paranoia on Nora's face as Demeter, and I was curious how they would perform this song. After the initial fear subsided, Nora let loose their anger, tearing into their lines with visible disgust for the Mystery Cat, seemingly mocking him and not letting him hold power over them. Nora's voice suited Demeter well to me and I was enthralled with their performance, not venturing too much into the overtly sexual undertone that some performers are heavy-handed with. Erica as Bombalurina entered with her part, continuing on the momentum laid out by Nora, moving with a swagger all her own. Like Nora, she was not a caricature of what most people may expect from the character, allowing room for dimension. The fact that Erica has previous experience in the musical has likely benefitted her to refine how she wants to play Bombalurina, and it is noticeable in the audience, at least to me. Erica's voice is somewhat unique for Bombalurina, darker and more biting in tone, which paired well with her physical moments. Stalking around the stage, sometimes adding a growling-like vocalization behind her delivery, Erica further tore into Macavity, and was quite scornful. She helped in commanding the stage with Nora once the duet portion started, and Nora gave some shrieking vocals for the 'Or another Peke’s been stifled!’ line to add to everything. These two really personified their respective characters, with Nora offering a bit more bite shortly after. With the other Queens joining in to complete the song, the energy never faltered. It was definitely my highlight of the evening!

With (decoy) Old Deuteronomy returning to the stage, Nora immediately sensed that something was wrong and they looked absolutely *pissed* when they figured it what it was, becoming feral. With the look and attitude of completely ferocity, they jumped on the back of the decoy Deuteronomy, ripping and tearing away at their prey, unafraid of injury or what other fate awaited them. Exposing Macavity, played by Samuel Buchanan, the Tribe was on high alert, but the sneak attack prevented a coordinated response. Nora's anger turned back more into terror as it had been previously in the show, and at the point when the synchronized Cats are being controlled according to Macavity, just before he moves to collect Demeter, Nora looked like they were crying! Great stuff, as I love seeing the profound emotional connection to the role and the surroundings! Eventually Macavity, with Demeter is his grasp, is stopped by Munkustrap and the fight commences. Kade as Munkustrap again adds some drama, throwing himself around and to the ground as the fight continued, and appearing actually injured before Alonzo, played by Sammy Fossum, took over the fight, with the help of the remaining Tribe further on. Macavity disappears for good this time in the cover of darkness, and Nora and Kade slowly find one another in the spotlight.

Hank as Rum Tum Tugger returns to the forefront to help welcome Magical Mister Mistoffelees, played by Ibn Snell. As mentioned before, Ibn is a fantastic dancer and it now becomes his time to shine. With vocal support from Hank as Tugger, Ibn moved across the stage to enchant the Tribe (and crowd) and was the strong point in the scene, making the choreography seem effortless. The US Revival version of the song builds up momentum, with the help of Cassandra lighting up (still a highlight!) in the middle of the action, and Ibn as Mistoffelees is able to get the Tribe to conjure Old Deuteronomy back. Everyone is excited, Ibn does some more great dancing, and Hank presents Mistoffelees to 'Felines and Friends' around him! Great fun!

With the new day fast approaching, Sam as Sillabub provided some angelic vocals for the Daylight sequence, helping to usher in the ending stages of the show. I love her crystal clear vocals, and she really personifies the character! Munkustrap had his rest after the fight, Old Deuteronomy is back for good, and Grizabella is here once again to ruin the fun before the Tribe gets much further into the evening. Slinking onstage, Tayler as Grizabella is ready to give it one last go in front of the Tribe, recalling her Memory. With more emotional weight behind her acting and voice, I think that she has improved over last year. Sam as Sillabub provides her last moments of beautiful vocals in tandem with Tayler as Grizabella, just before the climax of the song. Tayler is still powerful vocally at this moment, and with the greater range of emotions compared to last time, it made a larger impact on me. All is quiet once the Glamour Cat has finished, with Yuka as Victoria taking Grizabella's hand to welcome her back.

The Journey to the Heaviside Layer had a great level of sentiment as usual, and the chorus of Cats was quite striking vocally once more, with Cameron as Old Deuteronomy powering over top of eveything, but not in a distracting manner. Grizabella once again exits in the paw of The Everlasting Cat, which is my favourite!

The finale is here, and it is time to Ad-Dress the Cats! With Cameron taking the lead as Old Deuteronomy, the Tribe and audience is reminded to take care of their kitties. Dreams of food and formal greetings make these some very happy Cats, and everyone got their chance to either be stoic or as silly as they wanted. It is clear that Cameron is a powerhouse on that tire, peaking his microphone at times. I was close enough to the stage that Cameron really did not need amplification, utilizing his chance to be more unrestrained vocally and he went for it! The power! The range! Thrilling to see and hear! It is doubtful that I will see many other performers outshine Cameron as Old Deuteronomy, so I am thankful for the experience!

Just like that the show is over and everyone gets their deserved bows and praise! I once again tried to cheer as loud as possible for Jellylorum, because she deserves it! Everyone else also got a sizable cheer from me as well. The final playout had Hank as Rum Tum Tugger flying across the stage to wring out every last admiration for the cast before what would be their last show for over three weeks due to the holiday break in December. He stayed even a bit past the final bows into the theatre walkout playout, and I believe he stole someone's phone to take a silly video or photos before departing for good!

With the official end of the show, I can say that this cast was extraordinary! I think the performers cast for this tour were great choices, and they all seemed to enjoy being onstage, which I appreciated seeing. There seems to have been more maturity brought forth with this cast, even with many of them being quite young in age. There still is my feeling that many of them are too young to be playing the roles they do, but it did not detract much from their performances. It is more of a minor gripe than a criticism I have. I enjoyed seeing everyone put on a fantastic show, even if I do not directly mention them or their characters explicitly above. Seeing only the single show, it was impossible to capture and view everything or everybody in the background, which is a bit disappointing for me, but there are so many background moments worth mentioning if seen, and I hope they keep it up!

In terms of my favourite performers:

Nora as Demeter really struck me in their portrayal and I had so much fun watching them really get into the character arc. They solidified the fact that Demeter can be played as scared, but moving past the fear and using those negative emotions turned into a weapon against abuse. I want to see Demeter tear apart Macavity, she deserves it! The character arc Nora provided was exactly what I wanted to see and I was not expecting them to give me just that! They were amazing!

Erica as Bombalurina brought some great mannerisms and experience to the role, and I think she really nailed what the character is like, showing off her many sides. There was an underlying seriousness to Erica's portrayal that went along with the usual Bombalurina sensuality and confidence. She even injected a bit of humour in the role that is so often played as one dimensional. I was so happy to see Erica onstage, and she was even better than I was anticipating given her previous time in the musical.

Allyson as Jellylorum was a lot of fun, and she played her as very cheery and excited, somewhat like an older Etcetera in many ways. Her characterization was fun to watch and her voice was very comforting, both great for Jellylorum. I am always ecstatic to see my favourite character onstage!

Yuka as Victoria was a (literal) bright spot throughout the show, and she was an amazing dancer! Her radiant happiness onstage was unparalleled and it brought me so much joy, even now when I think back to the show months later!

Sam as Sillabub was a welcome performance with her lovely voice! It fit with what I like to hear from the character. I did not mention any of her other song moments, but she looked to be having fun throughout the show when I caught them in my line of vision.

John as "Peter"/Bustopher Jones/Gus/Rumpus Cat was fantastic yet again! I have given him praise in my last review, which is true seeing him again, and he enforces that he is one of the best performers in all the worldwide companies.

Lexy as Cassandra did another great job onstage, and it is always a joy to see her own unique take on the character! Her dancing and movements have improved even over her flawless performance last year, and I was happy to see her again!

Lastly, Cameron as Old Deuteronomy was fantastic and really delivered vocally for the Jellicle Leader role. Getting a chance to experience a vocalist with such power was definitely a first for me, and the combination of these facets helped push the characterization I have for them.

I went to the stage door after the show (because of course after my three night stand in Ottawa), and was lucky to talk briefly to the performers, tell them they did a fantastic job, and have them sign the US Tour 6 windowcard I have owned for a few years (which they unfortunately do not make anymore).

A few performers recognized me from the Ottawa shows and a few others were aware of my account here (and Instagram probably), saying that they have heard a lot about me, which was not expected. I guess I am more known than I realize, which was never my intent, but it is nice to be appreciated. Not everyone who stopped signed (which is too bad), and a few performers snuck away before I could ask nicely, but I managed to get mostly everyone! It will serve as a wonderful piece of my CATS collection alongside the things from Ottawa (and everything else!).

I am grateful that I had the chance to see this wonderful cast once during this tour cycle, and they exceeded my expectations! Although this night may not have been as magical (in its own right) as seeing the musical live for the very first (and second and third) time in the stunning National Arts Centre, it was an incredible experience that I will not soon forget and was my favourite time seeing the show from a performance standpoint!

A special thanks and shoutout to the hard working cast and crew that put on this enchanting show for many months out of the year! I am glad to be one of the many spectators that get to experience the magical Junkyard in North America!

Until next time Kitties!

#CATS Musical #CATS the Musical #CATS US Tour 6 #Here it is for anyone interested #I use the word 'fun' a lot because that is what this musical is!#It was all so much fun and a great experience and if you have not seen the show you owe it to yourself to go!#I tried to proofread and make this sound reasonable as an informal stream of consciousness show report #The White Cat speaks

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