WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE DELAWARE ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT WORLD
Feb 2, 2011
08:01 AM
Purr-fect
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It’s hard to imagine that “Cats, The Musical,” —Broadway’s longest running musical—has not purred its way through Delaware. You might want to scratch your way to the New Candlelight Theatre to see it.
The show kicks off the Candlelight’s 2011 season and runs through March 20. Andrew Lloyd Webber's spectacle, based on the poems from T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,” debuted in London in 1981. Trevor Nunn, who had musical staging help from Gillian Lynne, directed the original. “Memory,” the song performed by the character Grizabella, is certainly the most enduring tune in “Cats,” but the entire soundtrack is worth noting. (Note: The original London cast recording featuring Sarah Brightman, Wayne Sleep, Paul Nicholas, Brian Blessed and Bonnie Langford is the one to buy. Just personal opinion.)
Getting back to Delaware. “Cats,” which earned seven Tony Awards, is directed and choreographed (wow!) by Dann Dunn, who performed in the show’s North American 2007 tour. As a swing member (an understudy who learns several roles and possesses freakish memory skills), Dunn got to perform as characters Rum Tum Tugger, Mungojerrie, Skimbleshanks, Tumblebrutus, Pouncival and Alonzo.
Erica Scanlon Harr nabbed the role of Grizabella. The pressure is on her to deliver a powerful interpretation of the musical’s best-known song. We expect gale-force vocals.
Contact info: http://nctstage.org/default.aspx, or 475-2313
Tickets are $32-$55. This includes dinner.
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