#cats programme

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Another revisit of a programme in my collection that I only briefly previously mentioned is this absolutely gorgeous Shiki CATS programme published Demember 24th 2019. I find it strange that this programme is technically newer than CATS (2019). This is probably my favourite programme/brochure I own!

Made in honour of the 10,000th show in the overall Shiki CATS production, which has been continuously ongoing since it opened in 1983, this programme/brochure is over 80 pages, and bound in a white holographic rainbow cover.

It contains so many fantastic images of the cast and production, and is absolutely top quality. You can truly appreciate the character designs with this book.

There is such amazing attention to detail in this programme that is not shown in the photos above. I love this item, and it puts a smile on my face to know I own it!

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Something a bit newer in my CATS programme and souvenir brochure library, all part of my larger CATS merchandise and related items collection, is this CATS Broadway Revival 2016 souvenir brochure, dated to the middle of March 2017, just before Georgina Pazcoguin, who played Victoria, left the company.

This is the largest souvenir brochure I own size wise, and it has some fantastic photographs of the cast and specific Cats or songs. My favourite one is the 'Gumbie Cat' photograph. Eloise has the perfect look of a cat who sits around all day.

This brochure goes well with the other items I own from the 2016 Revival, like the signed jazz shoes or the signed cats windowcard, and I am glad that I own it.

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Moving back to my Shiki CATS portion of my CATS collection, here is a souvenir programme/brochure published on February 22nd 1993, when the Shiki production would have been centered in Osaka. I feel lucky to own this as there are likely not many programmes like this present outside of Japan.

It is of the upmost quality and is fairly lengthy, compared at least to the London or Broadway programmes and brochures of the time (and even in recent years). It probably has a history of CATS Japan within and character and cast biographies, but as I cannot read Japanese, I can only assume they are present.

What I can do however is admire the wonderful photos of the cast, including the unique character designs from Japan, and the designs, such as the white Tugger, that would be eventually be retired in favour of the standard worldwide design in the recent years of the Shiki production.

I believe Yoshiko Hattori is the Jennyanydots present on the cover of the programme. She was the original Jennyanydots in Japan and played the role for over 20 years from 1983 until 2004, continuing to perform even after being diagnosed with Esophageal cancer. Yoshiko holds the cast record for the most performances in the Japanese production with a total of 4,251 performances, a number likely not to be broken by anyone. She unfortunately passed away from cancer in 2007.

As I say in each post, I am glad that I own such a wonderful item!

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Revisiting something I posted last month as a total set, here is a quick, expanded look at the CATS Vienna 2019 souvenir book that I bought along with all the other items.

This book is BEAUTIFUL and is full of fantastic photos. They are even more exciting to me because I love Hannah as Victoria. She is so pretty and perfect as Victoria is she not? Plus she is poofy and floofy and that is very much my sort of thing for character designs.

I had a fun time looking at this again, and I hope you enjoyed it as well. As always, I am very glad that I own it!

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Getting back into my posts of my CATS programmes and souvenir brochure, here is one my favourites I have obtained. This is one was first published July 22nd 1981, just a couple months after the musical opened for the first time at the New London Theatre. There exists two earlier sets, one from April 1981 and one from May 1981, that I am constantly on the lookout for.

Interestingly, this brochure and the programme I own published on the same date have different cast lists, which leads to some questions. The main being just how long was Elaine Paige Grizabella for until she left the company?

At any rate, I love seeing content from the premiere year of CATS, as it shows the foundation of what the musical would transition to over the now 40 years of existence.

The images in here are fantastic, and I am always happy to have more images of Susan Jane Tanner as Jellylorum and Griddlebone!

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Here is another programme in my CATS merchandise and related items collection, this time it is one from the Southampton stop in 1994 on the UK Tour.

As with many CATS programmes from these years, some cast members were part of CATS (1998), like John Partridge as Tugger, Fergus Logan as Mistoffelees, Karl Morgan as Carbucketty, and Frank Thompson as the Rumpus Cat.

Interestingly, Frank playing only the Rumpus Cat and not in conjunction George is something that I have not seen before, as he was Swing for the UK Tour. Also considering that David Ashley, the Alonzo, is usually quoted as playing both roles, there is a discrepancy in this programme compared to what is found on the CATS wiki.

This is one of the reasons that I love owning CATS programmes, as they can provide information like this not widely known.

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Here is another souvenir brochure from my CATS merchandise and related items collection, this time one from December 1988. A large part of this brochure is photos of the Original London Cast, but I did not include any for reasons you will eventually see (hint, hint).

It is interesting to see the cast change from the May 1988 programme I own, as some new individuals are here that were present through 1989 and onwards.

Perhaps most notable regarding this brochure is that Aeva May was Demeter at the time and there are a few photos of her in it.

However, I think my favourite part of this item, and one of the main reasons I purchased it, is that three people who played Victoria at some point are in the cast list! Cherida Langford (Zizi Strallen's mother) would have been the main Victoria at this time (as an aside, Summer Strallen, Zizi's father played Admetus here. Him and Cherida met performing in CATS), Jacqui Harman (who played Victoria from 1982 to 1985) would be a swing here, and Amanda Courtney-Davies (Victoria in 1989 and 1990) would have played Tantomile here. I love that about this item!

Geoffrey Garratt (1998 Skimbleshanks) is also present in the cast list, as he was a swing at this time.

Needless to say, this is an item that I am glad to own!

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Here is another CATS programme that I own, this time for London 1988.

Did I buy it just because Aeva May was Demeter during this time? Yes.

Interestingly, Nadia Strahan is featured in the programme as Cassandra, the role she originated in Sydney, Australia in 1985 when CATS opened there.

Geoffrey Garratt (1998 film Skimbleshanks) is also mentioned here, as he was a Swing at the time.

I think this is a interesting piece in my increasingly larger collection of CATS programmes and brochures.