'Cats' back with a few new stripes

Despite a non-union cast and some cost cutting, the latest touring show aims to please fans of the perennial feline phenom.

By JOHN FLEMING, Times Performing Arts Critic

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 26, 2001

Except for modernizing the lighting, expect no drastic changes in the new tour’s look. The promoters’ philosophy that audience don’t want changes in a beloved show seems to be borne out by the pace of ticket sales whenever Cats is performed.

Cats doesn't get any respect.

"I've never understood the mystique of Cats," said Judi Lisi, president of Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, where the Andrew Lloyd Webber feline fable opens a weeklong run on Tuesday.

"The one question I get asked is can you explain the phenomenon, and I can't," said Nicholas Howey, executive producer of Troika Entertainment, which is producing the Cats tour. "All I know is the appeal is amazing, and it just keeps going and going and going."

Who cares what the experts think? Since Cats opened on Broadway in 1982, there have been 11 touring companies in the Tampa Bay area, and each played to full houses.

"It was the usual phenomenal response -- it sold out every seat," said Lex Poppens, marketing director at Ruth Eckerd Hall, speaking of the most recent engagement in the area, in 1999.

But the business of Cats is changing. Even before the musical ended its record-breaking run on Broadway last September, the long-running national tour of Lloyd Webber's production company, the Really Useful Group, had shut down.

Now Troika, having acquired the license to produce Cats, has mounted a new tour. It had a shakedown stint at Harrah's casino in Atlantic City before heading out on the road, with Tampa the second stop, after Charlotte, N.C.

"There's a lot of people from around the country coming to see what the show is like," Lisi said, referring to presenters interested in booking it themselves.

They'll see pretty much the same old Cats. "We did do a couple of things," Howey said. "When the show was originally designed -- and it was designed by the best, John Napier -- they didn't have moving lights, so we've added some lighting pizazz that wasn't there. But it's all the original Napier design, set and costumes. I think we're giving people exactly the Cats they've been seeing and want to see some more of."

Troika isn't in the business of reinterpreting moneymakers. "I don't think anybody's looking for an innovative Cats," Howey said. "What would we do? Black turtlenecks and white slacks? There are people who know every character, every moment. I would be terrified to change the work. Nobody's going to do any better. I really can't imagine reinventing Cats."

Mainly, the changes in Cats involve cost cutting. For one thing, the 27-member cast is not represented by Actors' Equity Association, the labor union for Broadway actors. They're receiving lower salaries and per diems than previous cast members, who were Equity. Many golden oldies are non-union on tour.

The union argues that an Equity contract assures professional standards are upheld. Howey, whose Rockville, Md.-based company has produced both Equity and non-Equity shows, naturally begs to differ.

"I don't think it makes any difference," he said. "This cast is young, and I think that's a huge plus. They dance constantly. It's a very physical production."

Last season, Troika got into a flap over its non-union tour of The Sound of Music, which starred ex-Brady Buncher Barry Williams, an Equity member. Equity fined Williams for breaking union rules that prohibit union actors from working non-union.

Recently, Equity urged theatergoers to boycott the upcoming first national tour of the Broadway revival of The Music Man, which is being produced with non-union actors by Big League Theatricals. It plays TBPAC in January.

Another cost-cutting measure whittled down the Cats orchestra. In previous tours, the score called for 14 players. This time around, there are eight musicians, including a keyboard player with a computer program designed to simulate an orchestra.

"It will sound like the New York Philharmonic," Howey said. "Cats has the state-of-the-art instrument. I want to have the best sound that is actually played live, that can ebb and flow with the actors, and I don't think it's about quantity of musicians."

The orchestral downsizing could be worse. Recordings of scores are sometimes used on low-budget tours, such as a production of Brigadoon that played Mahaffey Theater a couple of seasons ago.

Cats fanciers go to the show over and over again like opera lovers who think nothing of taking in countless performances of Madame Butterfly. So far, they haven't shown any inclination not to embrace the new tour. Howey predicts it will be on the road for at least three years.

"I think being out of the marketplace as long as it has been is a tremendous asset for us," Howey said. "At Harrah's, I think they sold every seat for the entire six weeks. It's just amazing. And I tell you, I think it's going to go clean in Tampa."

In other words, Cats may sell out all eight shows at the performing arts center, even with a top ticket of more than $50 in the dog days of a Florida summer.

So why does this kitty cantata keep on selling?

"Do you have a cat?" Poppens asked. "I think that's part of it, the fantasy of seeing those cats onstage. Plus it's a safe show for all ages. If you're a family, you can take the kids. If you're a senior, you can take the grandchildren."

Maybe Cats really is now and forever.

At a glance

Cats opens Tuesday and has eight performances through Sept. 2 at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Tickets: $15.50-$54.50. (727) 229-7827 or toll-free 1-800-955-1045. Web site: www.tbpac.org.

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