A while back, I recalled my fondest CATS experience (taking my young cousin Mara and her mom Jasmine to see the show in Chicago). Here are some of my other favorite memories from the show.
THE FIRST TIME (MARCH 1987)
*Buying the CATS book before going into the theatre.
*The Rum Tum Tugger (Douglas Graham) dancing with the woman sitting one seat behind me. If my mom and I had switched seats (I had the end seat)...
*Not expecting "Pekes & Pollicles", since it wasn't on the Broadway cast CD (which I had heard numerous times in years previous).
*Going up on stage and getting Old Deuteronomy (Calvin E. Remsberg)'s autograph, and being a bit shy.
*"Growltiger's Last Stand", with Frank Mastrone as Growltiger and Jessica Molaskey as Griddlebone. 'Nuff said. (Footnote: I have recently acquired one of Jessica's CD's!)
*Gordon Cragg as Macavity. He moved so fast it was hard to get a great look at him. But for a while, I drew Mac as this mean-faced, spiky-haired cat.
*Mark Esposito as Mistoffelees. I knew from the get-go that this would be a great number (not knowing about it), and I was not disappointed.
*The first time I saw the tire ride.
*My dad whistling enthusiastically for the Tugger and Misto.
*Misto still being filled with energy after all the other Cats left the stage. He was still spinning despite people getting ready to go home. Tugger almost had to yank him offstage!
*Drawing the Cats for months afterwards, culminating in 1989, when I recreated the Journey to the Heavyside Layer for a school project using the side of a grocery bag, construction paper, and colored pencils.
THE SECOND TIME (New York, July, 2000)
*Meeting Delilah, Cindy, bettylover, and some of the other fans for the first time.
*Meeting Keith Edward Wilson, Jon-Erik Goldberg, and Jeffry Denman for the first time, and giving Jeffry a copy of my CATS/Sweeney Todd parody (which he contributed some parody lyrics to).
*Taking Delilah and her brother to a midnight showing of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show".
*Just the euphoria of being at the Winter Garden.
*Marlene Danielle (Bombalurina) parking herself in front of me for "The Naming Of Cats".
*Stephen Bienskie (Rum Tum Tugger) flirting with all the women in the front rows.
*My date for the night pouting about not getting Bustopher Jones' flower.
*Seeing the Rumpus Cat (Keith) pop out of the startrap for the first time.
*Lenny Daniel (Alonzo) making the most of his one line during "Song of the Jellicles".
*Having Mistoffelees (Julius Sermonia) and Old Deuteronomy (Jimmy Lockett) go by us during the Jellicle Ball.
*Acquiring a tape of the Australian cast for Delilah in exchange for a CD by an a cappella group called Three Men and a Tenor. (One of the first, but not one of the last CD trades I've made...)
*John Dewar exercising his schizoid to the extreme.
*Seeing Keith and Lenny go at it during the fight scene.
*Julius as Mistoffelees. 'Nuff said.
*My companion not applauding during "Memory" because it wasn't her favorite Griz singing it (and Griz parking herself in front of us before she took her bow)
THE THIRD TIME (New York, September, 2000)
*The excitement of being there for the closing festivities, and seeing the show one more time.
*The reaction of the audiences (both NY trips)
*Meeting Julius Sermonia and Billy Johnstone for the first time.
*CD shopping with Delilah, Jack Shot, and Delilah's friend Alice.
*Giving out goofy Mungojerrie grins (I've been cast as him in numerous forum casts) to forum regulars, and coming off just as nuts in real life as I was in my more prolific parody days.
*Meeting a lot of the fans for the first time.
*The auction at the fan party.
*Keith reciting "The Naming of Cats" in German.
*Billy Johnstone waxing nostalgic.
*Being lucky enough to get an autograph from John Dewar and Stephen Bienskie (they usually high-tailed it after the show)
*Julius Sermonia dancing like a regular person.
*Singing "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats" with the fans at the stage door (and Linda Balgord poking her head out...in costume...to see what was going on)
*Cheesecake and conversation with Bandersnatch.
*The night I got home, it was my dad's birthday. The violinist at the restaurant we went to played "Memory", and I gave him a big thumbs-up.
THE FIFTH TIME (Detroit, MI, February 2003)
*My friend Jo wearing her cat ears (which she claims were lost in my truck that night. I traded that truck in later in the year and cleaned it, not finding them.)
*Wondering if I should thank the person who gave my dad those tickets or ask them what they were thinking.
*Joshua John Edwards playing the most kittenish Munkustrap I've ever seen.
*Jo telling me she could do those dance moves (she had been teaching dance at the time). I would've laughed if there was one extra Cat up there. (We were sitting close enough to the stage!)
*Braving an incredible snowstorm on the way home, and Staci Rudnitsky (Jennyanydots) and Brian Collier (dance captain) commenting on it when I went online the next day.
*Karl Warden. Wickedest Macavity ever.
*Playing "Count the Spins" (although I did that the last four times I saw the show).
*I had the day off of work the next day (Jo and I worked together at the time), but Jo played her CATS DVD for coworkers to see.
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