2004 Year in Review

Cats at Timberlake

This summer I plan on making the first or second performance of each Timberlake play and then posting a review as soon as possible.

Airline tickets to NYC for two……………$600
Hotel room and food for a weekend……..$500
2 tickets to Cats on Broadway……………$200
Driving 20 miles to Timberlake to see Cats…..Priceless

Having never seen Cats before, I had nothing to judge Timberlake’s performance but also had no preconceived notion of what the play should be like.

It started off slowly as they introduced the cats through singing and dancing as they came to the Jellicle Ball on the night of a full moon. The sets, costumes, and choreography were amazing. Cats' set is a bombed out section of London in 1941. All the cats had skin-tight body suits tie-died in a variety of colors with wacky wigs.

Toward the end of the first half the music and dancing increased in pace as the dancers pranced quickly across the stage. Sparks of great talent began to peak through with Grizabella, the Glamour Cat, played by Tara Teschke. I can’t wait to hear her sing again this season. Rum Rum Tugger, played by Kyle Post, provided a small comedic interlude as the tall thin Elvis-like cat.

The second act is where the talent of both the singers and dancers excelled. The dancing by local MHS graduate, Tyler Smith, stole the stage on Magical Mr. Mistoffelees. No one could recognize Smith all dressed in black and with black make-up but we could not miss his outstanding dance duet. Incoming MHS freshman, Hannah Bees, though arguably the youngest dancer, held her own as Coricopat, with a very talented older group of dancers. I can’t wait to see what she can do in a few more years.

But Teschler pulled off the strongest performance of the night in the second act with her powerful voice singing “Memory”. She sang with so much emotion it brought tears to my eyes. Her performance alone was worth the price of admission. Gus, the Theatre Cat played by Evan Enderle, also played his part with true emotion as he tells the story of his most famous theatrical performance as his handshakes with Palsy.

With music ranging from Jazz to Italian Opera, musical lovers will enjoy the variety and the choreographed dancing. There is no dialog in Cats; it is a true operatic musical, so if you like dialog this play might not be for you.

After the first part of the first act where the music was lighter as the story line builds, the rest of the show blossomed into a Broadway hit. Timberlake truly has some great singers and dancers this season and I am looking forward to their performance of Hair.

by Barb Benson, theCity1.com
June 4, 2004