Have you ever just stood around people and gone “Holy heck, you are all so goddamn gorgeous”?
That’s what happened to me when I met the cast of CATS (try saying that 10 times in a row!) for their season in Auckland after the show’s triumphant return to London’s West End.
CATS is, of course, another Andrew Lloyd Webber number telling the story of… cats. Filled with as much energy as a real feline trying to chase a laser pointer, it’s these kind of amazing thoughts I put to Matt McFarlane (Munkustrap), Ross Hannaford (Shimbleshanks), Brent Osborne (Mungojerrie) and Dominique Hamilton (Rumpleteazer) when I was fortunate enough to interview them.
(Note: Because I’m a professional journalist (I’m not), I completely forgot to start recording my first question.
Hotness of cast may also be blamed.)
Do you ever forget you’re in costume?
Dominique Hamilton (DH): *ever so hesitantly* Yes…
Brent Osborne (BO): You can do.
Matt McFarlane (MM): Yeah, you can. The rehearsal process is focussed so much on felinity and finding your own felinity, so that by the time we get through the end of the rehearsal and off the stage, you’re very much leaving your own persona, your ‘person’ at the door when you come in, and then you sort of slip in to the cats character.
I guess it’s more a thought pattern. When you’re thinking on-stage, you’re thinking as your character. It may sound weird, but I think “What would Munkustrap do?”, he’s the leader of the tribe under Old Deuteronemy (Jason Wasley), so he’s the sort of protective one, the one who takes care of business. I guess I think as my character.
Ross Hannaford (RH): BUT! Off-stage, 4 months into the runs, you can be backstage with 4 cats having a political conversation.
Xenojay (XJ): That would be interesting!
RH: You forget! You absolutely forget that you’re dressed as your CATS character.
BO: The situations you get into, when you’re talking or doing stuff, you think “If people could see us right now, knowing we’re at work and in costume doing this, it would be ridiculous.”
XJ: It would be really interesting because you could make a really good viral video out of it! It could be “CATS Cast Discuss Donald Trump”.
MM: You walk past a reflective surface and you catch yourself and go “Look what I’m dressed as…”
What kind of food does your character like?
RH: Salmon!
XJ: Salmon? That’s really fancy!
RH: Smoked Salmon!
DH: I’ve got some tuna hidden around the set that I tend to nibble on every now and then…
XJ: I actually want to ask…is that actually real tuna or…because are we talking in character or??
DH: Yeah!
*laughing at the situation but I still don’t know if the tuna is real or not…*
RH: There’s a half-eaten apple that this one hands me…*points at Brent*…when I look short on sustenance
BO: I’ve got a few apples stashed around the set that I hand off to help people out.
XJ: Oh really!
BO: Yeah, yeah, yeah. There’s cool little things like that happening off-stage.
MM: My cat really wants a Domino’s Pizza that we pass whenever we go back to where we’re staying…
*everyone laughs*
XJ: Which is terrible! Because you guys do pass a lot of really bad food on the way. Like if you go out the front here, you’ll pass by Sal’s Pizza, which is just fantastic.
MM: Is it good?
XJ: It’s really good!
BO: Burger King is great.
MM: Aww yes!
*everyone is elated and agreeing about Burger King’s greatness*
XJ: That’s right! No BK! Only Hungry Jacks!
*everyone agrees and is deflated about Hungry Jacks*
Favourite piece to perform?
BO: We’ve had a few changes to the show. A few numbers are different here and there, as in musically and direction. Just to change it up a little bit, I quite enjoy our number *looks at Dominique*
DH: Yeah! And it keeps it exciting!
XJ: It’s really good that they changed it up and it seems unreal to think that someone has gone out and modernised a musical that’s been around for so long.
DH: Yeah!
Is there ever a time where too much emotion escapes?
MM: Absolutely! When Sophia sings her song ‘Memory’…
*at this point Sophia Ragavelas (Grizzabella) had joined us, standing off to the side appreciating the conversation*
MM:…I think, with all of the cats accepting her in to the tribe and they all forgive and forget everything that’s happened in the past; I’ve found myself shedding a couple of man-tears! So yeah, absolutely, you do get caught up in it.
DH: Yeah, a few tears shed on the stage I think!
XJ: I do enjoy those moments! You know, I like to look around in the audience and check if I’m not the only one being emotional!
*laughter! Because they probably know that I too shed man-tears in the audience…*
If you could sum CATS up in 3 words, what would it be?
(Note: 3 words because that’s how many words make up Andrew Lloyd Webber’s name!)
XJ: “I like CATS” is already off the table!
MM: Can we use 3 adjectives?
XJ: Yeah! Go for it!
MM: Energetic. Hmmm…I’m sorry, does that feel like a waste of a word?
XJ: I like it!
DH: Is it a collective 3 words??
XJ: It can be!
MM: I’m gonna throw energetic in as one, as a short-list.
DH: This is intense!
XJ: This is a collaboration! I liked energetic though! I’m feeling that.
RH: I want to say exhausting…can I?
XJ: Why not! I think a lot of people forget that.
RH: It’s hard because we go for 3 weeks and it’s energetic, exhausting…and exhilirating…
DH: I was going to say exhilirating!
XJ: Yeah! Triple E’s! I think a lot of people forget how much work you do up on stage, they think “This is what they do! They’re paid for it!”
MM: It is tough. Just doing that first performance you’ve just seen, my lycra suit is soaked. I’m a sweater admittedly. In-fact, a funny little thing that happens backstage is Ross and I will stand next to each other with hairdryers, and dry each other off.
XJ: Amazing!
MM: So we can come back with dry costumes!
XJ: It’s interesting you say that, because with modern culture there’ll be those 1 or 2 people who will look up at the stage and go “That guy is really sweaty right now!”
*a collective “Yes” rings through the foyer like a cat’s meow in the night*
DH: And we get so up close and personal with the audience, as we go out into it during the show.
BO: Some people want to get touchy and we just think “Uggghh…you do not want to touch us right now…”
XJ: Do you guys find the really shy people??
DH: Sometimes!
XJ: Cause I love that! Don’t find me in the audience though, because I will join you on-stage…
Do you guys build a workout routine around the show, or is it the workout?
BO: This is essentially the workout routine. Getting into runs and running the show over and over, you do build stamina. You get show-fit essentially. And doing things in isolation is very different to doing the show from start to finish. And the more that you do the show from start to finish, the easier it is to find the parts where you go hard or where you can pull back and get a routine going.
DH: Yeah, I can’t think of anything that can prepare you for the show, but the show.
RH: I feel like the show is your cardio for the week!
BO: One show…
DH: One show!
RH: Yes, one show is your cardio and everything else is just keeping yourself pristine for it!
And following that, I thank this wonderful, beautiful cast for their time as they slinkily manoeuvred to their next interview.
Cats is playing at the Civic Theatre in Auckland until October 11th!
Buy tickets here!
