2025 Australia tour - bows and show report (14/1/26, matinee)
Really fun matinee today! Everyone was having so much fun, feeding off each other and being happy and playful.
And fun with covers and split tracks! Savannah Lind gave us a fascinating Rumpel/Jemi split (assisted by Des Flanagan who decided Tugger needed to live his best Jemima life during “Skimbleshanks”). Plus Dominique Hamilton as Deme, Xavier Pellin as Misto, Thalia Smith as Cass, Aimee Jones as Jelly, and a very lovely Griz from Lucy Maunder. (Tanto and Jemi were cut).
(…. Can you tell I was looking at the stage and not at my phone when filming this….. 🤭)
My favourite moment in this night's curtain call footage is Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer experimenting with dance moves and comforting each other for not being as good as Mistoffelees. But obviously always love any flirty playful Jarrodstrap moments, like teasing Alonzo or polishing the stage for Tugger to pose on. And Tugger getting distracted by playing with his own tail!
Other fun results of the split track (and Tanto’s absence):
Lone Josh Cori gets to be extra friendly with other cats (including some lovely cuddles with Cass at the start of "Moments of Happiness")
Rumpelteazer singing “Moonlight” with only Cori to hold her hand (and just generally being In Touch With Her Mystic Side for the night)
Only the three central couples for the honky-tonk, no mungoteazer and coricomile (I had hoped Victoria might step in and dance with Cori but alas).
Rumpelteazer reaching out to Griz during “glamour cat” and being chased by Skimble into the corner and cuddled by him.
Victeazer collecting the rainbow ribbon bucket from Misto!
Instead of Misto freezing Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer during his number, he freezes Mungojerrie and Alonzo (Alonzo did not agree to this).
you know how, with new P&P, rumpelteazer doesn’t get to dive between the munkuthighs anymore? WELL FEAR NOT today she got to do it at the start of song of the jellicles instead. The balance of the world has been restored.
Without Tanto and Teazer to sit with him in front of the train, Misto had to pick his own flea out of his ear when Skimble mentioned the subject. 😔
best of all - I don’t know if this was planned or just Des being Des but part of Jemima’s track in Skimbleshanks was played by Tugger! He decided to lie down next to Vic to join the sleeping car, then flirted with her to create the “hilarity and riot” for Skimble to break up!
Fun things that had nothing to do with split tracks:
Munk was so relaxed about Deme and Tugger today! At one point where he usually hisses and lashes at Tugger to drive him away from her, he instead gave them each a lovely nuzzle.
Deme and Tugger spent almost the entirety of “Gus” doing some very warm loving nuzzles and cuddles ending up with her draped over his body, very pretty, very nice. 😌
… followed by Tugger nudging Misto during “Skimbleshanks” so that they both pounced on Deme to give her a scare on “one FLASH of his glass-green eyes”. But Deme was all trusting and cuddly by now and not skittish, so no harm done.
Edmetus was doing some lovely self-indulgent stretches using the oven as a scratching post at one point then MACAVITY SCARE and he fell over with zero dignity
Xavier went for some supersonic speed conjuring turns today!
Cori’s response to the second Macavity scare today was some impromptu aggressive yoga. Must have worked, since Macavity didn't turn up for another hour.
Cast is: Edward Smith (Admetus/Macavity), Rania Potaka-Osborne (Alonzo), Todd McKenney (Asparagus/Bustopher), Charlie Follows (Bill Bailey), Mia Dabkowski-Chandler (Bombalurina), Guy Pik (Carbuckety), Thalia Smith (Cassandra), Joshua Gordon (Coricopat), Dominique Hamilton (Demeter), Mark Vincent (Deuteronomy), Lucy Maunder (Grizabella), Aimee Jones (Jellylorum), Leigh Archer (Jennyanydots), Xavier Pellin (Mistoffelees), Jake O’Brien (Mungojerrie), Jarrod Draper (Munkustrap), Savannah Lind (Rumpelteazer/Jemima), Des Flanagan (Rum Tum Tugger), Tom Davis (Skimbleshanks), and Ella Fitzpatrick (Victoria).
I hope you don't mind me asking, but what were your thoughts on the Atlanta Cats production?
I am so glad you asked! The Atlanta production was a lot of fun and also very unique.
The choreographer (Baayork Lee) made the decision to leave a great part of the choreography "as is" and Jacob Brent was brought on to teach the Opening and the Jellicle Ball. This meant that elements that are no longer seen on stage were added back in - the Munk/Victoria lift in the opening, "British airways" and the Minuet section in the Jellicle Ball. It was pretty much "98 on stage" and the cast did a *fantastic* job with the dancing. "Macavity" was left as is, as well. Most of the new choreography flowed nicely and was fun to watch.
Plato/Macavity and Pounce/Tumble traditional tracks were split up between Plato/Macavity who did the Tumble flips AND flips during the Macavity fight, which was *great*, and Pounce who did the White Cat Lift. Macavity didn't get any henchcats - he had to drag Old D away on his own.
Munkustrap gives Tugger a big nuzzle during the Deut Duet which made me very happy. Tugger was spectacular - AND I might add looked *straight* at Void and mouthed "Love you" 😊😅
Grizabella had a phenomenal voice - very well trained, very powerful. She was so tiny and Munk was so tall!
Caitlin was a stunningly beautiful Victoria. And very fluffy! Munkustrap was also excellent - more scrungly, but just as fluffy (a Munkustrap should be Soft)
Harry Francis threw himself into the show 300% and made it his own. The Misto solo was basically kept intact - with added flourishes from Harry. He really lit up the stage, both during his solo and after. Just such a fun Misto to watch! We were able to catch him for a short conversation after the show - just letting him know how much we loved seeing him on stage and the original Gillian Broadway choreography.
There were also Actual Babies! A few students came out in the audience prior to the show to be Cats, and to hang out with the bigger cats during the first Act. They got to join in "Jellicle Songs" and the Ball as well!
ALSO EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: BOTH Tugger AND Munk got to Dance Princess Louise during the Ball!!!
(And Munk got to do a lift during the Honkytonk 😌)
There was no Electra for this production but there *was* an Etcetera and she was absolutely adorable.
I'm sure there are so many things I could add - I don't know if anyone else has seen the show, but please add any thoughts!
We had a wonderful time (Also found some truly amazing Sticky Toffee pudding just steps from the theater) and were so glad were able to make it.
Thank you for asking! ❤️❤️❤️
Link to the curtain call and @cryptidvoidwritings post.
Cats Vienna show report (Post 1 of 2, for pictures of the bows go to post 2 of 2).
So I started writing this post after my second viewing, but then I decided to get into the Ronacher for a third time in a week, so I head my elevensies. Didn't go for lunch, tea, and supper though.
I traveled 1200 kilometers to Vienna just to see Cats, and have well deserved holiday. So what better way to get there with the full Skimbleshanks experience on the Night Jet sleeper train. If people be interested I did get a little sequence of photo's following Skimble's song as much as possible.
After seeing the show I planned in advance on Wednesday, I decided to go see the Thursday show as well. Seeing the show two days in a row, and a third time later in the week, makes that I could spot differences between performers, as they cast was rather different on each day.
Long post semi structured rambling Vienna show report based on notes during intermission and pictures pictures ahead:
Three shows means that with the Vienna track rotatation I had some varied performers in a lot of prominent tracks, each portraying their characters slightly different. Note: in the below text I talk about the differences and my liking some things more than others. This is never to be taken as shade of the performers. All of the performances were stellar and any of the three shows were a delight to see on their own. I do have some personal preferences that come through every now and then.
First of all: there is so much going on. It is impossible to see or list all details. With most of the cast being on stage in character most of the time even if they aren't really doing anything to further the plot. A lot of little in character things going on in the background.
Let's start with the cast lists and the things that stood out to me, as much I could remember, for the different portrayals of the characters.
Munkustrap (Alexander Auler & Florian Fetterle)
I've seen some talk over the redesign of Munkustrap for the international tour that he looks scarier, and people are happy about that. I can tell you Alexander Auler as Munk *is* scary and is not a cat to be messed with. Aulerstrap snarls, does the Kubrick stare, and is strict. He has excellent facial dynamics that communicate that he's not someone that you want to be mad at you.
Opposed to Florian Fetterle whom I caught as Munk on the sunday Matinee. Florian is much softer, warmer and kinder Munkustrap. He smiles a lot and has a very different voice than Alexander. Florian didn't really impress me as Gus/Bus, mainly because he didn't seem to me as a good the character actor that Felix Martin is. But he does have the vocal skills to sing Bustopher and Growltiger, that warm baritone also translates into his Munkustrap. I might even like Florian more than the younger sounding Alexander. (Shocking, I know.)
Grizabella (Carin Filipčić & Barbara Obermeier)
Carin Filipčić has converted me from Team Gus to Team Grizabella for being the Jellicle choice, she portrays Griz as emotionally desperate and sings with a dark gritty tone in somewhat of a rock voice. She's amazingly cute and soft as Baby Griz in the opening numbers, hanging out with Jenny and Jelly. Grizz she spends way more time on stage than I thought. She lurks in the back for most of the ball and also returns after the intermission for Moments of Happiness. She might be around even more here and there.
Barbara Obermeier is a very different Griz than Carin is. Where Carin plays the emotional desperation. Barbara really looks and moves like she is standing with one foot in the grave and will die at the end of the night no matter who the choice will be. She too would have converted me to Team Griz. She sings the role in a the same rounded operatic style as she sings Jellylorum. I've listened to this casts recording a number of times and having her seen perform that part the night before took me a little to disconnect the voice from Jellylorum.
In general I prefer the less rounded grittier sounding Grizzes like Pia Douwes or Betty Buckely over the operatic ones. But Barbara turned it up to 11, especially in the reprise. Much more so than she does as Griddlebone and I was completely blown away by that. Needless to say that this performance too would have converted me to Team Griz.
Alonzo (George Maniadis & Tommie Luyben)
George Maniadis has perfected Alonzo's vanity into an art. He is the pretty one and know it. Constantly grooming himself, most of the time positioning himself some place up high looking down, both literally and figuratively on the rest of the tribe and the audience with an air and disdain of the popular blonde.
Tommie's Alonzo comes over to me as more of a himbo. He is pretty and knows it, but this Alonzo isn't just quite the cock of the walk yet. You know the type, the person that tries to hard and is off just a little bit. Alonzo that is, Tommie's performance and portrayal of him was excellent.
Jellylorum (Barbara Obermeier & Denise Jastraunig)
Main difference between the two Jelly's is the vibe they give off. Barbara's Jelly is clearly the matron of the tribe. A having a sense of strictness in how she carries herself on stage. Where Denise is a sweeter and sillier Jellylorum.
Old Deuteronomy (Rory Six & Lucius Wolter)
The two Deutoronomies were mostly indistinguishable from each other, but at the end of the intermission when Deut comes back on stage Rory went straight into his contemplation over what he has just seen in Memory, as if the intermission never happened. Lucius was more animated: sitting down, looking around the audience. Taking in what was in the room, just a little extra making connection and acknowledging the man over there and his friends (i.e.: the roughly 1000 audience members).
Tugger & the ships
All the Cats are hot for Tugger. Except for Munk, Skimble and Old Deuteronomy. Munk is mostly annoyed, but gives some mixed signals on how he really feels. Of course Jenny is displeased that Tugger interrupts her moment. But later on she does show her appreciation for the hunk.
For the Tuggerlurina fans: they full make out during the ball. At the back the tire during boys jump / tours just before Bomba exits stage right to get on position for her hip swaying solo entrance. While we're on the ships: the Tuggofolees is strong in this production. Just as the general flirting that Tugger does with most other cats including Rumpelteazer and Electra. There is even some implied Tuggerjerrie happening, where the two toms just miss each other flirtations and their love remains unanswered.
As bisexual and flirty as Tugger is, so straight are Bombalurina and Demeter. Deme is very much Munk's girl here, and most of the time staged far apart from Bombalurina. Seems that the creatives have thoroughly embraced the mlm sentiments that the fandom likes, but still keeps away from any implication of wlw. The closet thing to that was a playful Demeter batting at Tantomile's tail during Bustopher. In Macavity Bomba and Deme were very much good friends who have dated the same guy. (And not in the r/SapphoAndHerFriend way, unfortunately.)
Speaking of the mlm: one of the nights Bill Bailey and Mistofolees where a little more friendly than one would expect of two young toms. They were just about making out right in front of my nose. Another night Bill Bailey and Electra were having the cutest teenage romance going on between them throughout the show.
The connection between Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer was unclear to me. It could both be read as siblings or as lovers, neither one took the upper hand. However there is no denying that there a strong connection between the two of them. Mungojerrie looks really sad, lonely and lost when Rumpelteazer isn't near him. Especially after Growltiger, when he is already back on stage into his chorus costume but Teazer is still backstage to change out of her Siamese. Jerrie just sits in the far corner sulking, cowering even. Only to brighten up when Teazer finally returns to him.
If I ever wondered what the relation between Skimble and Jenny is, they're a couple here. Both mirroring each others roles as conductors and general aids of Munkustrap during Gumbie, Pekes and Bustopher. Making sure that the kittens get their masks, the kitten & queen choir is directed, and everyone of the 'dogs' get their props. Coming to a culmination with the two having their moment together on the boot during Gus the Theatre Cat.
Cats & Cast
Skimble is grumpy around the show, lots of paws in his sides, disapproving looks. "Humbug I tell you, humbug!" But he also is proud dance dad, constantly on the lookout for Quaxo/Misto pointing him out and praising. Besides that he mirrors Jennyanydots in conducting and making sure everything goes according to plan. And he is *very* protective towards Jemima, shielding her from Grizabella with his body and staying with her on one side of the stage throughout Glamour Cat.
It's a pity that Cassandra has two lines in the whole show. Because Anneka Dacres has such a deep rich voice (I'm a sucker for altos). Unfortunately she only covers Bombalurina only ever so often, so I can only guess how amazing she would sound singing Macavity.
Sitting at the very front also means you get a lot of vocals and sounds that aren't mic'ed. Feet hitting the stage, the cast shouting and spurring each other on during the ball. It really ads to the overall experience of seeing the show live. Sitting so close to the stage also means you can hear the individual voices before they are picked up and blended in the house audio mix. In Ad-dressing of Cats I noticed a deep warm tenor voice coming from my right, that wasn't Deuteronomy. When the smoke cleared I figured it was Skimbelshanks. Gerben Grimmius has such a great voice that I could hear over Rory's Deut in the house mix.
Petra Ilse Dam and Rhys Batten are very much in sync as the psychic twins. The synchronized handstand during the sensuals was :chefskiss:. I do crossfit, so I'm a sucker for any synchronized gymnastics anyway, but this was sight to behold.
During Growltiger I noticed how tall Hannah Kenna Thomas really is. With the Siamese masks it's hard to tell performers apart. But only two of them wear white shoes: Victoria and Rumpelteazer. One of them being much taller than the other. Suffice to say that she is an amazingly elegant Victoria.
General Tidbits
I didn't expect Gus Jr. and Grizabella to have so much time on stage. Baby Griz hangs around for the entire opening and is present at the beginning of the ball. Gus Jr. comes back after Bustopher and partakes in Pekes, after the intermission he is walked on stage by Jelly and never really leaves outside Growltiger walking the plank and during Macavity.
Whilst they aren't actively dancing in the queens chorus of Macavity, Jelly and Jenny do show up for the finale of the number. Adding vocals and partaking in an upperbody choreo sitting on the tire and boot repectively.
The Macavity fight choreo looked much better than it does in '98. It was about the same outside the Demeter lift, but boy does Deme gets slung violently across by Macavity instead. My shoulders are hurting on her behalf. And Aulerstrap does a very big impressive slide. Overall the fight was in sync and pretty tight, but It's the one thing in the choreo I always feel needs an overhaul. It looks a bit as if they are waiting on each other, taking away the dynamics. However I'm spoiled by movie fights that have all the benefits of cuts, editing, and camera angles. So understandable that a stage fight choreo doesn't look as snappy as something in an action movie. And it was impressive to see nonetheless.
At the beginning of Gumbie I noticed Alonzo taking his shoes off on the side of the stage when also having a little moment together with Cassandra. I hadn't realised that they did most of the quick change into the tap shoes and beatles on stage. Shoes and props are stashed amongst the junk, hiding in plain sight.
Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazers tap shoes, together with their beetle outfits, the piping bag turned mice masks for Gumbie, with the Growltiger barrel behind.
What is really funny to me was the that whenever the Jellicles stare at the moon so intensely, Jellicle songs during Moments for example. Is that you get the feeling they are looking at something really grand. But all they have to marvel at is the the conductor cam shown on the screen hanging from the lower balcony. The Ronacher is a beautiful theatre by the way, even if a lot of the theatre's decor is covered by the set, providing an immersive experience.
This production doesn't have a paw of the Everlasting Cat or balloon that Grizaballa ascends on to the heavyside layer. After traveling up on the tire with Deuteronomy she steps into the background to slowly disappear into the night sky. Helped by lighting effects, including a whole bunch of LEDs on her corset that blend her in with the stars, that is some excellent theatre Magic.
Faint lines of the door that opens for Grizabella's exit to the left of the moon:
When Astrid Gollob was still in the show as Jemima she and Munkustrap did some spinny lift during the bows. The second show I spotted the Munk having picked up and spinning Jenny (Jo Lucy Rackham) around. Not sure if the did the full star, I spotted them just to late for that, but he made it look so effortless. It's an attest on how strong Auler is, even as he doesn't look like it in his costume. I've seen the man's bare calves at the stage door: they're massive!
The Audience
An observation of the audience: I've seen musicals in London, Amsterdam, The Hague and now Vienna. I found the audience in the first two shows rather tame. Little cheering and applause was frugal at times. I am used to cheering, whistling, massive rounds of applause in between songs. And especially the Dutch start a standing ovation as soon as they smell something resembling a bow. Here not so much. Remembering Anna Carina Buchegger mentioning that it really helps get through the show if the audience actively shows appreciation. I felt a bit bad for the cast. For the double cartwheels there was hardly any cheering, and in the conjuring turns people only started clapping when being egged on by Tugger.
It does help if there is a bravo-person in the audience, that guy thatknows the show and gets the applause going by shouting “Bravo!” at appropriate times. On my first performance that was Jürgen, yes *the* Jürgen that has seen this show a 100+ times. Very friendly man, recommended me to go see Miss Saigon while I was in town. The second performance I was at was much the same: little applause and sparse cheering. I felt it came to me to get the applause going a couple of times.
I thought this was just a cultural thing, maybe Austrians are just more reserved than the Dutch or Brits. But that was proven wrong when I was at Miss Saigon. Plenty of applause, cheering and whistling there. At my third Cats performance I had a much livelier audience, that made a world of difference in my overall experience. I apparently just wasn't that lucky with my fellow theatre goers the first two performances.
The Stage Door
After two shows I headed to the stage door. First time I did that and it was a lot of fun talking to other fans. Even if they looked at me funny when I said this was my first time seeing the show live. Some of the performers stuck around for a chat, others just went home after a hard day's work. Got recommended again to go see Miss Saigon, this time by Gerben Grimmius, and if Skimbleshanks himself gives you advice you better listen! Miss Siagon was an excellent show, even if I had to partially rely on the subtitles next to the stage displaying the English lyrics, my German isn't good enough to follow a complex story as Miss Saigon is. Cats has these screens too, but hey that show I can sing along in three separate languages.
The Bows
I only took some photos during the bows. I felt it pulled me out of the experience of enjoying the show in person.
Cliffhanger, Tumblr only allows 10 photo's in a post, the bows are to be found here:
Vienne show report, now with the bows (post 2/2), continued from here.
From Wednesday, May 18th:
Riccardo Sinisi:
Nicholas -Eyelash Admetus
Gala Magazine Germany, Issue 13 July 2017. Report from the Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2017 shows. Maison Margiela Artisanal by John Galliano, details of Look 17.
Bows and show report: Saturday matinee 24/01/26 (Australia tour)
JOE MILLER MUNK MY NEWEST BELOVED when I tell you that the gold in this curtain call is only a tiny part of the gold that is just this guy every time he's onstage for any one of his fifty or so roles... he's just so happy to be there and is always doing something fun and delightful! He's warm and gentle and a little bit sneaky (look at him ganging up on Tugger with the orange devils there!) with just enough silliness! His performance is just full of so many fun character moments, whether he’s dancing along to the Gumbie tap or knee-sliding into his bow.
First time seeing Xavier Pellin in colours other than black and white! Their Misto is so iconic but I’d been really hoping for a chance to see how they played another cat, and what would happen when the flirty smugness was gone. They got the range, guys - their Carbuckety is very different, curious and occasionally clumsy, and recognisably younger than Misto for the ballet boys sections of the ball, which is always a great character detail when a dancer can pull it off. And there's not a hint of their usual Misto mannerisms in this dance-out, which after years in that role is pretty impressive. (And look at them rocking out with their fellow swings in the dance-out!)
Dominique Hamilton and Thalia Smith coming in clutch again, this time with a Bomba from Thalia and Deme/Cass split from Dominique. Such a strong 'Glamour cat' and 'Macavity' from both, loved it. Since Deme was on the tyre with Munk for 'Mistoffelees', Bomba was the one who got swapped with Deut under the red sheet, and Jelly got to warn Griz off from Vic before Act I's 'Memory', but Deme did all the rest of Cass' track... except, except!
Without Cassandra there, Edward Smith's Admetus had to fanboy over Tugger hard enough for two! Including swooning very prettily, at the moment when Cass would usually swoon and Admetus catch her, and flopping all over the floor. And then swooning again in front of the car boot just before Griz turns up.
On a more worrying note... Chaska (Cass) and Olivia (Deme) have now been off for, on my count, at least two weeks now? We're one week out from the show closing in Melbourne and moving to Brisbane for the last leg of the tour and they must be seriously considering getting another former CATS alumna in as an extra female swing, because Thalia and Dominique are the only ones covering all these roles (the third female swing, Aimee Jones, only does Jelly and Griz).
Cast is: Edward Smith (Admetus/Macavity), Rania Potaka-Osborne (Alonzo), Todd McKenney (Asparagus/Bustopher), Charlie Follows (Bill Bailey), Thalia Smith (Bombalurina, cover), Xavier Pellin (Carbuckety, cover), Joshua Gordon (Coricopat), Dominique Hamilton (Demeter / Cassandra, cover), Mark Vincent (Deuteronomy), Gabriyel Thomas (Grizabella), Lucy Maunder (Jellylorum), Ella Fitzpatrick (Jemima), Leigh Archer (Jennyanydots), Timothy Haskayne (Mistoffelees), Jake O’Brien (Mungojerrie), Joe Miller (Munkustrap, cover), Savannah Lind (Rumpelteazer), Des Flanagan (Rum Tum Tugger), Tom Davis (Skimbleshanks), Sarah Bourke (Tantomile), and Claudia Hastings (Victoria).
Notes and curtain call 'Moonlight', Aussie tour 15/01/26
Well, turns out I was too busy looking at the stage to realise I hadn't actually tapped the 'film' button my phone properly for curtain call, soooo... have this instead? 😇
Rumpelteazer getting in touch with her mystic side, with the help only of Coricopat... (Savannah Lind and Joshua Gordon)
A similar cast line-up to yesterday (Wednesday): several of the same cast members are still out, and were on Sunday too, which is looking worrying. Once again, we had a Rumpelteazer/Jemima split track (Savannah), and an absent Tantomile. Tim Haskayne was back for Misto though, and Gabriyel was back for Griz... briefly! Aimee Jones swung on before Act I was over. And I got to see Tod Strike for the first time - apparently he exists! Ella was covering Victoria, Thalia Smith was Cassandra and Dominique was Demeter, and Lucy was back to her regular role of Jellylorum.
(This meant that by the interval, poor Joe Miller was sitting all alone in the swings booth. Personally I think they should let him out to cover Tantomile. Let the boy have his fun! Give Josh a twin!)
Despite this situation, everyone was still being playful and creative like yesterday. My seat was opposite those of my friends today (we were together yesterday, by accident!), so I had a great view when Tugger decided to favour one of them with his Gentle Attentions during his number.
(Des apologised blushingly afterward at stage door. Ed Smith did not stop to apologise for the indignities he visited upon an innocent penguin plushie - he had places to be.)
Stage door and audience interaction notes under the cut.
I had a small child one seat away from me on either side, which meant that (being in the front row) they got a lot of kitty attention: Cassandra, Bombalurina, and Jellylorum in particular. After 'Naming', Carbuckety came and lay down right across our feet to watch Victoria do her thing, before scampering up onstage for 'Invitation', which made one girl a little giggly and the other awestruck. Kiddo on the right was a big Rumpelteazer fan also - she and her mum were going through the programme before to find all the photos of her - so it was a good night for her!
We stage doored, and had some nice brief chats (plus quite a few autographs). Once again, Des was the one most inclined to hang around and talk - and once again, there were multiple people there who whispered 'wait, which cat is that? Tugger?? Seriously? That's Tugger??' because his gracious, slightly diffident charm in person is such a contrast to Tugger's brash energy. Tim and Jake and Jarrod mostly just signed, with a few friendly words (Misto, Jerrie, Munk). Lucy, Ella, Josh, Tom, Savannah, and Dominique stayed a little longer to exchange impressions about tonight's show (Jelly, usually-Jemima-but-Vic-today, Cori, Skimble, Rumpel, dance captain / today's Demeter).
There were a couple of unavoidable allusions to the absent cast members, without (of course) getting into any specifics about their health. Dominique hesitated over whether to sign over Demeter then decided to sign up the top of the group photo instead and leave Demeter 'for Olivia', with the implication that she might be back this week. Savannah made exhausted faces when I marvelled at her keeping her tracks straight in 'Song of the Jellicles', while Jake and Josh wryly accepted sympathies for looking so lonely up there without their usual partner in crime. In response to us saying that my two friends would be back several times this week and I'd be back on Sunday, Josh replied forlornly, "And maybe I'll have a twin by then...! I have to be weird all on my own."
(The implication here is that Sarah and at least one other of the girls might be better by then - if only Sarah was back, she'd cover Victoria, Ella would return to Jemima, and Tanto still wouldn't exist.)
And Aimee! Des was still there when Aimee Jones came out, but I had to turn away from the general conversation with him to congratulate her. She was still on a bit of a nervous high, I think, from a mid-show swing-on, and seemed surprised and gratified not only at being recognised and congratulated but to hear that I'd seen her Griz at the two Sydney previews ("So you were there for my first..!") Very sweet.
Back again on Sunday!
Cast:
Edward Smith as Admetus, Rania Potaka-Osborne as Alonzo, Todd McKenney as Gustopher, Charlie Follows as Bill Bailey, Mia Dabkowski-Chandler as Bombalurina, Guy Pik as Carbuckety, Thalia Smith covering Cassandra, Joshua Gordon as a lonely Coricopat,
Dominique Hamilton covering Demeter, Tod Strike covering Deuteronomy, Gabriyel Thomas as Grizabella until the end of 'Glamour Cat' and Aimee Jones covering from the Ball onwards, Lucy Maunder as Jellylorum, Leigh Archer as Jennyanydots, Timothy Haskayne as Mistoffelees, Jake O'Brien also being lonely as Mungojerrie, Jarrod Draper as Munkustrap, Savannah Lind as Rumpelteazer and Jemima, Des Flanagan as Tugger, Tom Davis as Skimbleshanks, and Ella Fitzpatrick covering Victoria.
Bows and show notes - Aussie tour Sunday 18/01/26 (6pm)
... yes I have to specify the hour because unfortunately for my tagging system I saw BOTH shows on this day so i have to find some way to keep them straight (insofarasanythingaboutcatscanbestraight). Here's the bows and notes from the matinee.
All cats are onstage again; covers are Dominique Hamilton for Demeter, Thalia Smith for Cassandra, and Tod Strike for Deuteronomy.
Also I swear Des' accent is more broadly Aussie when he's doing that charity speech than it is either when he's being full Tugger or full Des. His intonation is very soft and gentle when he's at stage door, and I think he semi-consciously modulates his tone to match that of the person he's speaking to. But when he's doing a speech while dressed as Tugger and bringing a bit of Tugger personality into it, he draws on that broader drawl to bring out the 'naughty boy' persona.
Today's shows were the first time I've seen Tod onstage (or even outside of his headshot photos)! He isn't the vocal powerhouse that Mark is, but he's actually more fun to watch. He has a lot of charm, and is a very present Deuteronomy, leaning into the warmth of the personality rather than the distant mysticism. There's a lot of personality there in every line which makes his speeches a lot of fun to watch. (Seriously, this might be the first time ever that I was preferring to watch Deut rather than everyone else while he listed things like pots of grouse and salmon paste and caviar and Strasbourgh pie.)
Also Todd (Gus) got extra silly in 'Pekes and Pollicles' today: when Jelly and Tugger stepped aside to reveal him on 'who should stalk out but THE GREAT RUMPUS CAT' he was still fiddling with his mask, and slipped it on hurriedly with a little 'oo! 😳' And he (deliberately on Todd's part, accidentally on Gus') so that it almost immediately slipped down over his face, leading to Gus stumbling blindly around the stage valiantly trying to deliver Rumpus' lines until Jarrod (Munk) grabbed his arm and led him back gently to safety. Then once he was out of Rumpus costume he had to relate the whole distressing incident to Deuteronomy and Jelly - I heard a sad little "... and then I couldn't see anybody!"
I've stage-doored a couple of times already but this was the first time he came out that way while I've been there, which was nice - I got to do the "hi that was really special to see, here are two points I liked about your performance" thing. Also chatted again to Gabriyel (who was again lovely) but this time I could take time to tell her all the interesting things we love about her Griz! Plus another far more casual chat with Tom (Skimble) about silly penguin-related shenanigans.
... but I was very aware not to keep any of them waiting because out of the corner of my eye I could see a scrimmage of love centred on certain faces that I recognised from former Cats productions with predominantly Australian casts (AaronEllieSuzieJazz) which was scooping up every cast member as they exited and thwarting every orchestra member who wanted to head out that way, so. I did not hang out long. 🤭
Stage door quotes of the night? It's a tie between Ellie Nunan squealing at Ed Smith how amazing he was and how he picked up that Munkustrap and just FLUNG him, and Tom pouting over how, following a week with so few cats onstage, "now I look around me when I'm doing my thing and I think WHO ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE there's too many cats here, I'm getting claustrophobic".
Cast is: Edward Smith (Admetus/Macavity), Rania Potaka-Osborne (Alonzo), Todd McKenney (Asparagus/Bustopher), Charlie Follows (Bill Bailey), Mia Dabkowski-Chandler (Bombalurina), Guy Pik (Carbuckety), Thalia Smith (Cassandra), Joshua Gordon (Coricopat), Dominique Hamilton (Demeter), Tod Strike (Deuteronomy), Gabriyel Thomas (Grizabella), Lucy Maunder (Jellylorum), Ella Fitzpatrick (Jemima), Leigh Archer (Jennyanydots), Timothy Haskayne (Mistoffelees), Jake O’Brien (Mungojerrie), Jarrod Draper (Munkustrap), Savannah Lind (Rumpelteazer), Des Flanagan (Rum Tum Tugger), Tom Davis (Skimbleshanks), Sarah Bourke (Tantomile), and Claudia Hastings (Victoria).
