Review: When the sun sets away, the cats come out to play
Review: When the sun sets away, the cats come out to play
DREW MCONIE GIVES ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER'S FELINE PHENOMENON A MUSCULAR NEW LIFE UNDER THE STARS - NOSTALGIC ENOUGH TO SATISFY THE FAITHFUL, BUT INVENTIVE ENOUGH TO MAKE A CATS SKEPTIC LOOK TWICE.
DREW MCONIE GIVES ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER'S FELINE PHENOMENON A MUSCULAR NEW LIFE UNDER THE STARS - NOSTALGIC ENOUGH TO SATISFY THE FAITHFUL, BUT INVENTIVE ENOUGH TO MAKE A CATS SKEPTIC LOOK TWICE.
★★★★☆
★★★★☆
There are musicals that become classics because they remain timeless, and then there are musicals that become classics because they refuse to go away. Cats is, somehow, both.
There are musicals that become classics because they remain timeless, and then there are musicals that become classics because they refuse to go away. Cats is, somehow, both.
More than four decades after Andrew Lloyd Webber transformed T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats into one of the world's most recognizable musicals, the Jellicles continue to gather. The show opened in the West End in 1981, ran for exactly 20 years, conquered Broadway, and eventually found its way onto stages around the world.
More than four decades after Andrew Lloyd Webber transformed T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats into one of the world's most recognizable musicals, the Jellicles continue to gather. The show opened in the West End in 1981, ran for exactly 20 years, conquered Broadway, and eventually found its way onto stages around the world.
And yet, for all its cultural “purrvasiveness”, I have never been particularly fond of Cats. The exception was Cats: The Jellicle Ball, the electrifying reimagining that took the material somewhere genuinely unexpected. Its premature Broadway closing remains, to my mind, one of those theatrical injustices that deserves its own grievance session.
And yet, for all its cultural “purrvasiveness”, I have never been particularly fond of Cats. The exception was Cats: The Jellicle Ball, the electrifying reimagining that took the material somewhere genuinely unexpected. Its premature Broadway closing remains, to my mind, one of those theatrical injustices that deserves its own grievance session.
At Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, Artistic Director Drew McOnie takes a rather different approach. His Cats does not attempt to reinvent the musical from the ground up, but neither does it simply dust off the original. Instead, it sits somewhere between the familiar and the new. The result is a production that isn't flawless, but is frequently rousing.
At Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, Artistic Director Drew McOnie takes a rather different approach. His Cats does not attempt to reinvent the musical from the ground up, but neither does it simply dust off the original. Instead, it sits somewhere between the familiar and the new. The result is a production that isn't flawless, but is frequently rousing.
Sami Fendall's costumes establish a clever relationship with the show's history. They are unmistakably new, while still acknowledging John Napier's original designs. The silhouettes and feline detailing feel familiar, but the more sharply pointed ears give each cat a distinct profile and personality. They aren't revolutionary, but they are handsome and characterful, making the Jellicles feel like a community rather than actors in interchangeable cat suits.
Sami Fendall's costumes establish a clever relationship with the show's history. They are unmistakably new, while still acknowledging John Napier's original designs. The silhouettes and feline detailing feel familiar, but the more sharply pointed ears give each cat a distinct profile and personality. They aren't revolutionary, but they are handsome and characterful, making the Jellicles feel like a community rather than actors in interchangeable cat suits.
Then McOnie gets them moving.
Then McOnie gets them moving.
His choreography makes excellent use of the outdoor space, giving the cats a physical language of their own. There are clear echoes of the late, great Dame Gillian Lynne's original choreography, but McOnie isn't simply recreating it. He pushes the movement into sharper, more contemporary territory, demanding an impressive level of physicality from the company.
His choreography makes excellent use of the outdoor space, giving the cats a physical language of their own. There are clear echoes of the late, great Dame Gillian Lynne's original choreography, but McOnie isn't simply recreating it. He pushes the movement into sharper, more contemporary territory, demanding an impressive level of physicality from the company.
These performers don't simply have to sing and dance. They have to maintain the illusion of being cats throughout, and some of the movement looks punishingly difficult.
These performers don't simply have to sing and dance. They have to maintain the illusion of being cats throughout, and some of the movement looks punishingly difficult.
The clearest example is Jet Yau's Magical Mr. Mistoffelees.
The clearest example is Jet Yau's Magical Mr. Mistoffelees.
I have never seen a Mistoffelees quite like this one.
I have never seen a Mistoffelees quite like this one.
Yau dances with astonishing precision, and McOnie's decision to incorporate breakdancing into the character's movement is one of the production's smartest choices. It could easily have been a gimmick, but instead it feels completely appropriate for a feline magician. Watching Yau seemingly defy gravity is one of those moments when an audience collectively seems to think, Did he just do that?
Yau dances with astonishing precision, and McOnie's decision to incorporate breakdancing into the character's movement is one of the production's smartest choices. It could easily have been a gimmick, but instead it feels completely appropriate for a feline magician. Watching Yau seemingly defy gravity is one of those moments when an audience collectively seems to think, Did he just do that?
Yes. He did.
Yes. He did.
Jaydon Vijn's Rum Tum Tugger is another standout. The "Curious Cat" requires swagger and a certain amount of cheek, and Vijn brings plenty of both. There is sass and charm in his performance, as well as a knowing sense of humor. He understands the absurdity of Tugger and happily embraces it.
Jaydon Vijn's Rum Tum Tugger is another standout. The "Curious Cat" requires swagger and a certain amount of cheek, and Vijn brings plenty of both. There is sass and charm in his performance, as well as a knowing sense of humor. He understands the absurdity of Tugger and happily embraces it.
Melanie La Barrie brings warmth and wisdom to Old Deuteronomy. There is a lived-in quality to her performance that gives the character genuine authority. When she takes center stage, the production seems to settle around her.
Melanie La Barrie brings warmth and wisdom to Old Deuteronomy. There is a lived-in quality to her performance that gives the character genuine authority. When she takes center stage, the production seems to settle around her.
And then there is Rachel Wooding's Grizabella.
And then there is Rachel Wooding's Grizabella.
Every performer who takes on the role faces the same challenge: how do you make an audience care about a character who spends much of the evening on the margins before delivering one of musical theatre's most famous songs?
Every performer who takes on the role faces the same challenge: how do you make an audience care about a character who spends much of the evening on the margins before delivering one of musical theatre's most famous songs?
Wooding has the answer.
Wooding has the answer.
Her "Memory" begins with real vulnerability before building into a stunning vocal performance. There is regret, exhaustion, and longing in her Grizabella, but never self-pity. She has the vocal power to fill Regent's Park while retaining the fragility that makes the character work.
Her "Memory" begins with real vulnerability before building into a stunning vocal performance. There is regret, exhaustion, and longing in her Grizabella, but never self-pity. She has the vocal power to fill Regent's Park while retaining the fragility that makes the character work.
The applause is thunderous, and deservedly so.
The applause is thunderous, and deservedly so.
The last time I remember being this moved by a Grizabella was Mamie Paris in the 2016 Broadway revival. Wooding belongs in that conversation.
The last time I remember being this moved by a Grizabella was Mamie Paris in the 2016 Broadway revival. Wooding belongs in that conversation.
McOnie's direction is particularly effective in the open-air setting. The design, also by Fendall, takes something wonderfully unglamorous — a sewage drain — and turns it into a striking theatrical environment, with the structure also evoking the shape of a crescent moon. As darkness falls over Regent's Park, the setting becomes increasingly atmospheric.
McOnie's direction is particularly effective in the open-air setting. The design, also by Fendall, takes something wonderfully unglamorous — a sewage drain — and turns it into a striking theatrical environment, with the structure also evoking the shape of a crescent moon. As darkness falls over Regent's Park, the setting becomes increasingly atmospheric.
There is something inherently right about seeing Cats outdoors. The changing sky and surrounding park become part of the experience, reinforcing the strange idea that these creatures are occupying our world after everyone else has gone home.
There is something inherently right about seeing Cats outdoors. The changing sky and surrounding park become part of the experience, reinforcing the strange idea that these creatures are occupying our world after everyone else has gone home.
Not everything works quite as well. For all of McOnie's fresh choreography, there are stretches where the production feels like a familiar Cats rather than a genuinely new interpretation. The show's episodic structure also remains an acquired taste. We meet one cat after another, waiting for the final selection, and while that can be hypnotic, it can also occasionally feel repetitive.
Not everything works quite as well. For all of McOnie's fresh choreography, there are stretches where the production feels like a familiar Cats rather than a genuinely new interpretation. The show's episodic structure also remains an acquired taste. We meet one cat after another, waiting for the final selection, and while that can be hypnotic, it can also occasionally feel repetitive.
But perhaps Cats was never really meant to be judged by conventional narrative standards. It is about atmosphere, movement, music, and character. McOnie's production understands that and, importantly, doesn't try to explain the Jellicles too much. It simply lets them exist.
But perhaps Cats was never really meant to be judged by conventional narrative standards. It is about atmosphere, movement, music, and character. McOnie's production understands that and, importantly, doesn't try to explain the Jellicles too much. It simply lets them exist.
For someone who has struggled to embrace Cats, that is no small achievement.
For someone who has struggled to embrace Cats, that is no small achievement.
McOnie's revival proves that the musical doesn't necessarily need to be radically reinvented to feel alive again. The Jellicle Ball demonstrated how far the material could be pushed; McOnie demonstrates that it can also be refreshed while remaining recognizably Cats.
McOnie's revival proves that the musical doesn't necessarily need to be radically reinvented to feel alive again. The Jellicle Ball demonstrated how far the material could be pushed; McOnie demonstrates that it can also be refreshed while remaining recognizably Cats.
I still wouldn't call myself a Cats fan. But this production gave me plenty to admire: an exceptionally athletic ensemble, inventive choreography, striking design, and several performances that will stay with me — particularly Wooding's Grizabella and Yau's magical Mistoffelees.
I still wouldn't call myself a Cats fan. But this production gave me plenty to admire: an exceptionally athletic ensemble, inventive choreography, striking design, and several performances that will stay with me — particularly Wooding's Grizabella and Yau's magical Mistoffelees.
As the sun sets over Regent's Park, the Jellicles emerge once again.
As the sun sets over Regent's Park, the Jellicles emerge once again.
And this time, I'm rather glad they did.
And this time, I'm rather glad they did.
Cats - Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
Attended on 29 August 2026