Cats The Jellicle Ball - Tumblr Posts
This probably isnt the case, but if they genderbent Skimble to be a female cat then that might've been a reference to Tama (たま), a real cat that worked as a railway station master in Japan (pictured below)
But if that is the case, I'm confused about why she spoke Spanish. Regardless, Congrats on getting the chance to see the production! I am very jealous.
OKAY SO CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL!!
i watched it with my cousin and like i said in a previous post, it was so fucking amazing.
basically, its a ballroom competition where each cat is basically competing (through their character songs) to receive a trophy. then at the end, old deut chooses the one "cat" who will become the jellicle choice and ascend to become "reborn"
a side note, don't watch it with young kids LOL. some adult innuendos here and there especially with jenny's song (and of course tugger) haha, but very good!
okay let's begin (AND YES SPOILERS):
overture
i almost bawled my eyes out during this. the overture never fails to make me cry. its such an ethereal feeling.
pre playing overture - the dj comes out first and pulls out a couple vinyl, representing influential poc icons and then pulls out cats. he opens it and glitter sparks out. he then walks up to his turntable and starts the overture. in the front theres a projection of the cat eyes which has victoria's original white cat choreography dancing! then it turns into a silhouette of cassandra who starts doing vogue ballroom moves! so cool!
jellicle songs for jellicle cats
characters appear from all aspects of the theater. this show is hella interactive. they only had a few of the cats cast but it was still so very good. all of the outfits are so gorgeous. i honestly dont remember much bc i was so infatuated and i think i blacked out while watching. the part where they all gathered in the middle of the runway and did their catwalk was so fucking hype
naming of cats
macavity stared dead at me when doing the "theres a man over there!" but the cast disperses out the runway on the sides and munkustrap is the one mainly saying the poem like an mc (thats basically his role) from a microphone attached to a mic stand. the rest of the cast is also speaking with him and the spotlight flashes to the certain "cat" if they say their name
victoria the white cat
GIRLY POP WAS SO FUCKING GORGEOUS WITH HER MOVES I WAS IN FUCKING AWE SHE WAS SO BEAUTIFUL AND HER MOVES WERE SO AHHHHHH like i cant even describe it i dont even think i blinked once for real!!! her hair was gorgeous, outfit slayed, and HSIXKDKDKDK HER DANCING HER DANCING!!! AHHHHH
invitation
again, introducing munkustrap as the master of ceremonies. misto sang his usual thing (my god his hair was so long like SILK gorgeous long so smooth). munkustrap introduced it like a show. but it was so funny because they put it like "jellicle cats COME OUT tonight!" as in like actual queer coming out, they all carried signs and hung it up for everyone to see.
gumbie cat
off the BAT she is like...humping cassandra (who doubles as skimbleshanks) and theres a lot of sexual innuendos going on here and there LOL. she was so funny to watch tho and this was like the first part of the competition where it was "virgin vogue" first. i honestly forgot what was happening because SO MUCH was happening. but basically three cats were dancing and showing off their move, one cat won the trophy (it was cass) they all had a rainbow pride aspect to their outfit. i think jenny also won a trophy? i forgot.
tugger
dude was holding a fucking MCDONALDS HAPPY MEAL (i cant remember if it was right before his song or during his other songs). but jellylorum was holding a tugger fansign the entire time as he sang. his voice was UGH SO GOOD and my fucking god my cousin and i were flabbergasted over his moves like BRO we were gushing for realll. misto the entire time was just hovering around the runway as tugger was doing his usual flirting thing. of course dude attempted to strip. he won a trophy. but the last part (yknow the last part), he stood on the table (misto was mocking him as he did his riffs), sillabub was the one squealing and fainting. but mans is gorgeous. i forgot what his ballroom theme was tho. it definitely involved the guys like walking down the runway in different outfits trying to get his approval.
grizabella
ugh demeter's vocals were so gorgeous. but i looove the way grizabella's story was integrated with this show. she's washed out and wants to return, she wants to perform again. and sillabub had so much importance to grizabella's story. she was always the one reaching out to her while everyone looked away. her vocals were also gorgeous
bustopher jones
NONBINARY BUSTOPHER JONES!!! i loved how they did this number. their vocals were so powerful and their belts were so strong i was in shock??? also, the best part was the dance break when it was basically misto vs tugger (luscious body vs muscular body). bro...cheeks were OUT. literally tugger was only in like underwear spandex just flexing muscles, my cousin and i were like "OH MY GOD" and misto on the other hand was so fucking gorgeous oh my lord???? the hair and the sparkly outfit and the poses??? dude power couple FOR REAL!!
first macavity scare
demeter was like "macavity?? 🤨🤨🤨" her character is very different from normal productions but it was hilarious.
mungojerrie and rumpleteazer
I LOVED THEIR FUCKING JERSEY ACCENTS. IM FROM JERSEY AND IT WAS GREAT. even in the playbill, it said they came from victoria grove, new jersey I WAS AGHAST LMAOOO. but the theme for this one was duos! so it was mungo/rump vs victoria/tumble. their beginning outfits with matching jumpsuits was so cute and then they changed into these green fits that were so slay! they were basically going toe to toe with vic/tumble trying to outdance them. vic/tumble actually won the round but mungo/rump stole the trophy from them.
old deut
this part was hype!! munkustrap was doing his usual singing (through his handheld mic) and everyone was listening. when tugger's part came on, tugger was off the runway, so munk was crouching and putting the mic towards tugger. it was like a "your turn to sing now buddy! 😊" and tugger was like "okie :3" they both ended up on the runway and sang their duet. the cast held up "ALL RISE" signs and it was even projected on the stage, so we were all standing for old deuteronomy. he appeared from the curtain and we were all cheering for a long time until he silenced us. then he sang and held a note for like....maybe a minute long??!??? we were all cheering. he sat at his throne that was at the end of the runway. bc my cousin and i were sitting in normal orchestra seats, we couldn't see what he was doing half the time
*they removed pekes and pollicles*
jellicle ball
macavity scare again. well, actually, macavity appeared. he didn't seem to have a villain role? im honestly not sure what his role was but he seemed to be a jellicle. he also carried garbage bags (if someone could explain macavity more that would be great!!) nobody was like hiding (as in going offstage), but old deut was saying his usual thing and everyone was saying their parts of the poem. the jellicle ball was a showcase presenting different moves, it was so fun to see. for the fast part of the ball, misto made the "jellicle moon" appear (which was a disco ball!!) and the entire theater was just gorgeous. more showcase of moves! i was really jamming out during this part. grizabella was standing on the balcony area, watching.
memory
grizabella had now appeared on the ground floor, everyone went away, old deut was walking away too but stopped at the staircase to watch grizabella. sillabub also came back into view and watched her. i really did love her voice, it was gorgeous. and at the end, sillabub tried to get her back into the group by showing her a sparkling dress, but grizabella ran offstage. however, she did leave behind a scarf which now sillabub wore for the rest of the show
act 2 - moments of happiness
they brought out a screen and projected images of past history. i really loved how they did this. all the other cats were around to watch, but it was mainly all about old deut and sillabub. the older generation speaking to the new young generation. they presented the different "houses" and the last one was "grizabella of the glamour house"
gus
looooooved gus's look in this. and looooooved jelly's blue wig. gus's song was pretty much kept the same, with jellylorum singing about what he did in his past and so on and so forth. apparently they were taking out playbills from a bag and one of them was 2016 broadway revival cats (according to my cousin), but they were also flipping through a photo album. (to be honest, i was distracted by tugger and misto sitting together on the couch so close to each other) but all the cats eventually settled on the runway stage as gus performed. they had the "and once i played the rumpus cat" part (but no pekes and pollicles), so there was a cat as "gus as the rumpus cat from the past" and gus mimicking his moves. i really liked how they did this
*there was no growltiger*
skimbleshanks
FEM SKIMBLE!!!!! my cousin and i were so fucking hyped during this WE LOVE SKIMBLE IN THIS HOUSEHOLD!!! number one, the wig was fucking OH MY GOD SOOOO GORGEOUS???!??? so skimble is the train conductor of the mta! so they were mimicking being on the subway IT WAS SO FUNNY. she fr pulled out a metrocard and they played the "please stand clear of the sliding doors" announcement pfft. but the most surprising part was that she sang some of the lyrics in spanish??!??!??! TOTALLY ATE FOR REAL!!! my cousin and i were so shocked it was such a fun sight to see!!! she slayed so hard along with rumpleteazer. they were literally going toe to toe with each other dancing! (i think the theme for this was old way vs new way?) and also misto and skimble were also going toe to toe with each other ugh they were so goooood
macavity
again, i was still confused on macavity's role in this (someone please explain!!) but old deut was not taken away yet. he did however fucking flashbang a flashlight at all of us. he was taken away after the song and during the fight. but i LOVED how they did this. the theme was "labels" and UGH the demeter and bomba were such a good mix. they were basically wearing high end brands for the runway (like louis vuitton and prada), going against victoria, tumble, and mungojerrie?? i think?? macavity showed himself during the climax of the song in such a cunty outfit it was amazing. they were all showing off to old deut. mac/deme/bomba won the trophy i think, but then it was discovered that their outfits were fake? i think? i honestly dont know, but the police barged in and old deut sacrificed himself for macavity. this is when he was taken away
mistoffelees
tugger sat at the end of the runway, contemplating, thinking in distress, as everyone was trying to figure out how to save old deut. and then an idea hit him and thats when he starts the song. bro i was literally shaking in my seat. tugger was trying to hype everyone up for misto, but they were all like "you're crazy bro" however when misto showed up in that GORGEOUS BEAUTIFUL EXTRAVAGANT SPARKLY OUTFIT AND CROWN bro we were all so shook OH MY GOD its the magical mister mistoffelees. the theme was runway! so people were walking down the runway like a fashion show and misto was taking an aspect of their outfit away from them (this is also when misto basically rips off tugger's underwear HAHA). misto also fucking SNATCHED demeter's wig it was so funny (this was all during his "dance break") but yes of course, misto did dance and UGH IT WAS SOO GOOD I LITERALLY COULD NOT STOP CHEERING. a covered box was taken out as misto kept doing some more moves and posing, then removed the blanket to reveal old deut! (posing some more, literally ate and left no crumbs) everyone cheered as misto continued to dance, doing another version of the conjuring turns. old deut returned to his chair and everyone was encouraged to sing along! we were all standing and cheering! and YEP at the end! as tugger is giving misto the trophy, THEY FUCKING KISSED. TUGGOFFELEES SO REAL. THEY KISSED GUYS.
memory reprise
grizabella comes out again from the curtain, this time in full glam and the dress that sillabub offered, trying to make her case and perform again. the duet between sillabub and grizabella was so gorgeous oh my god. i was in awe at their voices. i really do love how they interpreted their relationship. it made so much sense. sillabub is basically a big fan of griz and wishes to see her perform again, but griz cant, so sillabub encourages her. at the end, old deut chooses griz as the jellicle choice
heavyside layer
one by one, everyone is accepting griz, giving her hugs. old deuteronomy makes a staircase appear and that is how griz ascends. the harmonies were so beautiful.
addressing of cats
old deut is singing to the audience. the cats are posing. they form the catwalk formation and drinks are being passed out as they sing. again, gorgeous voices
bows
we managed to record some of the bows! but im screaming and crying during most of it. munkustrap introduced the cats individually and they did their own stuff down the runway (including the conductor!) it was like a whole ass party. i was so lightheaded and full of adrenaline when the show ended. literally shaking.
and thats my rundown. i for sure forgot some things but ugh i really wanna go see it again. if i do, i can do a better explanation LOL. but yeah, please go see it if you can. its going on until august 11. and feel free to add stuff too! this is just what i saw.
each character was done so well and everyone ate so hard. i fucking love cats. okay good night it is 2am.
Who is who in "Cats: the Jellicle Ball" aka Cats PAC NYC (part 2)
x
Hello all! I’ve just been casted as Asparagus in cats! I love cats with a deep passion and I’m so ecstatic! But I was wondering as I am a soprano if any other feminine voiced people have played the part? Thank you cats fandom