REVIEW: 'Cats' still nimble on ninth visit to San Diego

By FRANKIE MORAN - For the North County Times | Wednesday, June 4, 2008 11:16 AM PDT ∞

If cats really do have just nine lives, then it looks as though this is it.

Yes, folks, the national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's perennial favorite, "Cats," is back in town this week for its ninth visit as part of a Broadway San Diego season.

If Tuesday's opening at the San Diego Civic Theatre is any indication, though, this particular feline should easily defy the odds and come scratching at our doorstep a 10th, daresay even 11th, time.

For a show that's now 27 years old ---- older than half the members of this non-Equity cast, surely ---- it's still in remarkable shape under the direction of Richard Stafford, who served as a dance supervisor for the Broadway production (which closed in 2000).

Its excuse for a plot, based on T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats," remains as slim and fanciful as ever. Many, if not most, American theatregoers have seen "Cats" at least once, so the big question ---- which kitty will be chosen to ride the giant tire in the sky up to the Heaviside Layer ---- comes as no big surprise.

And though that big tire and the rest of John Napier's (who designed the costumes as well) accompanying junkyard set are impressive, for purposes of sheer spectacle, they pale in comparison to the giant barricades, falling chandeliers, and flying helicopters that would made later 1980s musicals so memorable.

But what "Cats" has ---- and has a lot of ---- that those others do not is an extensive use of dance, and Mr. Stafford has reproduced original choreographer Gillian Lynne's work to exemplary effect, most notably in the extended Jellicle Ball sequence of Act One.

In addition to the usual suspects of director, choreographer, stage manager, and all of their assistants, kudos to company massage therapist Gerald Masi (a somewhat rarefied credit to find in the back of a show program) for helping to keep the cast of 20 dancers and singers in top form (the last time I saw "Cats" on tour, at Cupertino's Flint Center in 1993, almost half the cast were understudies going on for injured performers).

Though the touring cast has been trimmed from its Broadway incarnation by six dancers, the myriad of formations that Mr. Stafford employs fill the stage (and at times even the aisles) to make the downsizing not readily apparent.

Standouts among the cast are many, but include Justin Huebener's dashing Munkustrap, Bethany Moore's sexy Bombalurina, and Andrew Parker Greenwood and Kristy Cavanaugh's double windmilling vaudeville duo of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer.

Magical Mr. Chris MacKenthun does the trick as Mistoffelees, with his succession of turns a la seconde (I stopped counting after 11 or so).

Felix Hess's perky railway cat, Skimbleshanks, manages to bring the one touch of seemingly authentic Britishness to the decidedly American production. It's such a British show, full of Eliot's references to Tottenham Court and Victoria Grove and the like, that it's strange to hear such tweedy vernacular coming out of the mouths of all-American alley cats.

In an evening of such exciting dance and capable dancers, the Old Gumbie Cat number, with its pre-recorded tap sounds emanating from the speakers rather than the stage, comes across as unimpressive.

As Glamour Cat Grizabella, Tricia Tanguy definitely has the American Idol-worthy pipes to pull off the Big Ballad, "Memory," (not to mention its money notes). A little more world-weariness for the aged former beauty queen cat would be nice though; Tanguy looks and sounds as though she hasn't even hit 30 yet.

For the real poignancy ---- and heart ---- of this production, though, look no further than Christopher E. Sidoli's Gus, the Theatre Cat. Though he doesn't look any older than the rest of the company, with his eyes wet with emotion and hands trembling with age, it's hard not to shed a tear or two as he sings of "these modern productions [that] are all very well," but "the theatre is certainly not what it was."

Will the youngsters in today's audiences shed similar tears someday when watching the 100th anniversary production in 2081 with their grandchildren? Maybe, maybe not. But like it or not, "Cats" ---- on tour, on DVD, and surely coming soon to a school or community theatre near you ---- is here to stay.

"Cats"

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 1 and 6 p.m. Sunday

Where: San Diego Civic Theatre, Third Avenue at B Street, San Diego

Tickets: $19-$72

Phone: (619) 570-1100

Web: www.broadwaysandiego.com

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