~*Mistohunny*~ (the red-head) with several of her kittens, waiting out the rain under the side canopy at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York, just befor seeing CATS.
My seeing CATS was purely an accident. It all started yearly in the year back in 1998. Every year my school instrumental music program took a trip in order to compete with bands from all over the United States. That year I was a junior in high school and we were going to New York. The plans for the trip were simple: drive to New York (from Michigan), see some sites, compete and drive home. We only had a weekend, so the trip had to be brief and well planed. Among the sites we were going to see were the tall buildings, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and a Broadway show.
When it came to choosing what b'way show we saw the music director had quite a task. There really aren't too many shows who can seat 300 teenaged tourists along with the rest of their normal audience- there were just too many of us. When it came down to it there were only two shows that would take us- The Lion King and CATS. Most of the kids I was traveling with didn't care. Either way we were seeing 'a bunch of people dressed like animals, crawling around, singing'. I myself hoped for CATS. I was already a fan of the song 'Memory' after hearing the Barbara Streisand version on the radio. As it turned out we booked around 300 tickets for CATS because they were more in our budget. I was trilled
In preparation for our first ever b'way show the whole group of us read Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and most of us had it memorized word for word. Our band director bought three different CATS medleys so that each group (orchestra and two bands) would play the music and become familiar with it before hand. I found a friend who had the CD's so I stole them from her and made tape copies (which I listen to in my car to this day).
So finally we went to New York. It was April 1998 by this time and we were all CATSed out. Most people were sick to death of the music, but my addiction was just beginning. The last night we were in New York we all got dolled up and left for CATS (actually we had to change clothes on the busses in heavy traffic, down town New York... but that's another story all together...).
We had special privileges because one of the cast members (who played Jennyanydots) was a friend and past student of my music teacher. We were let into the Winter Garden by means of the back cast entrance and then were seated near the stage. There we were given a chance to meet the stage manager and the actress playing Cassandra- both answered our questions about the performance. After that we were supposed to go back outside and wait for general admittance, but it was raining hard so they let us stay in. While we were moving to our real seats (not in the front, but still great seats) we witnessed the pyro-techs doing lighting and effects tests. It was great!
Once the rest of the audience came we had to settle down and wait for the show to start. Then the lights dimmed and the music started. All of a sudden I felt something bush against my arm (I had an isle seat). I looked over and there was a cat standing next to me, looking right at me. Talk about shivers! The rest of the show went great- ya'll know the plot so I won't bore you with most of the details.
One thing that I noticed right off the bat was this cute little black kitty. He had some of the funniest mannerisms and was just adorable. Later I realized that the black kitty was the Magical Mr. Mistoffelees! (who is my favorite cat) One of the chaperones had brought a pair of binoculars with her, so I stole them and got a good look at all of the cats. I must admit that Victoria is really scary looking...
After the show we were all herded back to our busses and eventually went back to Michigan. The songs were still fresh in our heads. Apparently there was a guy who stood on his head (in the bus bathroom) and sang 'Memory' for a good portion of the trip home. I guess that proves how strange a group we are...
I am now a totally obsessed fanatical cat. I received the PBS video for Christmas and have worn out the tape by watching it almost daily. Though I do have my reservations about the movie it still makes it easier to get my CATS 'fix'. I mean, not all of us can go to New York or see it live every time we want to.
My entire family is sick to death of the music (I play it whenever I'm in the house), and my little brother could probably dance the entire movie from having to see it so many times. Although many people think I am deranged for pretending that I'm a cat- I find myself to be very contented with my peculiar feline lifestyle.
The story of my trip to the CATS Tour is here !
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