Back To The Jellicle Ball

Full disclosure: I love the musical "Cats." It just makes me happy. You can't sing along in the car without sitting up straighter, cocking your head from side to side, enunciating precisely and occasionally purring to yourself.

The new Broadway tour, currently onstage at the Walton Arts Center, has a distinctly updated feel to it, although I couldn't cite proof. The set is still the delightful dump the cats call home, scaled to suit human-size felines. (Watch out for the boot!) The music is still Andrew Lloyd Webber's bounciest. The lyrics are still from T.S. Eliot's 1939 "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats." And the cats can still raise the roof with their "caterwauling."

LISTEN: Podcast with "Cats" actor Dan Hoy.

That's one of the things that's simply better about this production: The voices and the choreography are so beautiful, so energetic and so strong, I can't help but say they're the best I've ever seen and heard in the many times I've seen "Cats" -- and both have a modern edge to them you won't find in the original West End version. Even "Memory," a song that has been worn out outside the show, was gorgeous and emotional thanks to the powerful voice of Keri Rene Fuller, who just raised goosebumps with her rendition. Emily Jeanne Phillips was adorable as Jennyanydots, the kitchen cat who keeps the mice and cockroaches in line; Tio Gaston brought the house down as Mistoffelees; Timothy Gulan was delightful as Asparagus the theater cat; Tony d'Alelio and Rose Iannaccone were perfect as Mungoejerrie and Rumpelteazer; and ... and ... And I could go on and on. There wasn't a bad characterization in the bunch! Dan Hoy, who portrays Munkustrap -- kind of the narrator of the piece and second in command among the cats -- told me during a podcast Wednesday that every bit of backstory and character interaction had been considered and discussed, and each cat is unique -- which is absolutely true of all cats, if you know anything about them.

That, though, brings me to the only thing I didn't love: The cats were less catlike than I've seen in previous incarnations of the show. They moved like extremely talented, well-trained and well-choreographed dancers -- but not so much like cats. The notable exception was Brandon Michael Nase as Old Deuteronomy. He's 25 or 26 years old and yet managed to create not only the illusion of advanced age, but age the way an old -- but proud -- cat shows it. My sister, a cat person, said her favorite part was just watching him move around the stage and watch us.

If you don't know anything about "Cats," here's the shorthand:

1. There is no real storyline. It's a show about a tribe of cats getting together for the Jellicle Ball.
2. There is, however, a moral or two: Redemption, forgiveness and do unto others, all centered around Grizabella.
3. The rest is pure musical theater delight.

NAN What's Up on 05/29/2019