The opening night of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats at the Crown Theatre, Perth, delivered a polished, high-energy revival that showcased the production’s enduring strengths of choreography and crystalline vocals.
The long-running musical has been entertaining audiences since 1981 but for prospective patrons unfamiliar with Cats, don’t attend the show expecting a plot or even any dialogue. You will have a much better appreciation for it if you go for the exquisite dancing, singing and overall visual extravaganza. Cats is more a sequence of character portraits of the feline characters stitched together by a very thin storyline about a Jellicle Ball for all the Jellicle cats.
The show made more sense when I discovered that it was based on a series of poems from TS Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” dating back to the 1930s. It is these poems that inspired the legendary Mr Webber to convert them into a musical.
I cannot fault any of the dancing or singing. The cast performed with remarkable precision and athleticism, sustaining demanding choreography. The unison work in the larger ensemble numbers was exceptionally tight. It is evident that the dancers are professional ballet and classical jazz dancers. The production’s success lies in the cumulative power of its choreography and vocal pieces rather than narrative complexity.
Bringing the cats to life are the dazzling costumes and richly detailed makeup which I was fortunate enough to see up close. Throughout the show, the performers would integrate themselves within the audience, purring, stretching and leaping up and down the aisles of the theatre.
The production’s scenic design embraces the junkyard setting, transforming the stage into an immersive, feline-sized world. An old oven, a rumpled shirt, car tires, these are rendered at magnified proportions so that the performers read unmistakably as cats in an oversized human environment.
The integration of car engine and police sirens sound effects and a sweeping “torch” effect as the cat ensemble scatter in hidden spots, transforms the junkyard into a living, reactive environment without relying on dialogue.
Gabriyel Thomas delivered a standout solo performance as the weary Grizabella The Glamour Cat, belting out the iconic Memory song.
Tim Haskayne was outstanding in his jazz ballet routine as the Magical Mr Mistoffelees who delivered a mesmerizing performance with impeccable control and grace.
I found it especially amusing and admire the dedication of one of the performers who remained on stage in character for the duration of the interval.
This staging of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats operates with a first-class polish that flows with effortless precision. It is more a mixture of a ballet performance and a musical rather than a conventional musical and in its entirety a form of art to enjoy.
To book tickets to Cats The Musical, please visit https://catsthemusical.com.au/tickets/perth/.
Photographer: Daniel Boud
