CATS Musical Tutorial

[Artemis908]

I have been reading up on Oasis of the Seas and reading people's reviews. I was actually really surprised by the reports that people were not understanding Cats so they left the show early or didn't enjoy it.

 

When I was a teenager I took a class where our teacher spent months explaining Cats to us and then brought us to see on Broadway before the show ended. I thought it helped a lot to learn about the show before going in, it helped me enjoy the show much more and I really liked it. So here is my short tutorial about the musical. Feel free to ask questions!

 

CATS: The Musical. Now showing on Oasis of the Seas

 

A brief history

 

Cats was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and debuted on Broadway in 1982. It was the longest run Broadway production during it’s time and won several Tony awards before it ended in 2000.

 

What to expect

 

Cats is a musical and you actually won’t hear any spoken word. All dialogue is spoken through song. You’ll hear several types of music genres from classical to pop, etc. The background set is an oversized junk yard, so you feel cat size with the performers. Each performer is dressed like a cat and in the Broadway version of the musical the performers walk down the aisles as cats, some even briefly interacted with them.

 

Basic plot

 

One cat is to be chosen to be reborn and given a new life in “Heaviside Layer” (symbolizes paradise or heaven) and Old Deuteronomy will choose which cat will get to take this journey. Each cat will sing a song that will introduce them to the audience and also try to convince him and the other cats they are worthy. Their songs give you a sense of who they are.

 

 

Characters

 

I don’t want to ruin the story or the characters, but you’re going to meet lots of different cats. Just listen to the lyrics and you’ll learn a lot about the characters. There is your protagonist, Grizabella who is introduced in Act One. And your antagonist, Macavity, that is introduced in Act Two. The story ends with Old Deuteronomy choosing which cat gets to go to Heaviside Layer.

Edited January 3, 2015 by Artemis908

[rt1092]

Thanks very much for this. My wife saw it on broadway. But I've never saw it. I'm looking forward to it.

[Artemis908]

Thanks very much for this. My wife saw it on broadway. But I've never saw it. I'm looking forward to it.

 

 

Your welcome! I hope you'll enjoy it. If you like Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals, I think you'll like it. I think it's up to par with Phantom of the Opera. And by the end of the night you might just have 'Jellicle Cats" stuck in your head. It's already stuck in my head tonight and I haven't listened to the song in years! :)

[catm6156]

Thanks very much for this. After reading so many poor reviews I was thinking maybe we shouldn't go. But now I think we will!

[scramala]

Thanks for this! I am very much looking forward to seeing this, but my husband is a bit reluctant. Tell me, is it more a thought provoking, tear jerker, or more light and comical?

[Merion_Mom]

Thanks for this! I am very much looking forward to seeing this, but my husband is a bit reluctant. Tell me, is it more a thought provoking, tear jerker, or more light and comical?

 

I would not use any of those phrases to describe Cats. I would characterize is as engaging and poignant.

 

:)

Edited January 3, 2015 by Merion_Mom

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thank you for the background and history of CATS . I saw it once and was very confused. I had the same problem with PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, but after reading a book explaining the plot and the history behind the actual Opera House it became my favorite musical.

[kiyoko]

Not sure about anyone else that saw it on the Oasis December 6 sailing, but the reason I didn't particularly enjoy the performance was because of the lack of talent. I saw Cats on Broadway and then again when it came to our home town. I loved both of those performances and so was looking forward to seeing it instead of another one of Hairspray(even though I did enjoy that). However, the performance on the Oasis was close to torture to sit through at times, except the sets were well done. I sat through over 2 hours only to hear what I thought was about a few minutes of only one very talented singer. To each his own, but I can see why people left at intermission and never came back. For me, it wasn't that I didn't understand the play. I felt I wasted the precious time I had on board by going.

[MAJPLO]

Thank you for the info. I grew up in an acting community in the eighties when Cats was all the rage but I have never seen it. I'm looking forward to it although I know DH and the kids won't want anything to do with it. I won't miss it.

[insidecabin]

If doing a potted history start from the begining.

 

Opened in London May 1981 broadway was 17month later.

[TravelerThom]

If doing a potted history start from the begining.

Opened in London May 1981 broadway was 17month later.

If you want to start from the beginning you have to go back at least to T. S. Eliot's 1939 Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. Probably someone can even cite an antecedent of that book of poems.

[ehfl]

I sat through over 2 hours only to hear what I thought was about a few minutes of only one very talented singer.

 

This is odd, since Cats is typically lip-synched. Even on Broadway, very few songs were performed live, and most of the actors just lip-synched. The dancing and acrobatics would not really allow them to sing at the same time they were leaping and flipping even if you could find a trained acrobat who could also sing well. Since the songs are mostly recorded, they should be able to get better singers for the recordings aboard.

[Jimmers]

Someone said that if one enjoyed the Phantom of the Opera (my favorite), they would enjoy Cats. Forgive my skepticism but I've never seen anyone walk out of POTO.

 

So I have a feeling that I'm going to come down with something the night our group wants to see it:)

[Artemis908]

I was just trying to give everyone the basics so I didn't go any further into history even though there is definitely more to it. I just wanted to give anyone who knows nothing about Cats some quick information. I just thought it would be a shame if someone left the show because they were confused. If the talent isn't up to par, that's unfortunate.

 

And I don't think Cats is as good as Phantom but I personally think that you are might like the music of Cats if you liked Phantom. It's all Andrew Lloyd Webber after all. Of course you might hate Cats, but was just my opinion!

Edited January 3, 2015 by Artemis908

[Turtles06]

If you want to start from the beginning you have to go back at least to T. S. Eliot's 1939 Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. Probably someone can even cite an antecedent of that book of poems.

 

Thanks, I was quite surprised the OP didn't mention this, given that he/she was providing a "tutorial."

 

I'm a huge ALW fan, and while I love the music of CATS, as an overall theatrical experience I think Phantom has it beat. Just my personal opinion of course. :)

 

(Although now I will have Jellicle Ball in my head all day. But that's fine, it's terrific music.)

[Artemis908]

It's too late for me to edit the post, but if anyone wants to read further about the history or characters from Cats, visit the Wikipedia page here. I got a lot of good information from that page along with some other online resources.

[chanat]

Thanks for posting this. We are boarding Oasis today and am def. going to see it . I have seen it many yrs. ago and forgot what it was about. Hope my family enjoys it as much as I know I will as I have enjoyed all the broadway shows I have ever seen on board a ship or on actual Broadway.

[setsail]

Cats is all over YouTube, just Google cats on youtube

[Janet524]

I was just trying to give everyone the basics so I didn't go any further into history even though there is definitely more to it. I just wanted to give anyone who knows nothing about Cats some quick information. I just thought it would be a shame if someone left the show because they were confused. If the talent isn't up to par, that's unfortunate.

 

And I don't think Cats is as good as Phantom but I personally think that you are might like the music of Cats if you liked Phantom. It's all Andrew Lloyd Webber after all. Of course you might hate Cats, but was just my opinion!

 

I appreciate your information. Don't be bummed out by critical posters You just can't make some people happy.

[kiyoko]

I was just trying to give everyone the basics so I didn't go any further into history even though there is definitely more to it. I just wanted to give anyone who knows nothing about Cats some quick information. I just thought it would be a shame if someone left the show because they were confused. If the talent isn't up to par, that's unfortunate.

 

And I don't think Cats is as good as Phantom but I personally think that you are might like the music of Cats if you liked Phantom. It's all Andrew Lloyd Webber after all. Of course you might hate Cats, but was just my opinion!

 

I think it's great that you provided an explanation since I had read on CC that members of the audience left during intermission and never came back because they might not have understood what was happening. Sorry if you thought my post was being critical of your post as that was not my intention. I just was adding my two cents by providing my short review of the Oasis performance I attended.

 

I also don't want to discourage people from seeing it, especially if they've never seen it before. My opinion is just my opinion. Others may love the Oasis performance. To each his own.

Edited January 3, 2015 by kiyoko

[lalenalei]

I hate real life cats, but I LOVE the musical. Way faster moving than POTO (which I don't like, so take this fwiw). The costumes are amazing, and the way the actors move and dance really emulates felines. And how can you not love Mr. Mistoffelees??? I want to just jump up and sing it with them!

 

Bummer, though, if the singers on Oasis are just not good and that's what is making people leave early.

[NorbertsNiece]

Saw it yesterday in London; I've a close personal history with this show and have seen most of the London productions. This latest one features Nicole Scherzinger as Grizabella. There were changes to the original production and people walked out at the intermission. I enjoyed it very much despite the changes. I wonder how they changed it for being at sea..... don't see there would be much that would need to be different other than resizing the set.

[surgie]

I have been reading up on Oasis of the Seas and reading people's reviews. I was actually really surprised by the reports that people were not understanding Cats so they left the show early or didn't enjoy it.

 

When I was a teenager I took a class where our teacher spent months explaining Cats to us and then brought us to see on Broadway before the show ended. I thought it helped a lot to learn about the show before going in, it helped me enjoy the show much more and I really liked it. So here is my short tutorial about the musical. Feel free to ask questions!

 

Thank you for the explanation. We'll be on Oasis in 3 weeks and although I've seen and enjoyed CATS, your explanation will be helpful to my reluctant husband who enjoys music, but doesn't like to listen to the lyrics of songs.

[Homosassa]

By the time you get to the third rendition of "Memories," you will be banging your head against the wall.

 

My daughter and I saw "Cats," on Broadway and though the show to be repetitive and endless.

[theEvilQueen2]

I'll have to be honest up front and say that I'm not a fan of ALW, Phantom or Cats, all of which I find boring and pretentious. But I happened to be on one of the first OA cruises that had Cats and I found out a few things from the crew.

ALW, in his contract with RCL demanded that not one word, note or dance step be changed from how it was on broadway. Secondly, he insisted that they use the soundtrack from the original score, which is to say they had to download what was basically an 8-track into a digital tract. The first part of the show took 10 hours to download. The quality was awful, it over whelmed the singers voices. It was so 'off' that it was hard to pay attention to the fine dancing.

On the night I saw it the second half was only accompanied by piano and it was actually much better than the first half. I forced myself to stay and watch, but most of my friends were long gone by then.

Basically this is just an example of one of the hundreds of really bad decisions that the upper management of RCL has made lately, getting ready to take most of their business overseas and to the Asian market. They are quickly becoming the K-Mart of the high seas.