By Harrison Lorenzen
One of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best-known musicals, CATS, returns to Houston for one week only, wowing audiences with its elaborate dancing, stunning lighting, and most of all, its cats. Opening last night to a nearly full house, featuring patrons of all ages dressed in cheetah print and/or cat ears, CATS had audience members captivated throughout the show. Creeping in and out of oversized junk like ovens and tires while dressed in colorful, striped (or tabby) leotards, the cast led an excellent portrayal of the feline lifestyle. Opting to be at the theater instead of watching the Astros game, guests were not let down with this ensemble’s performance.
As a show with more dancing than singing, this production of CATS features choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, best-known for his work on Hamilton. In a similar style to Hamilton, Blankenbuehler uses mostly classical ballet, while adding flares of modern movement amongst it. To top it all off, he sneaks feline idiosyncrasies into the dances, most notably the leg twitches and back stretches. The actors in this tour of CATS perfectly execute Blankenbuehler’s difficult moves and almost-endless leaps and twirls. The cast even includes an alum from Rice University, Maria Failla. They are strong in all aspects of their performance, from acting to singing to dancing and keep the audience engaged both on stage and in the aisles. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s melodies resonate throughout the show, blending seamlessly between lively, synthesized tunes to unsettling, minor drones and chanting.
One of the best features of this tour of CATS is its lighting, designed by tony-award winning artist Natasha Katz. The audience had LED string lights hung throughout and changing colors and patterns throughout various scenes. The songs and dances contained drastic color and level changes throughout, bringing out the fun that all the cats were having throughout their jellicle ball. The song with the least lighting effects, also the most well known in the show, is Memory. Keri René Fuller gave a stunning performance of Memory that gave me chills. The lowkey lighting effects during her solo kept the audience’s full attention on her, which she deserved.
CATS is on stage at the Hobby Center for Performing Arts through October 27th. For more information visit theHobbyCenter.org. For more Broadway show updates tune into ktru Showstoppers, weekly on Mondays from 11-Noon CST on air and online at ktru.org.