By Lynda Lacayo
It’s “midnight, not a sound from the pavement” as cats cunningly creep through a darkened theater and the curtain goes up on the latest “Cats” attack on the Segerstrom Center for the Arts (SCFTA). ‘Let the cats out of the bag’ as the touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cats,” one of Broadways longest running musicals, arrives at the Center, April 9 -14, 2019 with all the magic, mystery and whimsical enchantment of the 1981 Tony-award winning Broadway Blockbuster.
Entire families will make “memories” with the joyful choreography, melodic music and multitalented “Cats” cast. Dance is the star of the show and yes, choreography is key to its success but it’s the company of “triple threat” performers that makes a masterpiece. All 29 feline impersonators sing some of live theaters most brilliant tunes while convincingly showcasing their singular abilities and catlike qualities. It’s quite a feat to capture the personality quirks of cats. Timothy Gulan does just that in not one but three “Jellicle” cat personas, Bustopher Jones, Gus, the theater cat and Peter, who appears early on in the “The Naming of the Cats.”
Among the many skills that Gulan has that make him uniquely suited for the multiple roles he covers is his familiarity with felines. He describes Stanley, a fat 24 pound cat he owned, saying. “One of my character cats is Bustopher Jones, a 25-pounder who is ‘remarkably fat.’ You might say I had 12 years of research for the part in my apartment.”
Another of his principle characters he easily relates to is Gus, the Theater Cat with a lot of experience under his paws. Gulan says “I’ve been around a long time. I’m the oldest cat in the show. I’ve toured the States; I’ve worked with everyone from Tony Curtis to Lady Gaga. I’ve been around the block, like Gus, so I get what it’s like to be another old story telling guy. I find myself telling tales backstage & that’s just like Gus. In many ways, he’s an amalgam of the older actors I met in my career who took time to mentor an 18 year old rookie.”
No two cats are the same in the dark and each Jellicle cat has an individual tale to tell that relates to the traits they share in with humans. Jellicles can be good-hearted or aloof or even down-right nasty. Some are mysterious as is Macavity and others mischievous like magical “Mr. Mistoffefees.” Catlike quirks are as important to this musical as dance. So, you ask, how do you train to be a cat?
“The answer,” Gulan says “is we did animal exercises in fluidity. We use it to find aspects to our characters that we can’t find in humans. We spent a lot of rehearsal time on our hands and knees wearing tails, just literally being cats. We’d listen the way a cat listens with their whole bodies. They move a certain way or they are completely still. We imagine we have paws, not hands. So, yeah, we put a lot of effort in note-taking to know what’s working or not. Then the trick is to turn all that momentum into a believable standing cat.”
The cat hasn’t gotten Gulan’s tongue, after all, he’s a seasoned actor and storyteller, but being a cat nightly does lead to some cat-like coincidences. He says “Gus, the theater Cat, is infirm and he limps. Sometimes when I walk backstage I’m limping and shaking my paw/hand. And I question what I’m doing that for. Another cat peculiarity is that they blink just one eye, not both eyes at the same time. I do this all the time now and I never used to. I put on the cat coat and it’s like I become a cat. It’s odd but it just slips into your everyday life.”
On the magical night of the Jellicle Ball, each cat’s tale is revealed along with their secret name, “their ineffable, affable, deep and inscrutable singular name,” that illuminates their true individuality. In “Cats” the stories are as diverse as the personalities telling tomcat tales. So, with so many competing chronicles, is there an overall theme in “Cats?” According to Gulan, “Yes, ‘Cats’ is about acceptance and redemption because all the frolicking felines want to be selected to go Heaviside where they’ll be re-born into nine new lives. The Jellicle cats, except for Gus and top cat Deuteronomy, shun Grizabella, the glamour cat who’s kittenish days in the sun are long past. She returns to the clan, saying she’s sorry and seeking a chance at renewal. At the end she’s the chosen one and that’s her redemption. We, humans have the same capability to ask forgiveness and to get it from one another.”
“Cats” pounced onto Broadway 38 years ago yet it still has audiences grinning like, will the proverbial Cheshire cat. A little fine tuning has been done to update “Cats’, particularity in regards to Andy Blankenbuehler’s choreography. Kim Craven, who worked with Blankenbuehler in New York and is, restaging his work for the tour, says “Andy is so smart. It’s important that people remember this show a certain way. People who have memories of the original remember it so well …and now they want to bring their kids. But attention spans have changed. Our exposure to dance has changed. We want people to recognize ‘Cats’ but think, ‘Hey, this feels better, more current.”
Gulan agrees “Cats’ is more contemporary,” saying, “another thing that’s updated to make the show modernly complex is that all the characters/cats are flawed. They’re deeply damaged cats, just like we are as people and that’s why the redemption theme is important. The show works because it is so creative. People see the cats and see their humanness in their flaws. No one’s perfect and we’re all in need of redemption.”
Gulan recommends “Cats” to audiences, saying “It’s more theatrical than many touring shows. It’s one of the 1st interactive musicals. The cats do more than just march through the audience, they actively mingle among fans. They’re fully merged, it’s like the audience is in the junkyard frolicking with felines. ‘Cats’ has creativity in everything, not just the cavorting cats, but the superb set, inspired costumes, and amazing lighting design.”
Skip the cat nap and make “Memories” at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Segerstrom Hall, April 9 – 14, 2019. For tickets and information: Online, SCFTA.org; Phone, 714-556-2787; The Box Office, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Hours are 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily.
