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Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Day 362-Cats- PNC Broadway- a “Purrfect” Night to Embellish A New Beginning


The musical Cats is the fourth longest running show on Broadway. This show with colorful costumes, non-stop energized dancing and a beautiful musical score by Andrew Loyd Webber, was all the rage in the 80’s when I first saw it with my parents.  The show revolves around the annual Jellicle Ball where cats gather to choose the one among them that will be reborn to a new life. This show now seemed more applicable to my human life because this blog is all about trying new things and new beings after a life change.  Cats was a “purrfect”  night to celebrate the chosen Jellicle cat’s rebirth and to embellish the idea of a life “do over” -a new beginning.


Refection
Cats is based on T.S Eliot’s poems, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. It is a fanciful introduction to a variety of feline personalities through only song and dance. I had forgotten how much dancing until the opening song, “Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats.” Cats with glowing eyes entered through the aisles and then burst into motion with over 20 on stage. The all white cat,Victoria (Caitlin Bond), preformed a ballet solo in the “Invitation to the Jellicle Ball” where the narrator, Munkutrap (Zachary S. Berger) explained that Old Deuteronmy (Adam Richardson) would choose a cat  to begin a new life.

The cats burst into motion with over 20 dancing on stage.
One of my favorite dances was the energized tap dancing number in “The Old Gumbie Cat.”  Jennyanydots (Dani Godstein) is a fat lazy cat by day who gets active at night. This show had an array of furry introductions before closing out the first act with “Song of Jellicles and Jellicale Ball,” a lengthy spectacular dance that showcased the athleticism of the company.

Gizabella (Donna Vivino)  singing  "Memory" gave me goose bumps. 

In the second half, high octane fueled the dance to the song,“The Magical Mister Mistoffelees,” that told the tale of the Magician Cat. Mistoffeless (PJ DiGaetano) powered jumps and  made consecutive ballet turns while sporting a multi colored lighted vest.  It was a big production but nothing stopped the show like the Glamour Cat, Grizabella’s (Donna Vivino) song “Memory.” This melancholy ballad of her remembrance and longing of a past glamorous life gave me goose bumps and had the audience clapping wildly.  Grizabella got her life do over as smoke seemly propelled a rising platform on the stage and then she ascended into the air to begin anew.    
This show sparks the youth in us.

I noticed a lot of cat ears worn by both adults and children in the audience. There is something about this show that sparks the youth in us all.  As I move closer in age to life’s second half,  I could sing “Memory” along with Grizabella, missing the good old times but this show reminds us that there are still many more good times yet to come. This is especially true when you have the spirit of adventure to  try new things.  

(PNC Broadway 2019 -20 Season is a great way to find a new adventure at trustarts.org and for more information on the Cats North American tour go here.)

Spiritual Reflection
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

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