Don’t come for the plot – but do stay for the costumes, choreography and music
Not much actually happens in the musical Cats, but the sheer spectacle of this new production will satisfy the nostalgia craving.
MUSICAL
Cats ★★★
Hamer Hall, until 31 January
This production has far more than nine lives. In fact, Cats is now 44 years old; to mark its grand old age, the show is touring the country and has just returned to Melbourne.
This year marks its 40th anniversary in Australia. Playing not in the Arts Centre, but at Hamer Hall, Cats is the first time a full-scale musical is being staged there. The concert hall, with its superior acoustics, is undoubtedly a purrfect venue to house the likes of more than two dozen supersized felines crawling, prowling, preening, hissing, cavorting and yes of course, singing their furry hearts out.
Gabriyel Thomas as Grizabella the Glamour Cat.Credit: Penny Stephens
For those unfamiliar with the premise, Cats is loosely based on T.S. Eliot’s 1939 poetry book, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. Adapted by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the musical forfeits a straight narrative arc, instead choosing to focus on spotlighting various street cats and their idiosyncratic personalities.
Don’t look too deeply into the plot; there’s some ludicrous guff about an annual meeting of these creatures to determine which one will be chosen to be reborn into a new life. (By what criteria they have to fulfil to be worthy of such an honour is never made clear.)
If you’re here, it’s probably for the costume, choreography and musical compositions. A fair few in the clowder of cats have their moment in the moonlight, accompanied by a live orchestra, with different musical styles to suit the personality of each character, including rock, jazz and blues tunes.
Des Flanagan as Rum Tum Tugger.Credit: Penny Stephens
And though yes, the singing is as strong as expected in a production as famous and long-standing as this one, there’s a certain lack of imagination in having each cat front up and do their bit, before slinking away and allowing another one to have their turn. The rest act as a clamouring chorus. is still by far the best (and most memorable) song in the show, which explains why it’s repeated several times.
