Musical theatre review/ Cats

 

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Cats/ Musical play by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Director: Trevor Nunn/ Matt Krzan

Produced by: NMACC with GWB Entertainment and LW Entertainment 

Cast: Cindy-Ann Abrahams, Andre de Shields, Stephan Van Der Walt, ensemble

Rating: *** 1/2

The Jellicle Cats have come to town, to have a Jellicle Ball and make a Jellicle Choice. Grizabella, Macavity, Mungojerrie, Rum Tum Tugger and Old Deutoronomy are on a Mumbai safari, so lessgoo, jive, make some noise.

If all this sounds Greek to you, they are situations and characters from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats, which has its latest run at the Grand Theatre of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre from June 17 to 28.

The sung-through musical, where all characters play cats and kittens in various sizes, traits and costumes, was originally released in 1981 under the direction of Trevor Nunn. The India production has Matt Krzan as regional director, with Peter McCarthy as musical supervisor. It has been presented in association with GWB Entertainment and by arrangement with LW Entertainment. 

Based on T.S. Eliot's 1939 poetry collection Old Possum's Book For Practical Cats and featuring music by Lloyd Webber, the musical actually has a very simple story. A tribe of cats, called the Jellicles and named differently from other cats, has to decide under the guidance of their leader Old Deutoronomy which among them will go to the Heaviside Layer and return to a new life.

One may feel the storyline is too simple and that may actually act as a disadvantage. The regular rhymimg may make things worse for those adverse to verse - though if one listens to the words carefully, they fit in smoothly. With too many cat-racters coming in, the flow may not seem so purr-fect.

But what work in the musical's favour are the set, costumes, music and stunning choreography, From a production and theatrical point of view, this is a masterclass. But then, it's Lloyd Webber, after all, and that means one is talking of the best in the business.

Many individual scenes and songs stay back in one's mind. The way cats come in from various corners of the stage, the description of how the Jellicle Cats are named, the introduction of Old Deutoronomy as he comes in from the aisles, the train sequence and the way the selected cat ascends to the Heaviside Layer are all marvellously executed. The dancers used the aisles really well though this effect may not have been visible to those in the dress circle and balconies.

The dancing is top-notch, right from the group sequences and solo ballet in the beginning to the lamp-and-shadow part and the whirlaround dance in the second half. And there are the songs - 'The Naming Of The Cats', 'The Jellicle Ball', 'Old Deutoronomy' and, of course, the famous 'Memory', sung and performed here by Cindy-Ann Abrahams, who playa Grizabella, the Glamour Cat. The ensemble cats... oops cast... was flawless, with Andre de Shields as Old Deutoronomy, Stephan Van Der Walt as Macavity and Logan Timbre as Skimbleshanks, the Railway Cat.

This is the second Lloyd Webber production to be staged at the NMACC Grand Theatre after The Phantom of the Opera. We're sure there are many requests to being in the London teams for Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita. That may take time. Till then, join the Jellicle Ball, singing, "Jellicle cats come out tonight, Jellicle cats come one come all, The Jellicle moon is shining bright, Jellicles come to the Jellicle Ball".