CATS has been the most succesfull musical in history! It has become the longest-running musical in London, with more than 6138 shows the longest-running production currently playing on Broadway and with the 6138th performance CATS became the longest-running show in Broadway history, even longer-running than A Chorus Line! CATS has played all over the world and has also become the longest continuously-touring musical in America theatre history (currently the 4th CATS-Tour is making it's way through USA, some cities are "visited" twice or even more)! It's hard to imagine, that this production had a difficult birth and uncertain future. But as a composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and his friend and director Trevor Nunn describe it, the creation of CATS was full of hurdles and doubts.
The idea to turn T.S. Eliot's book of verse Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats into a musical occurred to A. L. Webber in 1972 when he picked the book up in an airport bookshop. Reading it during the flight, he recalled that as a child his mother used to read these poems to him and the thought occurred that "they might make a lovely album for children...or something".
A full decade went by before he recalled on his friend, director Trevor Nunn, to help him turn Eliot's book of verse into a full-fledged musical. And so, when Nunn and Lloyd Webber went into a rehearsal, they had nothing more than bits and pieces of songs based on the poems, and no story or relationships to support a complete musical. It was late in the rehearsal, when the key to making the show work was literally handed to them. "Valerie Elliot, T. S. Elliot's widdow came up with this rather crumpled, grubby sheet of typing paper with there eight lines on it a very late stage", recalls Trevor Nunn. That fragment introduced the character of the lonely and haunted Grizabella, The Glamour Cat, and says Trevor Nunn, it was the breakthrough they had been waiting for. "Valerie Elliot sait, 'Tom didn't include it in the published work, because he said it would be too upsetting for the children.' That was the insight," says Nunn. "There's an image of isolation and pain, there's the idea of change. You were something, now you're the opposite. How do you cope with that?"
As the opening night loomed closer, though, Nunn was still troubled. The show lacked an emotional climax: the "11 o'clock number" that connects with the audience and sends them out humming. Little did Lloyd Webber and Nunn realize as they began working on this moment that the result would be their toughest hardle and greatest success. Nunn recalls telling Lloyd Webber, "What we need in the show is your big emotional outpouring. You don't have your Puccinni aria." The composer resisted the idea initially, but finally agreed to go home and attempt something, though he would make no promises!
But that night Lloyd Webber went home and - literally overnight - one of the theatre's most popular songs was composed. Nunn remembered hearing the tune for the first time. "The next morning - I can only assume he'd been up all night, maybe just jotted it off - he said- 'What about something like this...?' He played it in a rehearsal room where we were having a meeting and I said to everybody, 'What's the date, what's the time? Remember it, because you have just heard a phenomenomenal smash hit'!"
The tune, of course, became Memory. But at that point it was just a melody without lyrics and, unlike any other song in the show, there wasn't a poem to adapt or serve as inspriation. With days to go until performances began, a search was launched for a lyricist who could make the song work and fit well with the Elliot lyrics that made up the rest of the show. Three separate lyricists tried their hands without success and the pressure was mourning!
Finally, with just days to go, Trevor Nunn headed for his country home to write the lyrics himself. He spent the entire weekend reading and re-reading Eliot's poems, but still could not find a focal point. "How that lyric came about was despiration", Nunn admits. "I agreed that we should announce that it was based upon two poems by Eliot. Of course, that's not true. He does ude the word 'memory', but that's about it". The "11 o'clock number" truly did come at the 11th hour, and Memory unlocked for Nunn the mystery of how to structure the show. At last, the yearning character Grizabella had an emotional outlet. She who had left the tribe of Jellicle Cats to experience the outside world, recalls the hard times she encountered, the glorious past forever lost and her desire to return to her family.
After coming up with the most memorable and instantly recognizable show tune in recent years, Lloyd Webber and Nunn should have been able to relax as CATS went from rehearsal to previews, but Nunn humorously recalls that time with a shudder. "It's the time when all your supposed friends and colleagues in the business come and are supportive, to see the work at the earliest stage because they just can't wait. Actually, what's going on is all your potential enemies are there to celebrate the disaster. The earlier they can come, the bigger the disaster is likely to be - before anybody's had a chance to fix anything."
A runaway smash in London, on Broadway and all over the world, CATS was anything but a disaster. It won seven (!) Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and that eleventh hour song, Memory, has become a contemporary classic. It's been recorded more than 600 times, including as international as barbara Streisand, Barry Mantilow and Judy Collins, among many others. It's most recent incarnations underline its diverse and universal appeal: as a #1 dance smash by European chanteuse Natalie Grant, and a duct for Placido Domingo and Natalie Cole during a live telecast of the tenor's world tour.
"Cats"
Act one:
An friendly announcement from the theater management points out that illegal recording of this production is strictly prohibited. The lights dim, leaving only the moon to shine brightly upon the audience as they begin to sink into the world of Jellicle Cats. With an explosion of light, music fills the theater and cat eyes begin to flash from everywhere. The cat eyes are static, and suddenly many pairs of green eyes flicker in the darkness. The cats are curious and disturbed that the audience has invaded their territory. But by the time the overture comes to an end, the cats seem to not care that the audience will stay and they disappear as quickly as they entered.
A brave cat appears. It's Munkustrap. The music begins to play quietly and one-by-one, each cat begins to enter the junkyard to explain to the audience what Jellicle Cats are by singing the song Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats. If you are seated near the left side of the stage, you might see a cat laying on the stage. She will be stare at you. That’s Cassandra! But don't stare back, because you'll blink first. And waving will not have any effect either!
At the end of the number, the Jellicles still see confusion in the eyes of the audience. So they explain What is a Jellicle Cat. Here you get to know that every cat has three different names. The first is their everyday name, the second is more private, while the third name is so secret, that no cat will ever disclose it!
Victoria, one of the kittens, dances her solo-dance to invite the Jellicles back to the stage. One by one they come out, and following her dance, they begin the Invitation to the Jellicle Ball." It's the Jellicle Ball that celebrates that lucky Jellicle who will eventually be chosen to be reborn and begin a new Jellicle Life, ending with an ascension to the Heaviside Layer!
After the Invitation, the Jellicles begin to introduce themselves to the audience. Each cat that is introduced through song and dance, hoping that they will be the lucky cat to be chosen for a new Jellicle life.
The first Jellicle the audience meets is the Gumbie Cat, Jennyanydots. She sleeps all day long. But at night, she shows unexpected abilities. She teaches the mice music, crocheting and tatting. She keeps the cockroaches busy, so they can't do anything destructive. She even tries to form a troop of well disciplined helpful boy scouts! Ironically enough, the cockroaches do what Jennyanydots wants them to do. If you take a closer look at the cockroaches, you will see that they look pretty familiar. Because, during the Gumbie Cat's number, several Jellicles quickly disappear and return "transformed" into cockroaches!
From the stage's backdrop, a stair claps down, and the Rum Tum Tum Tugger makes his outrageous entrance! Contrasted with the other male cats in the Jellicles, you can say that Tugger is more like a playboy. Most of the adult cats think Tugger is a clown, whereas the young females find him very attractive and exciting. Bombalurina puts on her charm, but doesn't get the response she thought she should get. This is because Tugger is very selfish as well as unpredictable. He wants to get what he doesn't have, and if he gets it, he looses interest very quickly! But one thing will never change, is the center of attention -- and he succeeds! "And there's nothing anyone can do about it!"
As the excitement of Tugger's number fades, it is crudely interrupted by the surprising entrance of the familiar Grizabella, the Glamour Cat. She is shunned by the other cats though she is also a Jellicle herself. The Gumbie Cat tries to protect the kittens from any contact with her. Even the sexy Bombalurina, who's just as beautiful as Grizabella was in her time, hisses in her direction. Grizabella sees that she's still not welcome, so she proudly leaves the junkyard. Though she tries not to show her pain, we can see by her expression she is in desperate need of love and family; two obvious things missing from her discarded life.
As Grizabella leaves center stage, we encounter the rather jolly "Cat About Town," Bustopher Jones. He makes his grand entrance strolling through the junkyard with a boutonniere in his lapel and spats on his feet, while grasping a tall teaspoon as a walking stick in his paw. He is obviously a proud and well-to-do cat. Jennyanydots adores him and he shows his affection by placing a small kiss on her paw.
Suddenly the screech of a siren breaks the joyful sounds of Bustopher's song. Demeter recognizes that Macavity caused this disturbance, and the cats scatter and hide. A giggle is heard from off stage which announces the next guests: Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer.
These two cats are the Napoleons of crime, as well as acrobats. Chaos could be their nickname. Their abilities are remarkable. They will smash everything they discover. And there's nothing at all to be done about that! When the Jellicles realize that it was the troublesome twosome, they return to the junkyard. At this same time, one of the cats sees off in the distance, their Jellicle Leader approaching. They are really right when they sing:
And there's nothing at all to be done about that!
Old Deuteronomy, the wisest and most respected leader is welcomed by all of the Jellicles. To celebrate his welcome, Munkustrap organizes his annual presentation of The Awful Battle of the Pekes and Pollicles. As Munkustrap begins to tell the tale, the Jellicles slip into various costumes. They join together in a rousing chorus of barking until the Great Rumpus-Cat - a powerful feline - appears. The Rumpus Cat impresses the Jellicles with his frightening grin, eyes of red, and his stylized prowess. As the number comes to an end, Old Deuteronomy begins to give a lesson about Jellicles. When all of a sudden, there is yet another loud crash that makes the Jellicles scatter in fear!
Old Deuteronomy sets all of Jellicles at ease with a wave of his paws. And just to be sure, he allows Victoria, the white cat begins the Invitation to the Jellicle Ball. The Jellicle Ball begins and all the Jellicle perform the first Act finale with verve and vigor.
As this dance of the Jellicles comes to an end, Grizabella returns to the junkyard hoping for a warm welcome. But this does not happen. As they all leave the junkyard, Grizabella is left alone on stage to reflect on her life. She doesn't realize that Old Deuteronomy has been sitting off in the distance and hears her tearful plea to relive a life that she loved. As she finishes the song, she begins to walk away. But yet, she feels she must try one more time to reach back and see if anyone will reach out to her. Old Deuteronomy wants to reach out to her, but decides that he is not the one to make that choice. So he lets leave. He then returns to Jellicle throne as the lights fade to darkness on Act 1.
뮤지컬 "캣츠"
'캣츠'는 영국의 시인 T. S. 엘리어트의 시집에 나오는 14편의 시를 기초로 앤드루 로이드 웨버가 작곡한 뮤지컬.
이 시집에 등장하는 고양이들의 이야기를 통해 행복이란 저멀리 있는 것이 아니라 내 주위에 있고, 희망을 갖고 추구하는 자에게 행복이 찾아온다는 메시지를 던져준다.
자상한 고양이, 망나니 고양이, 상류층 고양이, 도둑 고양이, 성직자 고양이, 배우 고양이, 철도 고양이, 마술사 고양이, 그리고 한때 화려했던 스타 고양이…. 이 작품은 옴니버스처럼 구성된 고양이 이야기를 통해 잠재된 내면세계와 현실의 인간세계를 우화처럼 표현하는 화려한 뮤지컬이다. 창녀 고양이가 부르는 "Memory"는 매우 유명하다.
메인 무대 벽면이 해적선으로 변하는 장면, 대형 타이어를 타고 무대 천장이 갈라지면서 하늘로 승천하는 장면 등이 널리 알려져있다.
'캣츠'는 81년 런던 초연을 시작으로 전세계 250개 도시에서 공연됐으며 약 6000만명(약 3조2000억원의 수입)의 관객을 끌었으며 현재에도 브로드웨이의 흥행기록을 바꿔나가고 있다. 또한 영국의 올리비어상 중 '베스트 뮤지컬상'과 미국 토니상에서 7개 부문을 석권하기도 했다.