Take the wit, rich imagination and literary genius of Nobel-laureate T.S. Elliott, the musical creativity of Grammy-Tony-Golden Globe-Award winner Andrew Lloyd Weber, and the perfection of a Broadway show, and mix it all together. This combination is exactly what audiences at the Zorlu Center PSM have been experiencing for the past week: the actual, live, on stage performance of Cats, perhaps the most renowned musical in the world, and recorded as the longest-running musical in the history of both New York’s Broadway and its originating British theater.
The news of having a Broadway show right here in Istanbul seemed too good to be true at first. So good, that I felt a need to double check online to make sure that there wasn’t a “catch” involved, to make sure that these cats were really the “Cats” famous on Broadway and the world over. I found relief in the official website of the musical, which announced Istanbul as the first stop on its European tour. The “Cats” that were on their way to our city were the real thing!
The Cats musical is the second in a series of three shows organized by the Zorlu PSM and titled “Broadway in Istanbul.” The debut show, Jersey Boys, took the stage in November of last year. Cats is currently taking the city by storm this month, and interest has been so high that the show’s run has been extended a week, to Sunday, 9 February. And in late April and May, the Zorlu PSM audience will be treated to twelve evenings of Notre Dame de Paris, straight from the heart of Broadway.
These were the thoughts frolicking through my mind as I entered the concert hall and sat waiting in anticipation of what was to come. The lights darkened and we were on a roll!
Cats was energetic, funny, witty, sad, heart-warming, athletic, artistic, musical, eerie, ghastly, funny, and joyful all at the same time. The performers were amazing! They were as sleek as cats, slender and athletic, quick of foot, graceful of movement, and masters of drama. They were cute like cats, ferocious as needed, cuddly, and nimble. The music was no less. The songs carried the energy, creativity, and dynamic rhythm of Andrew Lloyd Weber, and the jazzy, swinging, sonorous vocals of some extremely talented singers. This was Broadway quality.
Without a doubt, the show’s costumes and make-up drew at least as much attention as everything else.
There were white cats, spotted cats, black cats, magical cats, and golden cats. There were grumpy cats, mischievous cats, and malicious cats. And the costume for each was a piece of art in and of itself. The make-up also left us in awe, again transforming each actor and actress into a work of art, as well as into a unique character with its own expression, gaze, mimics, and aura.
The music was diverse. It was joyous and mocking as all the cats sang “Do I actually see with my own very eyes, a man who’s not heard of a Jellicle cat?” and left us doubting ourselves for our ignorance of the “Jellicle” species. Later the cat Rum Tum Tugger stepped on the stage with a Tina-Turner mane, a sleek black costume, leopard prints here and there, and an upbeat, jazzy rhythm telling us just why “the Rum Tum Tugger is a curious cat.” All the while, the sounds coming from the piano, electric guitar, and saxophone added to our curiosity about this particular cat.
Then jazz and curiosity gave way to eeriness and suspense, as the cello and piano uttered ominous, low notes and the stage took on a grayish setting. It almost reminded me of the moment in Michael Jackson’s legendary video Thriller just after the goblins begin to emerge from the graves and just before Jackson turns around to face the audience with a zombified face. When “the glamour cat” Grizabella stepped on the stage and sang the trademark song of the musical, “Memory,” it was mellow, sad, nostalgic, and on the verge of defeat, with just a glimmer of hope.
Then there came Mr. Mistoffelees…and the music was full of enthusiasm and wit, with just the right fusion of jazz, rhythm, and tint of percussion as the cat choir chimed in “Oh, well, I never! Was there ever a cat so clever as magical Mr. Mistoffelees!” And, we all had to admit, with his starry black coat, smart make-up and magical skills, Mr. Mistoffeelees did look smart indeed!
And of course I can’t forget to mention “Macavity, the Mystery Cat,” who had “broken every human law…[and] the law of gravity,” and who made you “seek him in the basement, [or] look up in the air” only to find time and again that he just “was not there.” Naturally, Macavity was the one who brought the most action, and his musical beat was full of suspense, stamina, drama, and action accentuated by jazz, rhythm, drums, plays of light and darkness, and even electrical bolts!
The story line was simple enough to let us concentrate fully on the performance itself, but smart enough to harmonize all these unique characters in a single setting. I will not ruin the suspense by spilling it out here, other than to say that the evening ended happily ever after, both for all the kitties, and for the audience who had just witnessed a performance of a lifetime. From the acting and the music, to the talent and the make-up, and from just the thrill of watching Broadway’s most renowned show right here in Istanbul, it was certainly an evening to remember.
Image source: Photo by Effie (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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