Flat Rock – Cats, which opened at FRP last weekend, sparkles with its energetic flow and the happy faces and feet of its feline characters.
Lisa K. Bryant directs a winning production with crisp pacing. Michael Callahan serves as the main choreographer for the sizzling, well-synchronized 16-person Jellicle cat ensemble. Colorful costumes are designed by Tim Barham, while Ethan Andersen directs the lively live music, featuring Music on the Rock regular Ryan Guerra on guitar.
A unique aspect of this production includes skeletal climbing devices that allow characters to get inside and cross on top. One is a large monkey bar set, and another is a multi-surfaced diamond top. These are utilized by cat characters and local youth portraying elementary school children.
Memorable Vocals
The vocal performances are outstanding. Gillian Bell (Grizabella), with her emotive and resonant voice, spectacularly sings the 1981 pop hit “Memories,” which reflects her fond past and longing for acceptance. The raggedly-costumed Grizabella was once the glamour cat but is now poverty-stricken and depressed after being rejected by other cats during the “Entry of Grizabella” number. This song carries a somber tone, contrasting with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s mostly upbeat tunes.
Can the ostracized Grizabella regain her place among the cool cats? The 16 ensemble cats are fictional, scruffy Jellicle cats that poet T.S. Eliot wrote about in the 1930s.
Other sensational vocalists include tall FRP veteran Paul Vonasek (Old Deuteronomy, Teacher) and mustached Nate Walsh (Mungo Jerrie). Walsh and Brittany Bonefas (Rumpleteazer), who sings with a Brooklyn accent, excel in their facial expressions.
Captivating Cats
Four tall performers are captivating as both dancers and singers: Ashton Lambert (Rum Tum Tugger), Henrique Sobrinho (Skimbleshanks), Julianne Roberts (Bombalurina), and Daniel Booda (Mistoffelees).
Lambert is a dynamic, charismatic top cat in many numbers and scenes. He gyrates through “The Rum Tum Tugger” early on, standing out in black with an extra-furry headpiece. Booda is another lanky, black-clad, whimsical showboat.
Sobrinho takes comical, swift, small but high steps as he “scampers” around as Skimbleshanks, a hyperactive “type A” railway cat. He has appeared in several recent FRP musicals and often stands out as the ensemble’s tallest dancer, complete with a wide grin. Sadie Chatman, one of the youths in the production, singled out Sobrinho and his character as particularly funny.
Energetic Vibes
Amid their onstage movements, ensemble dancers reflect their feline characters with distinct styles—ranging from fierce to frolicking. The Tribune spoke about favorite moves and character traits with Lambert, Sobrinho, Jahlaynia Winters (Jellylorum), Walsh, Jolie Smith (Cassandra), Hannah Gundermann (Etcetera), and Faith Stack (Electra).
Walsh enjoys “climbing” on the monkey bar set on stage, hamming it up with gestures. Lambert likes to “jump all around.” Gundermann’s young cat is also “energetic,” making quick movements.
Stack’s Electra is playfully “curious,” moving slowly as she explores. Smith developed Cassandra as “edgy in her first life” of nine lives.
In contrast, Winters plays a cat in her seventh life, having learned lessons that lead her to act more cautiously. Their mannerisms and movements reflect these characterizations.
Local Youths Excel
Local youths impressively keep pace with their main cast counterparts in the opening number and enhance many scenes. They are divided into two groups: the eight-person Calico cast performs through May 4, while nine Tabby cast youths portray the children’s roles until the production closes on Saturday, May 17.
Chatman, a Calico actress and second-grader, is among the youngest school children in the play. Her favorite dance move is the heel-touching leaping bell kick in the “Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat” number. She is impressed by the professional cast’s acrobatics.
Chatman participates in two magic tricks during “Magical Mister Mistoffelees.” The children also appear in the opening number; Chatman performs hula-hooping and later grabs an oversized basketball as they move about the stage.
Tabby actress Elyse Keplinger, a sixth-grader, eagerly anticipates her first performance on the large Flat Rock main stage. She and another girl are “the first ones to come out onto the stage” in the opening scene. “I sit down and (pretend to) draw a picture” that is pre-drawn. She enjoys keeping up with her paired actress, Jahlaynia Winters (Jellylorum).
Tickets for Cats range from $60 to $80, with discounts available for youths aged 17 and younger. For tickets, visit https//www.flatrockplayhouse.org/cats.