Cats opens a new era
at Sacramento's Music Circus
Reviewed by Joe Blenkle/Sacramento Stage & Theatre
Ken Page as Old Deuteronomy (standing) and Jeffry Denman as Munkustrap in the Music Circus production of CATS at the Wells Fargo Pavilion, July 8-20. Photo: Steve Kolb.
    I was highly disappointed a few years back when CATS ended its long Broadway run. This undoubtedly meant an end as well to the touring companies that had brought CATS through Sacramento on several occasions. Perhaps it's just that I'm a cat lover (the real kind) that I like this musical so much. The whole thing is just so silly (by people standards) - much like real cats - but of course the CATS cats take it very seriously (much like real cats) and so its seems such a delightful and fitting way to usher in the new era of Music Circus at the Wells Fargo Pavilion.
    If you're not up to speed on CATS, here it is in a nutshell. Inspired by a series of poems by T.S. Eliot in 1939, CATS is about the annual meeting of cats at the Jellicle Ball where the oldest and wisest cat - Old Deuteronomy (Ken Page) - chooses the one cat who will rise up to the Heavyside Layer and be reborn into a new and different Jellicle Cat.
    The whole musical leads up to this event and we are introduced to the many cats who take part in this annual gathering.
    CATS doesn't translate well to the Music Circus' small round stage. If you've seen CATS at the Community Center Theater on previous Broadway Series visits, you'll know why - the junkyard set takes up the whole big stage - and it just isn't as effective on a smaller scale. The stage gets very crowded at the MC - whereas there is lots of leaping and prancing room on the big stage.
    This one negative aside, what director Leland Ball and choreographer Suzanne Viverito have brought to the Music Circus' 2003 opening is quite amazing. It's CATS, after all, and whatever stage it's on it's still worth seeing.
THINGS YOU WON'T MISS ABOUT THE OLD MUSIC CIRCUS TENT
I'm as much of a traditionalist as the next, but...
 No screaming sirens racing by during a performance.
 Lack of air conditioning on those hot summer nights.
 Ants crawling up your leg late in the first act.
 The uncomfortable, sagging, sometimes broken seats.
 Shortage of restroom facilities.
 Did I mention ants crawling up your leg?
    The Andrew Lloyd Webber music brings Eliot's poems to life as we learn about such cats as Grizabella (Jacquelyn Piro) - the old, outcast and ragged cat the others want nothing to do with; Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer (Michael McGurk and Michelle Pruiett) - two mischief loving cat-burglar types; Mr. Mistoffelees (Jeff Lewis) - the magical conjuring cat; the evil and feared Macavity (Ricky Bulda); and my favorite - Asparagus ("but that's such a fuss to pronounce that we usually call him just Gus") played by Richard Poole in this production.
    It's no coincidence that one of our three cats is named Gus!
    CATS is a fun production and despite a few opening night flubs went off well. If you haven't seen it yet, this might be a good opportunity. The costumes are well done, as is the makeup, and the set - although not nearly as grand as the CATS set on the big stage - does well with the area they have to work with. Like the old Music Circus, you're still up close to the stage no matter where you sit and the actors still run down - and perform in - the aisles, bringing the action even closer to the audience.
    The new Music Circus stage - while overcrowded at times for CATS - lends itself well to the viewing pleasure of the audience. Not only does it revolve like the old stage, various sections of it can be raised and lowered creating different effects or just raising a main character above the rest.
    The new Wells Fargo Pavilion building is gorgeous too. Inside it's much like the old tent - but without the poles blocking your view. The sound is much better and the air conditioning will make you forget about all those hot, uncomfortable nights of years past. And the seats! No more sagging director's chairs - just cushioned theater-type seats. The only possible drawback to the new building is exiting the facility. Whereas in the old tent you would exit directly onto the Music Circus grounds, now you funnel into a narrow hallway that circles the building before exiting and this slows everyone down.
    CATS performs at the Wells Fargo Pavilion, 15th and H Streets in Sacramento, through July 20. Performances are at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, with matinees on Thursdays and Saturdays at 2 p.m.
    Tickets priced at $30-$46 are on sale at the Wells Fargo Pavilion box office, 1419 H Street, or by phone at (916) 557-1999. Tickets are also available at Tickets.com (916) 766-2277. Visit the Music Circus' web site at: Sacramento Music Circus.
Return to Sacramento Stage & Theatre