| CATS is still ... CATS (No Spoilers) | |
| Posted by: student_rush 11:35 am EDT 08/04/24 | |
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| Caught the Jellicle Ball matinee yesterday. The praise is justified -- it's colorful, a vibrant celebration of continued life; the cast is incredible. But, after two and a half hours, we're still left with ... CATS. From a directing and design perspective, a thrilling achievement in the theoretical dramaturgical exercise of, "Could CATS be ... better?" Because it is -- it's so much better than with felines. But it's still plagued with the same problems: the "versus" challenges are fun and creative, but become repetitive (saved by the very creative and expensive costuming) -- stakes are low, the "celebrity judges" don't add anything substantial. Most of the lyrics are indistinguishable ... which is fine, because they have no relationship to what we're seeing onstage. Replacing one spectacular aesthetic with another doesn't solve any of the underlying structural blahness -- and I start to felt it, at 2.5 hours (pacing is oddly weird, the space feels too big for the production). From a seating perspective, you will not see any of 'Memory' if you sit on either side of the runway stage. An odd and obvious directing misstep, especially since it's (theoretically) one of the few moments striving for emotional honesty. This is a blast. I had a ton of fun. Directors get an A+ on their school assignment. And props to ALW for allowing such a bold (and successful) take. But it would be better if it was 90 minutes and told the same "story" with Beyonce and Donna Summer music. |
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