#show report

Three shows means that with the Vienna track rotatation I had some varied performers in a lot of prominent tracks, each portraying their characters slightly different. Note: in the below text I talk about the differences and my liking some things more than others. This is never to be taken as shade of the performers. All of the performances were stellar and any of the three shows were a delight to see on their own. I do have some personal preferences that come through every now and then.

First of all: there is so much going on. It is impossible to see or list all details. With most of the cast being on stage in character most of the time even if they aren't really doing anything to further the plot. A lot of little in character things going on in the background.

Let's start with the cast lists and the things that stood out to me, as much I could remember, for the different portrayals of the characters.

Munkustrap (Alexander Auler & Florian Fetterle) I've seen some talk over the redesign of Munkustrap for the international tour that he looks scarier, and people are happy about that. I can tell you Alexander Auler as Munk *is* scary and is not a cat to be messed with. Aulerstrap snarls, does the Kubrick stare, and is strict. He has excellent facial dynamics that communicate that he's not someone that you want to be mad at you.

Opposed to Florian Fetterle whom I caught as Munk on the sunday Matinee. Florian is much softer, warmer and kinder Munkustrap. He smiles a lot and has a very different voice than Alexander. Florian didn't really impress me as Gus/Bus, mainly because he didn't seem to me as a good the character actor that Felix Martin is. But he does have the vocal skills to sing Bustopher and Growltiger, that warm baritone also translates into his Munkustrap. I might even like Florian more than the younger sounding Alexander. (Shocking, I know.)

Grizabella (Carin Filipčić & Barbara Obermeier) Carin Filipčić has converted me from Team Gus to Team Grizabella for being the Jellicle choice, she portrays Griz as emotionally desperate and sings with a dark gritty tone in somewhat of a rock voice. She's amazingly cute and soft as Baby Griz in the opening numbers, hanging out with Jenny and Jelly. Grizz she spends way more time on stage than I thought. She lurks in the back for most of the ball and also returns after the intermission for Moments of Happiness. She might be around even more here and there.

Barbara Obermeier is a very different Griz than Carin is. Where Carin plays the emotional desperation. Barbara really looks and moves like she is standing with one foot in the grave and will die at the end of the night no matter who the choice will be. She too would have converted me to Team Griz. She sings the role in a the same rounded operatic style as she sings Jellylorum. I've listened to this casts recording a number of times and having her seen perform that part the night before took me a little to disconnect the voice from Jellylorum.

In general I prefer the less rounded grittier sounding Grizzes like Pia Douwes or Betty Buckely over the operatic ones. But Barbara turned it up to 11, especially in the reprise. Much more so than she does as Griddlebone and I was completely blown away by that. Needless to say that this performance too would have converted me to Team Griz.

Alonzo (George Maniadis & Tommie Luyben) George Maniadis has perfected Alonzo's vanity into an art. He is the pretty one and know it. Constantly grooming himself, most of the time positioning himself some place up high looking down, both literally and figuratively on the rest of the tribe and the audience with an air and disdain of the popular blonde.

Tommie's Alonzo comes over to me as more of a himbo. He is pretty and knows it, but this Alonzo isn't just quite the cock of the walk yet. You know the type, the person that tries to hard and is off just a little bit. Alonzo that is, Tommie's performance and portrayal of him was excellent.

Jellylorum (Barbara Obermeier & Denise Jastraunig) Main difference between the two Jelly's is the vibe they give off. Barbara's Jelly is clearly the matron of the tribe. A having a sense of strictness in how she carries herself on stage. Where Denise is a sweeter and sillier Jellylorum.

Old Deuteronomy (Rory Six & Lucius Wolter) The two Deutoronomies were mostly indistinguishable from each other, but at the end of the intermission when Deut comes back on stage Rory went straight into his contemplation over what he has just seen in Memory, as if the intermission never happened. Lucius was more animated: sitting down, looking around the audience. Taking in what was in the room, just a little extra making connection and acknowledging the man over there and his friends (i.e.: the roughly 1000 audience members).

Tugger & the ships All the Cats are hot for Tugger. Except for Munk, Skimble and Old Deuteronomy. Munk is mostly annoyed, but gives some mixed signals on how he really feels. Of course Jenny is displeased that Tugger interrupts her moment. But later on she does show her appreciation for the hunk.

For the Tuggerlurina fans: they full make out during the ball. At the back the tire during boys jump / tours just before Bomba exits stage right to get on position for her hip swaying solo entrance. While we're on the ships: the Tuggofolees is strong in this production. Just as the general flirting that Tugger does with most other cats including Rumpelteazer and Electra. There is even some implied Tuggerjerrie happening, where the two toms just miss each other flirtations and their love remains unanswered.

As bisexual and flirty as Tugger is, so straight are Bombalurina and Demeter. Deme is very much Munk's girl here, and most of the time staged far apart from Bombalurina. Seems that the creatives have thoroughly embraced the mlm sentiments that the fandom likes, but still keeps away from any implication of wlw. The closet thing to that was a playful Demeter batting at Tantomile's tail during Bustopher. In Macavity Bomba and Deme were very much good friends who have dated the same guy. (And not in the r/SapphoAndHerFriend way, unfortunately.)

Speaking of the mlm: one of the nights Bill Bailey and Mistofolees where a little more friendly than one would expect of two young toms. They were just about making out right in front of my nose. Another night Bill Bailey and Electra were having the cutest teenage romance going on between them throughout the show.

The connection between Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer was unclear to me. It could both be read as siblings or as lovers, neither one took the upper hand. However there is no denying that there a strong connection between the two of them. Mungojerrie looks really sad, lonely and lost when Rumpelteazer isn't near him. Especially after Growltiger, when he is already back on stage into his chorus costume but Teazer is still backstage to change out of her Siamese. Jerrie just sits in the far corner sulking, cowering even. Only to brighten up when Teazer finally returns to him.

If I ever wondered what the relation between Skimble and Jenny is, they're a couple here. Both mirroring each others roles as conductors and general aids of Munkustrap during Gumbie, Pekes and Bustopher. Making sure that the kittens get their masks, the kitten & queen choir is directed, and everyone of the 'dogs' get their props. Coming to a culmination with the two having their moment together on the boot during Gus the Theatre Cat.

Cats & Cast

Skimble is grumpy around the show, lots of paws in his sides, disapproving looks. "Humbug I tell you, humbug!" But he also is proud dance dad, constantly on the lookout for Quaxo/Misto pointing him out and praising. Besides that he mirrors Jennyanydots in conducting and making sure everything goes according to plan. And he is *very* protective towards Jemima, shielding her from Grizabella with his body and staying with her on one side of the stage throughout Glamour Cat.

It's a pity that Cassandra has two lines in the whole show. Because Anneka Dacres has such a deep rich voice (I'm a sucker for altos). Unfortunately she only covers Bombalurina only ever so often, so I can only guess how amazing she would sound singing Macavity. Sitting at the very front also means you get a lot of vocals and sounds that aren't mic'ed. Feet hitting the stage, the cast shouting and spurring each other on during the ball. It really ads to the overall experience of seeing the show live. Sitting so close to the stage also means you can hear the individual voices before they are picked up and blended in the house audio mix. In Ad-dressing of Cats I noticed a deep warm tenor voice coming from my right, that wasn't Deuteronomy. When the smoke cleared I figured it was Skimbelshanks. Gerben Grimmius has such a great voice that I could hear over Rory's Deut in the house mix.

Petra Ilse Dam and Rhys Batten are very much in sync as the psychic twins. The synchronized handstand during the sensuals was :chefskiss:. I do crossfit, so I'm a sucker for any synchronized gymnastics anyway, but this was sight to behold.

During Growltiger I noticed how tall Hannah Kenna Thomas really is. With the Siamese masks it's hard to tell performers apart. But only two of them wear white shoes: Victoria and Rumpelteazer. One of them being much taller than the other. Suffice to say that she is an amazingly elegant Victoria.

General Tidbits

I didn't expect Gus Jr. and Grizabella to have so much time on stage. Baby Griz hangs around for the entire opening and is present at the beginning of the ball. Gus Jr. comes back after Bustopher and partakes in Pekes, after the intermission he is walked on stage by Jelly and never really leaves outside Growltiger walking the plank and during Macavity.

Whilst they aren't actively dancing in the queens chorus of Macavity, Jelly and Jenny do show up for the finale of the number. Adding vocals and partaking in an upperbody choreo sitting on the tire and boot repectively.

The Macavity fight choreo looked much better than it does in '98. It was about the same outside the Demeter lift, but boy does Deme gets slung violently across by Macavity instead. My shoulders are hurting on her behalf. And Aulerstrap does a very big impressive slide. Overall the fight was in sync and pretty tight, but It's the one thing in the choreo I always feel needs an overhaul. It looks a bit as if they are waiting on each other, taking away the dynamics. However I'm spoiled by movie fights that have all the benefits of cuts, editing, and camera angles. So understandable that a stage fight choreo doesn't look as snappy as something in an action movie. And it was impressive to see nonetheless.

At the beginning of Gumbie I noticed Alonzo taking his shoes off on the side of the stage when also having a little moment together with Cassandra. I hadn't realised that they did most of the quick change into the tap shoes and beatles on stage. Shoes and props are stashed amongst the junk, hiding in plain sight.

Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazers tap shoes, together with their beetle outfits, the piping bag turned mice masks for Gumbie, with the Growltiger barrel behind.

What is really funny to me was the that whenever the Jellicles stare at the moon so intensely, Jellicle songs during Moments for example. Is that you get the feeling they are looking at something really grand. But all they have to marvel at is the the conductor cam shown on the screen hanging from the lower balcony. The Ronacher is a beautiful theatre by the way, even if a lot of the theatre's decor is covered by the set, providing an immersive experience.

This production doesn't have a paw of the Everlasting Cat or balloon that Grizaballa ascends on to the heavyside layer. After traveling up on the tire with Deuteronomy she steps into the background to slowly disappear into the night sky. Helped by lighting effects, including a whole bunch of LEDs on her corset that blend her in with the stars, that is some excellent theatre Magic.

Faint lines of the door that opens for Grizabella's exit to the left of the moon:

When Astrid Gollob was still in the show as Jemima she and Munkustrap did some spinny lift during the bows. The second show I spotted the Munk having picked up and spinning Jenny (Jo Lucy Rackham) around. Not sure if the did the full star, I spotted them just to late for that, but he made it look so effortless. It's an attest on how strong Auler is, even as he doesn't look like it in his costume. I've seen the man's bare calves at the stage door: they're massive!

The Audience An observation of the audience: I've seen musicals in London, Amsterdam, The Hague and now Vienna. I found the audience in the first two shows rather tame. Little cheering and applause was frugal at times. I am used to cheering, whistling, massive rounds of applause in between songs. And especially the Dutch start a standing ovation as soon as they smell something resembling a bow. Here not so much. Remembering Anna Carina Buchegger mentioning that it really helps get through the show if the audience actively shows appreciation. I felt a bit bad for the cast. For the double cartwheels there was hardly any cheering, and in the conjuring turns people only started clapping when being egged on by Tugger.

It does help if there is a bravo-person in the audience, that guy thatknows the show and gets the applause going by shouting “Bravo!” at appropriate times. On my first performance that was Jürgen, yes *the* Jürgen that has seen this show a 100+ times. Very friendly man, recommended me to go see Miss Saigon while I was in town. The second performance I was at was much the same: little applause and sparse cheering. I felt it came to me to get the applause going a couple of times.

I thought this was just a cultural thing, maybe Austrians are just more reserved than the Dutch or Brits. But that was proven wrong when I was at Miss Saigon. Plenty of applause, cheering and whistling there. At my third Cats performance I had a much livelier audience, that made a world of difference in my overall experience. I apparently just wasn't that lucky with my fellow theatre goers the first two performances.

The Stage Door

After two shows I headed to the stage door. First time I did that and it was a lot of fun talking to other fans. Even if they looked at me funny when I said this was my first time seeing the show live. Some of the performers stuck around for a chat, others just went home after a hard day's work. Got recommended again to go see Miss Saigon, this time by Gerben Grimmius, and if Skimbleshanks himself gives you advice you better listen! Miss Siagon was an excellent show, even if I had to partially rely on the subtitles next to the stage displaying the English lyrics, my German isn't good enough to follow a complex story as Miss Saigon is. Cats has these screens too, but hey that show I can sing along in three separate languages.

The Bows

I only took some photos during the bows. I felt it pulled me out of the experience of enjoying the show in person.

Cliffhanger, Tumblr only allows 10 photo's in a post, the bows are to be found here:

I had a small child one seat away from me on either side, which meant that (being in the front row) they got a lot of kitty attention: Cassandra, Bombalurina, and Jellylorum in particular. After 'Naming', Carbuckety came and lay down right across our feet to watch Victoria do her thing, before scampering up onstage for 'Invitation', which made one girl a little giggly and the other awestruck. Kiddo on the right was a big Rumpelteazer fan also - she and her mum were going through the programme before to find all the photos of her - so it was a good night for her!

We stage doored, and had some nice brief chats (plus quite a few autographs). Once again, Des was the one most inclined to hang around and talk - and once again, there were multiple people there who whispered 'wait, which cat is that? Tugger?? Seriously? That's Tugger??' because his gracious, slightly diffident charm in person is such a contrast to Tugger's brash energy. Tim and Jake and Jarrod mostly just signed, with a few friendly words (Misto, Jerrie, Munk). Lucy, Ella, Josh, Tom, Savannah, and Dominique stayed a little longer to exchange impressions about tonight's show (Jelly, usually-Jemima-but-Vic-today, Cori, Skimble, Rumpel, dance captain / today's Demeter).

There were a couple of unavoidable allusions to the absent cast members, without (of course) getting into any specifics about their health. Dominique hesitated over whether to sign over Demeter then decided to sign up the top of the group photo instead and leave Demeter 'for Olivia', with the implication that she might be back this week. Savannah made exhausted faces when I marvelled at her keeping her tracks straight in 'Song of the Jellicles', while Jake and Josh wryly accepted sympathies for looking so lonely up there without their usual partner in crime. In response to us saying that my two friends would be back several times this week and I'd be back on Sunday, Josh replied forlornly, "And maybe I'll have a twin by then...! I have to be weird all on my own."

(The implication here is that Sarah and at least one other of the girls might be better by then - if only Sarah was back, she'd cover Victoria, Ella would return to Jemima, and Tanto still wouldn't exist.)

And Aimee! Des was still there when Aimee Jones came out, but I had to turn away from the general conversation with him to congratulate her. She was still on a bit of a nervous high, I think, from a mid-show swing-on, and seemed surprised and gratified not only at being recognised and congratulated but to hear that I'd seen her Griz at the two Sydney previews ("So you were there for my first..!") Very sweet.

Back again on Sunday!