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Review

Once cutting edge, 'Cats' is comfortable

By MARTY CLEAR
Published June 23, 2005

It's an odd phenomenon: Over the years, Cats hasn't changed a whisker. But in many ways, it has taken on a completely different flavor.

When it burst onto Broadway in the 1980s, Cats was revolutionary, a monstrous, mega-budget high-tech extravaganza that became a tourist attraction. It altered Broadway, and the entire genre of stage musicals, for at least for a couple of decades.

Partly because of the changes it wrought, Cats now seems almost quaint and restrained. It's a relic. Its dialogue-free format is almost passe, its songs and costumes are familiar, and its once-innovative set and effects have long been surpassed by shows that it helped inspire.

So there's a different feel to Cats these days, but that's not necessarily a bad thing

The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's largest theater, Morsani Hall, was three-quarters full for opening night of the current Cats visit, the last stop on this leg of the tour. And for the most part, the audience got what it expected: lithe and talented young dancer/singers performed the show exactly as hundreds of their colleagues had done before.

As long as it's cast with solid performers (and a national tour of this magnitude can always afford excellent performers) Cats is almost foolproof. The costumes and the choreography, along with the lack of dialogue, mean that there's not much room for emotional interpretation. And because it's essentially a revue, with no one character holding center stage for long, even a bad performance or two isn't going to do much damage, and an exceptional performance isn't going to make the show that much better.

In this production there's one of each. Steven C. Rich, as Asparagus, wielded a wonderful voice and had a charisma that shone through his makeup. But John Boy, who played Rum Tum Tugger, had a shaky, grating singing voice. Still, his wonderfully slinky and lascivious moves made him a crowd favorite.

Tampa native Amy Phillips, in her first national tour, is confident and competent in her role as Demeter, who takes center stage in Act II during Macavity. Her dancing and singing were impeccable and there was a noticeable joy in her performance, perhaps augmented by her chance to show off for her hometown crowd.

[Last modified June 23, 2005, 00:44:09]