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Andrew Lloyd Webber

Emmerich Kálmán - Gräfin Mariza
Gundula Janowitz, Noemi Nadelmann, Nelly Boschkowa, Erna Schickel, Adolf Dallapozza, Sándor Németh, Karl Dönch, Rudolf Buczolich, Alfred Böhm

Ballett, Chor und Orchester der Seefestspiele Mörbisch
Zigeunerkapelle: Gergely-Werner Szücs
Dirigent: Uwe Theimer
Inszenierung: Robert Herzl

Seefestspiele Mörbisch 1987



Cats is a sung-through British musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot, and produced by Cameron Mackintosh. The musical tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles and the night they make what is known as "the Jellicle choice" and decide which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life. Cats introduced the song standard "Memory". The first performance of Cats was in 1981.


 

Andrew LLoyd Webber - Cats

Roles and Characters

Asparagus / Gus – An elderly actor, known as "the Theatre cat".
Bombalurina – A red queen with an interest in the Rum Tum Tugger. She sings "Macavity" alongside Demeter and is 1 third of the "Gumbie trio" with Jellylorum and Demeter.
Bustopher Jones – A fat cat respected by all, as the upper-class "St. James's Street Cat." He is described as "the Brummell of cats" due to his immaculate pelt, which resembles a tuxedo and spats. In most productions, the actor playing Gus also plays Bustopher, though in early productions the part was handled by the actor playing Old Deuteronomy.
Demeter – A skittish queen. She sings "Macavity" alongside Bombalurina and is 1 third of the "Gumbie trio" with Jellylorum and Bombalurina.
Griddlebone – Growltiger's lover in Growltiger's Last Stand, in which she sings The Ballad of Billy M'Caw or the mock Italian aria In Una Tepida Notte (depending on production).
Grizabella – A former "glamour cat", ostracised by the Jellicles, who has lost her sparkle and now only wants to be accepted.
Growltiger – A theatrical character Gus recalls playing in his youth, and who appears in Gus' memory of the production of Growltiger's Last Stand. In some productions he is portrayed as a vicious pirate; in others, he is more comical.
Jellylorum – A queen who watches out for the kittens, along with Jennyanydots. She sings "Gus: The Theatre Cat". Named after T. S. Eliot's own cat.
Jemima – A kitten. She becomes the first cat to accept Grizabella when she sings alongside her in Memory (reprise) and sings a solo during The Moments of Happiness.
Jennyanydots – The old Gumbie cat. She sits all day and rules the mice and cockroaches at night, forcing them to undertake helpful functions and creative projects, to curb their naturally destructive habits.
Macavity – A notorious criminal known as The Napoleon of Crime. The character is a literary allusion to the Sherlock Holmes character Professor Moriarty.
Mr. Mistoffelees – A young tuxedo tom learning to control his magical powers. He is a featured dancer, performing a minimum of twenty-four turns in à la seconde during his number. Mistoffelees' chorus identity is sometimes known as Quaxo.
Mungojerrie – One-half of a notorious duo of cat-burglars, with Rumpleteazer.
Munkustrap – The show's main narrator. A tabby tomcat who is storyteller and protector of the Jellicle tribe. He is Old Deuteronomy's second-in-command.
Old Deuteronomy – The elderly Jellicle Leader.
Rumpleteazer – One half of a notorious duo of cat-burglars, with Mungojerrie.
The Rum Tum Tugger – A flashy cat. His temperament ranges from clownish to serious.
Skimbleshanks – The railway cat. An active orange tabby cat, who lives on the trains and acts as an unofficial chaperone to such an extent he is considered rather indispensable to the train and station employees.
Victoria – A white kitten. She is a featured dancer, opening with a solo in "Invitation to the Jellicle Ball" and is the first character to touch Grizabella.



 

Cats (Original London Cast Recording) (1981)

Act I
1. The Overture (0:00)
2. Prologue: Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats (2:28)
3. The Naming of Cats (8:07)
4. The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball (10:26)
5. The Old Gumbie Cat (12:40)
6. The Rum Tum Tugger (17:56)
7. Grizabella (21:02)
8. Bustopher Jones (23:29)
9. Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer (27:51)
10. Old Deuteronomy (31:41)
11. The Jellicle Ball (36:33)
12. Grizabella, the Glamour Cat (43:48)
13. Memory (Prelude) (46:50)

 

Act II 
14. The Moments of Happiness (48:14)
15. Gus: The Theatre Cat (51:27)
16. Growltiger's Last Stand / The Ballad of Billy McCaw (58:09)
17. Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat (1:07:49)
18. Macavity the Mystery Cat (1:12:35)
19. Mr. Mistoffelees (1:19:33)
20. Memory (1:23:10)
21. The Journey to the Heaviside Layer (1:28:26)
22. The Ad-Dressing of Cats (1:30:20)

Barbra Streisand - Memory (1981)

Synopsis

 

ACT I — When Cats Are Maddened by the Midnight Dance

After the overture, the Cats gather on stage and explain the Jellicle tribe and its purpose ("Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats"). The Cats (who break the fourth wall throughout the production) then notice that they are being watched by a man, and proceed to explain how the different Cats of the tribe are named ("The Naming of Cats"). This is followed by a dance from Victoria the White Cat, who performs a ballet which signals the beginning of the Jellicle Ball ("The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball"). Meanwhile, Munkustrap, the executive chief of the tribe, explains that tonight, the Jellicle leader, Old Deuteronomy, will choose a cat to be reborn into a new life on the Heaviside Layer.
 

Munkustrap introduces Jennyanydots ("The Old Gumbie Cat"), a large tabby cat, who "sits and sits and sits and sits" every day, while (every night) she teaches the mice and cockroaches various activities. However, when Jennyanydots finishes her song, the music changes suddenly, and the cats get a visit from the Rum Tum Tugger himself ("The Rum Tum Tugger"). He is very fickle and unappeasable, "for he will do as he do do, and there's no doing anything about it".
 

As Rum Tum Tugger's song fades, a shabby old grey cat stumbles out and looks around (begging forgiveness of her sin she made before she was exiled from the tribe years ago); it is Grizabella. All the Cats back away from her in fear and disgust and explain of her unfortunate state ("Grizabella: The Glamour Cat"). Grizabella leaves and the music changes to a cheerful upbeat number as Bustopher Jones, a fat cat in "a coat of fastidious black", appears ("Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town"). Bustopher Jones is among the elite of the cats, and visits prestigious gentlemen's clubs. Suddenly, a loud crash then startles the tribe and the Cats run off the stage in fright. All of a sudden, hushed giggling sounds signal the entrance of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, a pair of near-identical Cats. They are petty burglars, very mischievous, and they enjoy causing trouble for human families ("Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer").
 

Finally, the Jellicle patriarch, Old Deuteronomy, appears ("Old Deuteronomy"). He is a large old Cat that "has lived many lives" and "buried nine wives (And more, I am tempted to say—ninety-nine)". He is the Cat who chooses which Jellicle Cat will go to the Heaviside Layer every year. After rejoicing to their leader's arrival, the Cats put on a play for Old Deuteronomy, called The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles. It is a story about two dog tribes clashing in the street and subsequently being scared away by the Great Rumpus Cat, a cat with flashing red eyes. After a moral from Old Deuteronomy about the destiny of Jellicle Cats and Pollicle Dogs, a second loud crash, presumably from Macavity, sends the alarmed Cats scurrying. Old Deuteronomy calls the Cats back and the main celebration begins ("The Jellicle Ball"), in which the cats sing and display their "Terpsichorean powers".
 

During the Ball, Grizabella reappears and tries to dance along, but her age and decrepit condition prevent her from doing so. Once again, she is shunned by the other Cats, but that does not stop her from singing a short version of "Memory" while a guilty Old Deuteronomy looks on.





























 

ACT II — Why Will the Summer Day Delay — When Will Time Flow Away?


After the Jellicle Ball, Old Deuteronomy complains about "what happiness is", referring to Grizabella, but the Cats do not believe him, so he sends the message to Jemima (or Sillabub, depending on the production), the youngest of all Jellicles, who sings it in simpler terms ("The Moments of Happiness"). Gus — short for Asparagus — shuffles forward ("Gus: The Theatre Cat"). He was once a famous actor but is now old and "suffers from palsy which makes his paws shake." He is accompanied by Jellylorum, who tells of his exploits. Gus then remembers how he once played the infamous Growltiger, the Terror of the Thames ("Growltiger's Last Stand"). He tells the story about the pirate's romance with his girlfriend, Lady Griddlebone, and how he was overtaken by the Siamese and forced to walk the plank to his death.
 

Back in the present, after Gus exits, Skimbleshanks is seen sleeping in the corner ("Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat"). He is the Cat who is unofficially in charge of the night train to Glasgow. Skimbleshanks is considered vital to the train, as without him "the train can't start". Within his song, a whole steam train engine is assembled out of objects in the junkyard: Various Cats spin wheels, hold up the structure, and light the headlights.
 

With a third crash and an evil laugh, the "most wanted" cat Macavity appears. He is a "master criminal" and is never found at the scene of the crime. Macavity's minions throw a net over Old Deuteronomy and capture him. As Munkustrap and his troops give chase to rescue Old Deuteronomy, Demeter and Bombalurina explain what they know about Macavity ("Macavity: The Mystery Cat"). When they are finished, Macavity returns disguised as Old Deuteronomy, but when Demeter blows his cover, Macavity ends up fighting with Munkustrap and Alonzo. Though the confused Macavity holds his own for a time, the rest of the tribe begin to gang up and surround him, but he shorts out the stage lights as an attempt to escape in the confusion.

After the fight, an honest Rum Tum Tugger suggests that the Cats should find a local magician named Mr. Mistoffelees (also known as "the original conjuring cat") for help ("Magical Mr. Mistoffelees"). According to Tugger, Mr. Mistoffelees is small and black and can perform feats of magic that no other Cat can do. Mr. Mistoffelees can also perform his own dance, which is often one of the most intricate and challenging dance solos in the show. As soon as he arrives just in time, the magical Cat restores the lights and brings back Old Deuteronomy, and all the Cats hail him as their emancipator. Now, the Jellicle Choice can be made.
 

After Old Deuteronomy sits down, Grizabella returns to the junkyard and he allows her to address the gathering. Her faded appearance and lonely disposition have little effect on her song ("Memory"). With acceptance and encouragement from Jemima and Victoria, her appeal succeeds and she is chosen to be the one to go to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn to a new Jellicle life ("Journey to the Heaviside Layer"). A large tire rises from the piles of junk, carrying Grizabella and Old Deuteronomy partway toward the sky; he then steps off so she can finish the journey on her own. Finally, Old Deuteronomy gives his closing speech to the human audience ("The Ad-dressing of Cats") and the show comes to a close.


 

Acting Out Theatre Company's production of CATS (2015) Part 1

Acting Out Theatre Company's production of CATS (2015) Part 2

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre.[4] Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass. Several of his songs have been widely recorded and were hits outside of their parent musicals, notably "The Music of the Night" and "All I Ask of You" from The Phantom of the Opera, "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar, "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" from Evita, "Any Dream Will Do" from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and "Memory" from Cats. In 2001 The New York Times referred to him as "the most commercially successful composer in history". Ranked the "fifth most powerful person in British culture" by The Daily Telegraph in 2008, the lyricist Don Black stated "Andrew more or less single-handedly reinvented the musical."
 

He has received a number of awards, including a knighthood in 1992, followed by a peerage from Queen Elizabeth II for services to Music, six Tonys, three Grammys (as well as the Grammy Legend Award), an Academy Award, fourteen Ivor Novello Awards, seven Olivier Awards, a Golden Globe, a Brit Award, the 2006 Kennedy Center Honors, and the 2008 Classic Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is an inductee into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, and is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.
 

His company, the Really Useful Group, is one of the largest theatre operators in London. Producers in several parts of the UK have staged productions, including national tours, of the Lloyd Webber musicals under licence from the Really Useful Group. Lloyd Webber is also the president of the Arts Educational Schools London, a performing arts school located in Chiswick, West London. He is involved in a number of charitable activities, including the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Nordoff Robbins, Prostate Cancer UK and War Child. In 1992 he set up the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation which supports the arts, culture and heritage in the UK.


 

Andrew Lloyd Webber

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