When niece Jaime turned 11, all she wanted for her birthday was to see “Cats” at the Carousel Dinner Theatre in Fort Collins.
When Jaime turned 15, all she wanted for her birthday was to see “Cats” at the Carousel Dinner Theatre in Fort Collins.
Only this time, she wanted to dress elegantly and bring her best friends. Last time, I think she wore pajama bottoms and fluffy slippers.
Carousel has brought back the biggest hit in its 15-year history, just in time for the summer birthday season. And while director Scott Wright’s revival doesn’t quite reach the same artistic heights in its second life, this carpool of kitty-loving kiddies got what they came for — and more. They got to see the show they loooove — and they got to shamelessly flirt afterward with the poor kid who plays Munkustrap. This was not a huge priority in 2004.
“Did I mention that I love Munkustrap?” Jaime asked on the way home.
Yeah, like 10 times.
Wright’s deck was stacked in ’04, when he had the pick of the northern Colorado litter for the state’s first homegrown staging of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s odd musical menagerie of pussy cats imagined in T.S. Eliot’s poetry.
Me? I’ve never really understood the appeal of this all-sung and nearly plotless musical in which each alley cat is introduced through a series of songs, kind of like a feline “A Chorus Line.” There’s the studly playboy, the magician, the old actor, and so on — some are essentially human characters with cat qualities; with others, it’s the reverse.
At the end, a patriarchal fat cat named Old Deuteronomy picks one cat to ride his smoky Stairway to Heaven. Or to start the next of nine lives. It’s all kind of murky to me.
But these were no ordinary kids in my car. Most had seen “Cats” many times. They’ve (voluntarily) devoured the dense Eliot poetry this is all based on, so they know all the back stories, and they dish fan-board gossip like the possibility that Rum Tug Tugger, Munkustrap and Macavity are brothers.
They loved the dancing; the flexibility of the female felines; and especially the exaggerated set, with heightened proportions to show how, say, a raisin box looks 5 feet tall to a cat. They got a total Tim Curry vibe from sneering playboy Rum Tug Tugger (Glenn M. Snellgrose II); they purred over magician Mr. Mistoffelees (Christopher D. Kirby); and they loved how the cats prowl among the audience.
Did I mention they loved Munkustrap (Colin Harrington)? Because they loved Munkustrap.
And Erin Voorhies blew them away as Grizabella. When I pointed out she was the understudy four years ago, so this was now her chance to shine, I was told, “She shone, dude … She shone.”
Griz is the faded “Glamour Cat,” but they ought to call her the “money cat” — after all, she sings the money song, “Memory,” the biggest slam-dunk in musical history.
I still don’t get why these kitties are so respectful of their male elders but treat Griz like she reeks of sardine-flavored Purina, but the girls say it’s no gender double- standard. Griz left the litter when she was young to see the world for herself, got scratched-up but good and has come back seeking acceptance. They shun her now not because she’s lost her glamour, I was told, but because she left them in the first place.
And Jaime noticed with hope that one young girlie kitty does follow Griz everywhere, as if to say, “I still love you, but I’m afraid to say so — because you might rip my innards out.”
“Memory,” I was told, is Griz’s way of saying, “If you would just touch me, you’ll understand why I came back.”
This new cast is a bit younger and less confident than the original (even with some double-casting, there are 12 kittens from the Broadway original that got left at the pound). The choreography seems to have been simplified a bit since ’04, and the makeup, which last go-round turned each face into a work of art, now seems basic by comparison.
None of which mattered to this caravan of twitterpated teens who spent the drive back to Denver raving about the show, its execution and those cute, cute boys. They say Macavity (Broc Timmerman) is a cutie, but Munk’s a hunk — which you kind of have to take on faith, considering they’re all covered in spandex, makeup and fur from pawnail to facial whisker.
Laura wasn’t disappointed after having seen “Cats” on Broadway. “I mean, this is a tiny warehouse in Fort Collins,” she said. “But the food was awesome, and the characters were fun. They really reach out to you.
“And, c’mon, ‘Memory’ made me cry,” she said. “Jeez, I’m starting to cry again.”
And did I mention they loved Munkustrap? Because they loved Munkustrap.
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
“Cats” *** (out of four stars)
Kodak musical. Carousel Dinner Theatre, 3509 S. Mason St., Fort Collins. Through June 29. 2 hours, 15 minutes. 7:45 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 1:45 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (dinner 90 minutes before). $34-$44. 970-225-2555 or
Cast list
Bombalurina: Brooke Lyn Hetrick
Bustopher Jones/Gus: Richard Moore
Cassandra: Teri English
Demeter: Aimee Eckhardt
Jemima: Briana Gassner
Jennyanydots: Kyle Accord
Mungojerrie/Macavity the Mystery Cat: Broc Timmerman
Magical Mr. Mistoffelees: Christopher D. Kirby
Rumpleteazer: Jacqui Pugh
Munkustrap: Colin Harrington
Old Deuteronomy: Jason Bradberry
Rum Tum Tugger: Glenn M. Snellgrose II
Skimbleshanks: Matt Rossi
Victoria: Amanda Copple
Grizabella: Erin Voorhies
