CATS

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Based on a poem by T.S. Eliot

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Department of Theatre acknowledges the land we are on in Tennessee is the original homeland of the Cherokee, Yuchi, Shawnee, and Chickasaw tribal nations. We honor these indigenous people, their heritage, culture, and legacy.

DIRECTOR'S NOTES

Kari Smith, MFA
Co-Director and Choreographer

Once the longest running show on Broadway, Cats opened in London in the West End in 1981 and later on Broadway in 1982. It finally closed its doors in 2000 after 7485 performances in the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City. I was 13 years old when I saw Cats in New York, and it was my very first time at a Broadway show. Not knowing anything about it, I have to admit that I was pretty confused. What were these cats gathering for? And why were they dancing in the aisles? While a lot of the symbolism and meaning in the show escaped me at that age, I was left with two very lasting impressions. As a young dancer, I was in awe of the movement and choreography in the show, and the young singer in me absolutely loved the new style of the music I was hearing. On that same trip, I also saw Phantom of the Opera, and these two Andrew Lloyd Webber shows not only took the country by storm at the time, but as the two longest running Broadway shows, they solidified the Broadway sound and movement of the 1980s by defining the style of the mega musical. Cats in particular has something for everyone, from musical theater jazz to tap to opera to the pop phenomenon song “Memory.” After my first experience watching Cats, my brother and I bought the cassette tape of the cast recording and listened to it on repeat in my mom’s minivan on the way to and from our own musical rehearsals. While I never got the opportunity to see the show again until it was professionally filmed in 1999, the show has stayed with me all these years. And it wasn't until much later that the significance of the show and its message fully sank in with me.

So what is Cats about? Andrew Lloyd Webber said very simply that it's a show about cats! But for a show with no plot, there actually kind of is one! These “Jellicle” cats gather together to celebrate each other and to also discover which cat will be chosen by their leader, Old Deuteronomy, to travel to the Heaviside Layer to be reborn and begin a new life. Based on the poetry of TS Elliot in his book Old Possum’s Practical Book of Cats, this show explores quite a lot of human experiences through the stories the cats tell about each other. Investigating the themes of joy, community, grace, and redemption, Cats actually speaks more to human truths than it mimics the lives of real cats. With these themes and conceits in place, the show keeps in line with what musical theatre is all about, embodying the synthesis of all of the arts.

This process has been a dream! From the amazing work of my design colleagues to the work of our student crew and performers, everyone has locked in for this production from day one. Thank you so much to our production team, especially my co-director and music director, Christopher Bailey. Working with you is always such a pleasure, and I am in awe of your talent! To our students, you are all such amazing people with talent beyond measure! Thank you for your love and support as we have walked through this process. It means so much to us as faculty to work with you all during this special time in your lives.

Christopher Bailey, PhD

Co-Director/Music Director

In 1999, my dad took our family to ses CATS at the New London Theatre on the West End, the space where the show ran from its opening in 1981 until 2002. Always making the very most of an experience, he told the box office manager to choose the best four single seats available. My seat was a part of the set. It moved with the revolving portion of the stage, and it abutted a alleyway-portal where the cats entered and exited throughout the show. Cats literally brushed up against me on their way to expose Jennyanydots as the tapping Gumbie she is, they included me in gazing upon Grizabella as she sought comfort in reminiscing, they offered visual commentary on and they sometimes simply stared at me, as if studying my lowly humanness. They made me feel like a part of their world. Oh—and the cats sang and danced, too—-the most glorious Andrew Lloyd Webber melodies, laced in haunting and bizarre fugal intricacies. The T. S. Eliot text presents the audience with opportunities for empathy, joy, sadness, exuberance, perspective, and a shared human—-wait, I mean feline—-experience. Sure, as an academic theatre production here at Lipscomb, we addressed themes and motifs, vocal style and production, and mixed meter as an intentionally anxiety-producing unease. That said, the cast members have truly inhabited their characters and are ready to share their story, using those devices with great skill. As an audience of diverse human theater-goers, I hope you also feel like you’re a part of this world for a few hours. After all, Old Deuteronomy explains at the end of the show that CATS are very much like you—-and me. 

MUSIC NUMBERS

Act I
Overture
Prologue: Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats
The Naming of Cats
The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball
The Old Gumbie Cat
The Rum Tum Tugger
Entrance of Grizabella
Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town
Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer
Old Deuteronomy
The Jellicle Ball
Grizabella The Glamour Cat

Act II
The Moments of Happiness
Gus: The Theatre Cat
The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles
Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat
Macavity: The Mystery Cat
Mr. Mistoffelees
Memory
The Journey to the Heaviside Layer
The Ad-Dressing of Cats

CAST LIST

Munkustrap: Connor Adair
Grizabella: Regan Mills
Rum Tum Tugger: Téa Doherty
Bombalurina: Olivia Eley
Demeter: Lillian Brown
Jellylorum: Mackenzie Gregory
Rumpleteazer: Aleia Eagleton
Mungojerrie: Kenzie Cogswell
Quaxo/Mr. Mistoffelees: Haden Lindsey
Old Deuteronomy: Isabella Wickham
Bustopher Jones: Nate Mann
Victoria: Jaidyn Smart
Skimbleshanks: James Wier
Asparagus: Bowen Sellars
Jennyanydots: Makinley Smith
Jemima/Sillibub: Samantha Scattini
Macavity: Jackson Thomas-Clark Martin
Rumpus Cat: Allie Andres
Electra: Megan Ammons
Coricopat: Allie Andres
Griddlebone: Sh’Ahr Blackburn
Tantomile: Emma Stanard
Carbucketty: Callie Jean Tysdal
Bill Bailey: Jackson Thomas-Clark Martin
Stearns: Alyssa Freeze
Eliot: Elly Kate Smith
Plato: Ella Haganman
Admetus: Anna Jones
Jonathan: Lawson Karber
Alonzo: Berkley Landreth
Victor: Nate Mann
Asparagus: Bowen Sellars
Cassandra: Ava Sin
George: Jonah Smith
Thomas: Kaden Kinney
Webber: Dawson Wise
Stearns: Alyssa Freeze
Eliot: Elly Kate Smith
Swings: Sophie Simmons, Ashlyn Sears, Kendall Smith, Aleyah Williams, Sarah Blair

Understudies:
Munkustrap u/s: Sh’Ahr Blackburn
Grizabella u/s: Anna Jones
Rum Tum Tugger u/s: Aleyah Williams
Bombalurina u/s: Alyssa Freeze
Demeter u/s: Callie Jean Tysdal
Jellylorum u/s: Allie Andres
Rumpleteazer/Mungojerrie u/s: Jackson Thomas-Clark Martin
Quaxo/Mr. Mistoffelees u/s: Dawson Wise
Old Deuteronomy u/s: Berkley Landreth
Bustopher Jones u/s: Lawson Karber
Asparagus u/s: Jonah Smith
Jennyanydots u/s: Ava Sin
Skimbleshanks u/s: Kaden Kinney
Jemima/Sillibub u/s: Ella Haganman
Victoria u/s: Megan Ammons
Macavity u/s: Emma Stanard
Rumpus Cat u/s: Elly Kate Smith

PRODUCTION TEAM

Producer: Beki Baker
Directors: Christopher Bailey & Kari Smith
Music Director: Christopher Bailey
Choreographer: Kari Smith
Production Manager: Andy Bleiler
Scenic Designer: Andrew James Bleiler
Costume Designer: June Kingsbury
Lead Costume Painters: Cynthia Parker-Houghton, Phoebe Countryman*, Lin Lescallet*, Emma Stanard*
Wigs: Jonah Smith* (wig master/designer), Lin Lescalleet*, Emma Stanard*
Lighting Designer: Stephen Moss
Associate Lighting Designer: Rylee Hickey
Sound Designer: Jacob Allen
Technical Director: Hendrick Shelton
Master Electricians: Rylee Hickey, Kelly Scheuman
Stage Manager: Sofia Hernandez Morales*
Assistant Stage Managers: Preslie Cagle*, Erin Crandall*, Rachel Penner*
Assistant Choreographer: Olivia Eley*
Assistant Director: Abi Nicholson*
Assistant Music Director: Madelyn Jones*
Assistant Scenic Designer: Peyton Lewis*
Props Assistants: Maegan Kirkland*, Makinley Smith*
Dance Captains: Haden Lindsey*, Lillian Brown*
Fight Captain: Jackson Thomas-Clark Martin*

*denotes student

ORCHESTRA

Keys 1/Conductor: David Weinstein
Keys 2/Rehearsal Accompanist: Duncan Bohannon
Keys 3/Rehearsal Accompanist: Scott Brons
Woodwinds 1: Robby Shankel
Woodwinds 2: Max Dvorin
Drums/Percussion: Dan Kozlowski 
Guitar: Nicholas Palmer
Bass: Thomas Altman
Rehearsal Accompanist: Steve Kummer

STUDENT RUN CREW

Stage Crew: Madison Hickey, Hayley-Kate Nelms, Ryan Belew, Grace Meehan
Wardrobe Head: Lin Lescalleet
Wardrobe: Sophia Hassevoort, Zahra AlSooz
Light Board Operator: Justin Littrell 
Spot Operators: Sara Kovich, Nylah Watts

STUDENT PRODUCTION CREW

Scenic Foremen: Peyton Lewis, Phoebe Countryman, Sophie Simmons, Nate Mann, Makinley Smith, Maegan Kirkland
Scenic Practicum: Megan Ammons, Knoelle Antley, Justin Littrell, Jonah Smith, Lillian Brown, Makenzie Cogswell, Mackenzie Gregory, Samantha Scattini, Ellyson Smith, Isabella Wickham, James Wier, Ryan Belew, Sarah Blair, Madison Hickey, Dawson Wise, Saidee Hannel, Joylin Lescalleet, Brock Loyd, Sophie Simmons, Emma Spillman, Mariko Tan, Nylah Watts
Costume Staff: Emma Stanard, Lin Lescalleet, Allie Andres, Jaidyn Smart, Ella Haganman, Arianna Miller
Costume Practicum: Connor Adair, Elanah Bruce, Alyssa Freeze, Jackson Martin, Jaidyn Smarty, Callie Jean Tysdal, Aleia Eagleton, Kaylee Johnson, Madelyn Jones, Berkeley Landreth, Haden Lindsey, Arianna Miller, Sophia Hassevoort, Luna Range, Sh’Ahr Blackburn, Tiger Dulaney, Battle Loyd, Grace Mullins, Aleyah Williams, Jude Williams, Abigail Clark
Lighting Foremen: Justin Littrell, Nylah Watts
Lighting Practicum: Kayla Dunn,Sara Kovich,Lin Lescalleet, Haley Kate Nelms, Ashlyn Sears, Channing Smith, Kendall Smith, Zahara Alsooz, Megan Ammons, Preslie Cagle, Sarah Cooper, Phoebe Countryman, Ella Haganman, Anna Jones, Lawson Karber, The incomparable Nate Mann, Maya Mezgel, Bowen Sellers

LICENSING RIGHTS

CATS is provided by licensing permission from Concord Theatricals. 

SPECIAL THANKS

Allison Little, Jeff McPherson, Lipscomb School of Music

SUSTAINABILITY STATEMENT

Lipscomb Theatre Department is a proud member of the Broadway Green Alliance. Launched in 2008, The Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) is an industry-wide initiative that educates, motivates, and inspires the entire theatre community and its patrons to implement environmentally friendlier practices on Broadway and beyond. Both faculty and students serve as BGA Green Captains, and work to apply sustainable best practices to the work we do. Our team works diligently to reduce our production’s carbon footprint and our impact on the environment, which includes reducing single use plastics and foams, using sustainably harvested and sustainably manufactured products whenever possible, reusing and repurposing things we already own, as well as those which have been donated to us, being mindful of our energy consumption, plus many other aspects of both rehearsals and the implementation of our shows. In CATS, the scenery you see is constructed using over 80% repurposed scenery pieces from past productions, and 100% sustainably harvested lumber. 98% of the paints we used are water based and low VOC. When the show is finished, over 90% of the scenery and props will be stored for reuse next season. The costumes for this show were all hand painted by faculty, our guest artist, and students in the program. Much of the material was repurposed for this show as well. As with the scenery, the costumes and wigs will find new life in other shows long after this one ends. Even our stage lighting employs a large amount of low energy LED fixtures which are more versatile and use far less energy than conventional lighting. But, we also turn them off when they are not in use to save both money and energy. You will also notice that we don’t hand out  large playbills, which not only helps us keep costs down, but also drastically reduces the amount of waste the show generates. If you have questions, or want to learn more about how you can get involved in sustainable practices, feel free to contact Andy Bleiler, at ableiler [at] lipscomb.edu.