Cats (Regent Theatre) – theatre review

The baton has been officially passed to Delta Goodrem as Grizabella, the shunned Glamour Cat and she makes a triumphant entrance to musical theatre, with the audience favourite Memory. What a voice! I remember thinking the same thing when I first saw Debra Byrne in the role in 1985, who, incidentally, attended the opening night as a guest.

Set in a rubbish dump, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats is a story of the felines that come out to play on the night of the annual Jellicle Ball. That is when their leader, Old Deuteronomy, will announce (just before dawn) the name of the cat that will be reborn with a new life. While they wait, the moggies amuse themselves with stories of famous cats past and present.

Composer Lloyd Webber began setting poet T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats to music late in 1977.  That was partly as the collection was something Lloyd Webber remembered fondly from his childhood and also because he wanted to put existing verse to music. His mode of operation beforehand saw words written to his compositions and he wanted to see whether it could work the other way around. It all came together after he collaborated with the Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Trevor Nunn.

The signature song Memory has since been recorded by more than 150 artists, including Barbara Streisand and Barry Manilow. Cats first opened in London in 1981 and then with the same creative team in New York in 1982. It claimed Best Musical at both the Laurence Olivier Awards and the Tony Awards. The West End production ran for 21 years and it lasted 18 years on Broadway (both set new records).  Since its world premiere, it has appeared in more than 30 countries in 15 languages and been seen by more than 70 million people.

While the show certainly has a theme and a broad direction, its narrative isn’t as strong as other musical productions such as Les Miserable or The Phantom of the Opera. My biggest criticism of this reworked version is the lighting, or should I say lack of it, particularly at the start. What we see circa 2015 is the production of Cats that had a highly successful season at the London Palladium last Christmas.

While the junkyard set is large, sprawling and imposing, it was so dark for most of the first quarter hour that I had trouble seeing just what was going on and who was actually performing. And I was sitting downstairs in row “F”, around about the mid point of the theatre. Lest you think, I am being an old grumble guts, I spoke with people at interval – those in their twenties and fifties – and there was consensus on that point. Yes, I understand it is meant to be midnight, but if those attending can’t see what is happening how do you expect them to get involved? So, as a result, the opening lacked the impact that I, for one, was looking for.

Because this is not really a strong story-based musical, if you haven’t seen it before gaining an understanding of the plot, such that it is, requires a reading of the program or some Googling. Most of the lyrical, toe-tapping numbers come in the second act (there are 11 songs in the first along with a prelude and nine after interval), which is a revelation.

The show builds and builds, so as the metaphorical curtain falls the audience is in raptures, as well they should be, wildly applauding the 25-strong cast. However, I found myself tuning out during what I regarded as a largely laborious and melancholy first act. It seemed to go on forever.

That is no criticism of the vocals, the dancing, the choreography, the costumes and the make-up though, which are all superb. In fact, some of the voices are as strong as any you would hear in a musical. And the athleticism, acrobatics and manoeuvres performed on stage are scintillating.

Christopher Favaloro is a major success as Mr Mistoffelees, while Brent Osborne and Dominique Hamilton set pulses racing as Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. James Cooper brings menace to Macavity and Daniel Assetta has a new take on Rum Tum Tugger, this time featuring rap, the most obvious change to the original Cats. When the stage is lit up and coloured light bulbs glisten, when little explosions are heard and puffs of smoke are seen, the magic of musical theatre is there in all its finery. One of the highlights is the creation of a stream train before our very eyes.

Still, I was cognisant not only at the beginning, but at various stages of the show, just how dark the set had a tendency to become. That, and the pacing in the first act, are my only reservations about an otherwise special musical that has stood the test of time.

Cats, playing at the grand Regent Theatre, scores an 8 out of 10. It runs at the Regent until 24 January 2016; before a run at Perth’s Crown Theatre at the Burswood Casino from 16 April to 8 May 2016.

Alex First