|
Cats
Presented by: Altona City Theatre
Venue: Altona Theatre, Altona
Reviewer: Julia Roper
Date Reviewed: 4th July 2008
“CATS
is often a rite of passage for musical theatre performers,
challenging the ‘triple threat’ of singing, acting and dancing for
all cast members….” This is a direct quote from Steven Taggart,
director/choreographer of Altona City Theatre’s latest production,
CATS, and I couldn’t agree with him more.
I hadn’t seen
CATS live on stage since the professional show was in
Sydney
in the ‘80s and my trip to Altona quickly reminded me how demanding
CATS is on a cast. No performer can hide – lesser performers
are exposed but exceptional talent is also given a chance to shine.
The production
team did an outstanding job in providing the cast with technical
elements that would aid their performance. Firstly I should make
special mention of the amazing set designed by Dave Sutton. His
construction team created an old theatre-come-junk yard complete
with collage-style flooring of stage show posters from yesteryear
which were hand-painted by the extremely talented Josephine Cobb.
All I can say is wow!
The
combination of costume designer Warren Gooch and make-up assistant
Jack Wille produced the essential feline transformation and Robert
Taylor’s lighting design gave the stage purrfect ambiance.
(Sorry – no more cat puns, I promise!)
Audio designer
James Holt was let down at times by the sound operators but I’m sure
such issues will be ironed out as the show run continues. The
orchestra in the very capable hands of musical director Daniel
Heskett did not disappoint. Accompaniments were tight and seldom
overpowered the vocalists.
Steven
Taggart’s dance background was evident from the prologue. His
choreography offered variety and appeal as it integrated cat-like
characteristics and his direction made effective use of the stage.
The biggest
problem with CATS is the disjointed storyline. My colleague,
who hadn’t seen CATS or heard much of the music before, was
very lost at interval. But, with the help of periodic plot
explanations from me, went on to enjoy the performance. I guess
that’s the greatest challenge for anyone directing CATS – so
keep that in mind if you’re ever planning of directing this mammoth
show in the future.
Now to the
cast. As an ensemble, they worked well together and Steven had
obviously drilled them enough to make sure they never broke out of
their individual characters.
Stand-out
individual performances included the show’s narrator Munkustrap
played by Dave Muscat and Old Deuteronomy played by Stuart Dodge.
Both men had lovely voices and communicated with the audience well.
Special
mention should also be made of Katy Roose’s tormented Grizabella,
Marco Fusco and Rachel Cronin’s comedic portrayal of Growltiger and
the Lady Griddlebone, Benjamin Stokes and Tanya Mamo’s mischievous
romp as Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, and Tom Bradley’s outstanding
dance prowess as Mr Mistofelees.
The
exceptional number of the evening, however, belonged to Caroline
Buckle and Shelley Rodrigues whose rendition of Macavity was
executed superbly. I wanted an encore performance but no such luck!
If you’re a
CATS fan or you just want a good night out at the theatre, I
encourage you to head down to Altona before the show closes on July
26.
Julia has been an on-stage performer for many years and has also
undertaken roles in vocal training and Musical Direction. Drawing
from a professional background in media, journalism, marketing and
events management, Julia made her debut as a Director in 2006 and
hasn’t looked back since!
* Correction made on
20/07/08 - due to an error in the program supplied by the company,
our reviewer incorrectly credited Make-Up Assistant Jack Wille, as
Tom Willie. |