In Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats, we noticed that we were being given strange looks of recognition from many of the cast, as if to say “The ones that LIVE in those seats are back!”. Clinton Brown as Admetus came out of the hole in front of our seats and he stared at us both (I found it extremely difficult not to laugh)! Stori James was on as Bill Bailey because Joe Ryan was off (yey!) and he gave us a massive and very unsubtle wink of recognition.
In the Naming of Cats, we had Kerry Washington as Jennyanydots and Kenny Linden as Munkustrap. Kenny was very good, although he was completely different from David, it was nice to see a different portrayal of the character. In the Invitation to the Jellicle Ball, Jacob Brent as Mistoffelees was giving adorable longing glances at Victoia, Emma Kerslake from his little tunnel- very sweet!
Munkustrap’s bit in Gumbie Cat was done superbly, and I was genuinely impressed by Kenny’s voice. As Admetus, his usual character, the audience can’t really appreciate his voice as much because it’s a smaller part, but as Munkustrap you could really appreciate how strong a voice he actually has.
Gumbie Cat was rudely interrupted by Stori as First Bug. It was SOOOOOO cute and he looks so adorable as a bug. Well, Stori stomped about in his tap shoes for a bit and was then joined by the rest of the group, for the fantastic tap dancing. I love this bit of the show, it must be one of my favourite bits, because it’s so ridiculous it’s hilarious! A load of experienced tap dancers wearing binbags and holding oversized cutlery just cracks me up every time! Also the expressions on their faces are priceless! Clinton was dancing in front of us for a bit of it and he seemed to be hysterical with laughter for some reason, and Jye Frasca as Carbucketty next to him kept smirking and pulling faces! I just couldn’t help myself look down the line of dancers and locate Stori, who was pulling the strangest concentration expressions whilst flailing about with his knife!
John Partridge as the Rum Tum Tugger was fabulous as usual. His voice is perfect for the part, and the mannerisms he adopted for the role were spot on. Absolutely brilliant. Jye and Stori were being very sweet doing their little dance to the RTT and they kept looking at each other and grinning. Awww! Also Jye’s expression of mock shock as John smacked him on the bum was hilarious!
Grizabella the Glamour Cat was sung by Barbara King as Demeter and Julie Barnes as Bombalurina. Barbara’s voice seemed to have improved from last month when I saw her, but it just sounded a bit flat and dull, perhaps she was tired? In Grizabella, I watched the kittens running away and they hide in the most stupid and obvious places! Stori obviously thought his rear end couldn’t be seen poking out from under the steps to the tyre, and Sarah Jane Honeywell curled up in a ball on top of the car boot!
In Bustopher Jones, Gareth Snook was very good. He greeted the line of cats in a very funny way, deliberately missing out the naughty kittens like Carbucketty and Bill Bailey, who then both cried and had tantrums! Jacob seemed fascinated my Bustophers white spats, and he stalked them all over the stage, much to the annoyance of Bustopher himself!
Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer was brilliant as usual. Both Kate Tydman as Rumpleteazer and Adrian Edmeades as Mungojerrie were superb; definately my favourite pair. Adrian had chosen to do his Mungo in a posh London accent and Kate’s was squeakey and silly. Both complimented each other superbly. I still think they need to redo Adrian’s Mungojerrie tank top cos there is waaaay to much shoulder fluff!
They were followed by Kenny and John singing Old Deuteronomy, which was beautiful. It was funny to watch the kittens throwing themselves in adoration at Peter Bishop, who was Old Deuteronomy, it was sooo cute! Peter Bishop is by far my favourite Old D. because he has a lovely, gentle voice, and is very paternal. He is NOT mean (unlike Dave Willets with his kitten bashing!) and he has the role just perfect.
Pekes and the Pollicles followed (also one of my favourite parts)! Jye was adorable as First Pollicle, although his barks were practically inaudiable! I always listen to the barks that people do because they were so funny! Ross Finnie’s sounded like a fat old moody dog, Jye’s was a little yelp, Stori’s sounded like a very agrivated French poodle and Jacob’s sounded like he had his tail trapped in a door. The men proceeded to have what ??? and I call Bark Wars, where you can just tell that they always have to have the last bark and end up barking in a completely silent place! It was so funny! (Ross Finnie won by the way, he barked in the middle of Old D’s solo after the Rumpus cat!)
The Jellicle Ball was absolutely brilliant, everyone seemed in perfect form. We had Jye and Stori in front of us for a while, and then Adrian and Seb. Stori was grinning his face off, and Jye was cheering himself on! It was so cute! Adrian was shouting as well which was very funny and Seb looked really intense! They all looked thouroughly exhausted and out of breath afterwards (which is of course, unsurprising)!
Memory was then sung beautifully by Chrissie Hammond as Grizabella. She is the best Griz I’ve seen. Her voice was very emotional and rich, and she made th song really come alive. Sometimes I think that after all the energy and action of the Jellicle Ball, Memory can seem a bit flat and dull, but with Chrissie Hammond, she made the audience really enjoy listening to her.
In the interval ??? and I sat and watched people getting Peter’s autograph, and afterwards, he walked around the perimeter of the stage smiling and waving at audience members, which was very appropriate for Old Deut. (Unlike Mark McK, who in my opinion sat and sulked!)
In the reprise of Memory after the Moments of happines, Lindsey Wise as Jemima sang her solo. In my opinion, I didn’t really like her voice much as it seemed a bit weak, and she had troublr hitting the high notes. Memory was sung beautifully by Kenny (who we could hear because he was next to us). He had a very soft and gentle voice, which shows the flexibility in his vocals as in the Pekes and the Pollicles he sounds very bold and strong.
Gus the Theatre Cat was very nicely done by Rebecca Lock as Jellylorum and Gareth Snook as Gus. Rebecca Lock was very good at communicating facial expressions whilst singing, which made her very pleasant to watch and listen to. I couldn’t help myself watching Stori (again!) bouncing on the matress with Julie Barnes, or watching Jye swatting angrily at Gus!
Growltiger’s Last Stand was so brilliant as usual! The pirates were John, Ross, Jacob, Jason and Kenny, and they were fantastic. It was really funny when it came to Kenny’s solo line. Before it, he walked to the edge of the stage, and then ran off, only to be retrieved, forced to sing his line and be kneed in the groin (much to the amusement of Jacob)! Oliver Tydman made a fantastic Ghengis. He sang in this lisping voice which was hilarious, and the Siamese were all brilliant as well. Seb looked really evil because you could see this bright white chin poking out from under the mask!
Next, Ross Finnnie as Skimbleshanks was fantastic! He gets really into character and it’s brilliant fun to watch. Him and Stori as Bill were really funny, and it was hilarious to watch Stori rolling up and down the stage as everyone else goes in a line! At the end of the song, I always notice Stori shaking with pressure as Ross climbs to stand on his back. OWW!
Macavity was sung by Barbara and Julie Barnes. Julie seemed to have improved a bit, but to be quite honest I’m not really keen on either of them. I was watching Adrian hide behind a row of seats, and Jye and Stori’s heads popping up to look at the action!
In Mr.Mistoffelees, Jacob was fantastic as always! John sang the song beautifully, and Jacob’s dancing was faultless and amazing! It was hilarious to watch the shocked/scared expressions of the kittens at the start of the song change to be grinning and admiring! I always find it so cute at the end when it gets to the slow bit after Misto has conjured back Old D, and Jacob puts on this bewildered, then ecstatic expression- it’s so sweet!
Chrissie returned to sing Memory again, and as before, it was absolutely beautiful. Some of the kittens looked very hurt when Griz, after being accepted back, didn’t touch their paws. They were consoled by Skimble and Misto which was adorable!
The Adressing of Cats was sung well by Peter, and it was funny to watch the reactions from the cats as the foods are mentioned. Stori threw up over potted grouse, Jye licked his lips in a very sweet way at the metion of salmon paste, and Oliver Tydman looked thoughroughly disgusted at everything! It was an absolutely brilliant show with a great cast, and we gave huge cheers in the encore (Stori gave us another very unsubtle wink)!
After the show we went round to the Stage Door. We didn’t say talk to many of them this time, but we said hello to some (Jye and Adrian I think). The one person we did talk to for a significant amount of time was...(yes, you’ve guessed it)...Stori! He came out looking very dazed but he was smiling, and he came over to chat for a bit. He was very humble in recieving our raving compliments, and was very talkative, and interested in what we thought of everything. We got some photos with him (yey) and so I’ll put them up on the site when they’ve been developed and scanned in.We then said goodbye (boo hoo), and went to get our train.
