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Trip Report:
London, April 12th-13th, 2002
(by
Swan - AKA Demeter)
This was my fourth trip to see the show, and it was probably the best one,
for many reasons.
First of all, I met three Cats-friends: Jenny, Kate (Magenta) and Claire.
And some performers too. They all were brief meetings, but I enjoyed them
all.
Then, it was a good trip also because I had enough time to walk all over
the city and make my love for it increasing.
Oh, and on Saturday afternoon I also could see The Lion King: a
great show, with wonderful costumes. You can’t miss it!
And finally… well, finally the two evening shows. About seats: on Friday
I had B29 and on Saturday I had B28. Of course I can’t remember
everything of the performances, so I won’t describe both them song by
song… I’ll just write down my most strong feelings and memories.
Warning: this is just the first, “poor” version of the report… as
soon as possible, some waves and samples will come!
;-)
THE
LEADER OF THE STAGE
Sorry to admit it, as Rum Tum Tugger is not my favourite character, but
yes, John Partridge was the absolute leader. Of course it is not
too difficult to attract attention when you play that sort of character,
but it really seems that the RTT was created for him on purpose! The way
of acting, singing, speaking, moving, going to kiss and hug members of the
audience… I really enjoyed his performance!
THE
MOST INTENSE GAZES
Helen Harper as Tantomile and Emma Woods as Cassandra. Always
intense, always concentrated, really mystical. During the Naming of Cats
and the Moments of Happiness, they really seemed to be ready to scratch
you if you disturbed them.
On Friday evening, at the end of the show, when the audience was cheering
and applauding, Tantomile was in front of me, looking straight in my eyes.
And, as I had liked very much her performance, I looked at her and smiled,
as to say “good job, Helen!”. Do you think she smiled in reply?
Absolutely not! She STILL was playing Tantomile, with her ice eyes and
expression, and it was even more amazing!
A note about Emma Woods: when she was singing in front of me, I tried to
listen carefully to her voice. Maybe it’s not as loud as the voice of
other performers, but sure it’s one of the most clear, graceful and
clean. Add this to her way of moving and dancing, and the conclusion is:
that’s style, guys.
JUMPING
ON MY CHAIR…
…Every time that Oliver Tydman’s voice surprised me, coming
from behind! He was playing Coricopat... and definitely does not need loudspeakers!
“OOOOH,
NOW I SEE!”
This was my most frequent thought as I was looking at Kate Tydman
playing Etcetera on Friday, and Rumpleteazer on Saturday. “Ooooh, now I
see!” means “Now I understand why so many people on the Forum and on
their websites always go on talking about Kate Tydman, and how good she is,
and how an amazing dancer, and how she plays her characters, and how this
and how that!” So, for all the folks who said those things: you were
absolutely right!
THE
MOST FUNNY ONES
Kittens, of course. Andrew Wright as Victor and Jye Frasca as
Carbucketty were fantastic felines and made me feel the nostalgy for my
two beloved cats at home!
THE
SURPRISE
Summer V-Strallen as Jellylorum, both evenings. It was a surprise
because, at first, I was thinking “Hmmm, too young… that’s the face
of a kitten…”. Then there was the Naming of Cats, and I still was thinking:
“Hmmm… she keeps her voice too thin and high… I wonder how she will
sing Gus…”
After hearing Bustopher, I had understood that I should not say
“hmmm…” anymore! And when she sang Gus and played Griddlebone, it
was definitely the moment to admit that I had been an idiot and she was
really great. You would not believe that such a strong and loud voice is
hidden in such a thin and delicate body. And I’m still not mentioning
her interpretation of Griddlebone: I don’t think I ever laughed so much
in my life!
THE
MOST SMILING ONE
Lynsey Britton (Rumpleteazer), there’s no doubt. She always
smiles. ALWAYS. I started to think that you could beat her on her head
with a baseball club, and she would smile anyway.
THE
CONFIRMATIONS
Jack Rebaldi as Munkustrap and Tiffany Graves as Bombalurina.
Voices, dancing, acting: everything simply perfect. Nothing else to say.
THE
CRAZY ONES
Gareth Snooke (Gus) and Susie Fenwick (Jennyanydots). Doooon’t try to convince
me that those two performers are not completely mad, deep in their
mind! Their laughters and movings were fantastic and brought real
cheerfulness. Oh, and, of course, unforgettable voices.
THE
BROKEN DISC
My friend Filippo, talking about Summer V-Strallen. “Amazing…
beautiful… charming… fantastic…” etc etc. He didn’t stopped
until we were back at the hotel.
“EHM,
EHM… HEY, YOU!!!!!”
Those are the words that I said, of course laughing, to my husband when,
in the end of the show, as the performers were on the edge of the stage
greeting the audience, Tiffany Graves saw us and, I think,
recognised us, so she smiled a lot in our direction. I replied to her
smile and clapped my hands at her. My husband did the same… BUUUT… he
just had that sort of loving glance lost in the air… you know… argh,
MEN!!!!
Although… ehm, I must admit that my glances at Jack Rebaldi were
not so innocent too! We met him at the stage door and he said me: “I
remember, you’re the Italian girl, who was here last month with her
husband!”, and I replied: “He still is my husband, but just because
you didn’t phone me!”
Oh, well, just kidding, of course. "And there isn't any need for you
to doubt it"! :-)
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