'Overture': Not much to say here except the lighting effects were pretty cool, but only a few cast members (two where I was sitting) came out to play with the audience.

'Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats': Not much here, either, except that Munkustrap and Alonzo were to die for. ;-P

'The Naming of Cats': This really showed how small the cast was, especially compared to the Video. They stayed in their stacked formation until about "But above and beyond," etc. Susanna Hirst did very well for the solo dance. I found nothing to complain about.

'The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball': Rather than Misto singing "Jellicle Cats come out to-night," etc., Munk sang it instead, but he had a wonderful voice for it.

'The Old Gumbie Cat': *giggles* lots of opportunities to laugh in this one. Jenny came out of the oven instead of the car trunk. The tap dance part was longer than the one in the movie.

'The Rum Tum Tugger': Silvana's favorite, of course. Instead of Misto saying "The Rum Tum Tugger is a terrible bore," Munk and Alonzo do. Stan Stanley was a good Tugger.

'Grizabella, the Glamour Cat': I think it was Tumble that scratched Griz, but she had very long tail. Gretchen Goldsworthy had a good voice for the character. It had a smokey quality to it that hinted at the fact that she had been like Bombalurina.

'Bustopher Jones': *lol* This had even more opportunities for laughter than 'The Old Gumbie Cat'. William Hartery played an excellent Busto and Pounce and Tumble provided some comic relief.

'Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer': Instead of skipping the part about the pearls, they skipped the part about the family's dinner. When they finished singing the part about the vase being Ming, they looked at each other, said "Uh oh," and giggled. When they aren't in this number, Rumpelteazer's cossie looks a lot like Etcetera's video one. Mungo's has lots of black.

'Old Deuteronomy': Misto actually says, 'Old Deuteronomy', but Demeter's the one who says, "I believe it is Old Deuteronomy." Erin Braithwaite had a beautiful voice, btw. Grant Turner and Stan Stanley sang very well.

'The Jellicle Ball': Excellent showcase for the variety of dancing abilities in the cast. Since there were no Coricopat and Tantomille, Misto and Vic sang, "Jellicle Cats are black and white." There were some differences from the movie, besides the costumes and the actors, but you only spotted them if you've watched it a lot. Tumble dances with Victoria instead of Plato.

'Memory': This was really good. I liked the byplay with Victoria and Sillabub (Sara Schudde; excellent voice). The attempts at dancing once again were well done. Then, Gretchen Goldsworthy, opens her mouth and out comes this fantastic voice! She's almost offstage when she holds her hand out behind her, and Old D moves to a spot on the tire and stays there through the whole intermission. Without moving, much. I saw him sway a little bit, but that was it.

'The Moments of Happiness': It was fun to watch the actors come back out onstage. Tumble was on top of the oven and stretched so that he was almost off it. Instead of Cori and Tant, 'Rumpus' and Cass helped Sillabub. One thing of note: Grizabella was on top of the car trunk, but no one noticed her. When everyone stood up, Grizabella left.

'Gus: the Theatre Cat': This one was cool! Wendi Bergamini had a beautiful voice and her devotion to Gus was touching. William Hartery played an excellent Gus, with just the right touch of feebleness.

'Growltiger's Last Stand': What I'd been looking forward to all evening, it started out with a curtain dropping behind Gus, who was towards the front of the stage, with 'Growltiger's Last Stand' written on it. Gus took off the coat he was wearing and tied on a bandanna. When he was ready, the curtain was raised to reveal the set of the ship, with Munkustrap, Skimbleshanks, Mistoffelees, and I'm not sure about the other two. Misto was such a cutie in this. The way they did his make-up reminded me of a china doll. Growltiger beats them up good before Jellylorum, as Griddlebone with a very long tail, enters. Their duet was more of a Growltiger solo with Griddlebone failing to get a word in until the end. The Siamese cossies were very cool and I loved the end, with Ghengis waiting until Gus comes back on before running off.

'Skimbleshanks': Another funny one, John Sechrist was fantastic as Skimble. I liked the way they made the train and his tail was long, but not nearly as long as Grizabella's or Griddlebone's. For the 'pyramid', Tumble or Pounce (can't remember which) crouched on his hands and knees, Alonzo bent forward at the waist, and Munk stood at the end. Skimble used Tumble or Pounce to get him to Alonzo and stood with one foot on Alonzo's back and the other on Munk's head. *giggles* It was amusing.

'Macavity': This was a bit...odd. When Demeter's singing at the beginning, Alonzo's in the background, dancing. He was either doing the exact same movements she was or mirroring them. When Bombalurina started singing her part, however, Alonzo left. When the rest of the Queens come in to sing with Demeter and Bombalurina, Pouncival and Tumble come in, too. I guess to round out the numbers a bit. The fight scene was between Munk and Mac at first, but Munk got knocked out early on and Alonzo did more fighting than Munk. Munk managed to get back up, but he didn't last long. When Demeter nuzzles the tom in the spotlight, I think it was Alonzo she was nuzzling, but I'm not sure. Two things for sure, though: Everett Taylor was tall and the Macavity cossie was padded.

'Mr. Mistoffelees': Tugger was more serious at this point, but the real focus of the song, of course, was Misto himself. McCree O'Kelley is one fantastic dancer. I counted 24 spins, give or take a few. Instead of disappear, like he does in the movie, he lands on the stage, rolls forward, and is lifted up by four of the toms.

'Memory': the crowning achievement, Gretchen Goldsworthy and Sara Schudde sounded beautiful together and Gretchen, in particular, really carried it off well. I was so focused on Grizabella that I didn't really notice when the others turned to face her until Misto did. I didn't even know he was there until he turned!

'The Journey to the Heaviside Layer': Instead of the stairs, the tire rises up, then moves forward and a little circular platform is lowered to the tire. Grizabella climbs on and it rises up.

'The Ad-dressing of Cats': The tire doesn't move back to its original position until Old D is finished singing. In Don Adkins' biography in the program, it mentions that he had been operas and operettas and it showed during this song. When he started talking about the different foods, the rest of the cats were showing that it sounded real good to them. *giggles*

Curtain call: the audience didn't stop clapping as they came out for their bows. Once they were all out, the audience gave them a standing ovation. The last two to leave the stage were Bombalurina and Tugger. They flirted a bit and Bom hip-bumped Tugger so he fell on the stage. She stepped on his back or...rear and started to walk off. Tugger got up and chased her off.

More an opera than musical, it is a very high-energy show. It is also a young person's show. The cast must be able to move with all of the agility of a cat and must be mature enough to look and act like a cat. A difficult task, but these young professionals are up to it.

It all takes place in a king-sized junkyard as seen through the eyes of a cat. The use of excellent lighting and pyrotechnic effects enhanced the illusion. If there were any miscues or glitches, they were not noticeable. These folks are true professionals both on and off stage.

Based on poems by T.S. Eliot, there is not much of a plot. Songs, ensemble numbers, and wild dancing follow each other in rapid succession and a plot is not really needed. The music is in several musical styles, including Sprechstimme. The one hit tune to come out of this show is "Memories." This does not mean the other tunes were inferior, but rather, that they are more difficult to do out of context. All of the music was well done and a small pit combo was absolutely amazing. They often sounded like a full orchestra, and it was hard to believe that the beautiful instrumental solos were electronically generated.

Through the lighting created a perfect night under a full moon, the large cast made it difficult to tell who was who. It was easy to tell who was Bustopher Jones was because of his props and movement. Old Deuteronomy stood out because he looked like an old cat with the dignity that often, but no always, comes with age.

"Growltiger's Last Stand" was a delightful bit of fantasy within a fantasy, which included pirates and Siamese. The 30 or so cats represented had distinctly different personalities. They ranged from Grizabella, the glamour cat, down to Macavity, the meanest of the lot. The quality of the singing was first class. All the solo voices were clear and musical sounding, so much so that one had the impression that they were professional singers. Usually dancers and actors don't sing as well as singers. People who cast this show must have had a difficult time or they were very, very lucky. Put this together with gravity-defying dancing and one has a performance that is not to be believed.

Versatile is another label one could stick on these young people. Many of them are prepared to do two or more roles. For example, a dancer may be onstage for one performance and work lights for the next. Highest praise goes to Theatrical Arts International and all others who helped bring this show to town. The season continues with "Chicago," the musical. For information, call (909) 885 -5152.

Ralph Andrews, who has a Ph. D in music, is a free-lance musician, teacher and a judge for the Inland Theatre League.