Here is a sentence I never thought I would find myself typing- I love Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Cats." At least I love the reimagined and resurrected revival of the much maligned musical as embodied in "Cats: The Jellicle Ball" that is closing the inaugural season at the Perelman Performing Arts Center, which itself was resurrected amidst the 9/11 World Trade Center buildings footprints.
To be clear, this is not your grandmother's "Cats." Co-Directors Zhailon Livingston and PAC Artistic Director Bill Rauch have adeptly reenvisioned Webber's feline pageant musical as a queer ballroom competition that seamlessly melds the worlds of queer ballroom and musical theater culture. On paper, I feared this show could end up a hot mess of historical proportions. But from the opening scene I was hooked and ultimately found this brilliantly conceived production to be among the most entertaining theatrical experiences I have had to good fortune to see.
What is among the most surprising aspects of this show is that it is largely faithful to the sung through score, albeit with the addition at times of a thundering house beat and some ballroom character name projections. And while one could spot technical musical theater limitations on the ballroom associated cast members and technical queer ballroom deficiencies on the musical theater vets, these are small prices to pay to see these spheres so joyously combined.
In Los Angeles in the late 1990s, I saw Bill Rauch's ingenious melding of Cinderella (Rogers & Hammerstein's)/Madea/Macbeth. The combination was head spinning in its audacity and intelligence. It remains one of the most searing highlights of my theatergoing experiences. Mr. Rauch, with able assistance from his co-director and his queer ballroom experienced choreographers (Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles) has with this "Cats" reimagining once again provided me a genre melding production that I will never forget and will likely remain among my all time favorite theatrical experiences. Get your tickets now, as it is currently scheduled to run at the PAC only until August 11.
