Cats The Musical, that is!
When they advertised that it was coming to Brisbane, I promised Miss 9 that I would take her. She'd never been to a proper, A-grade type musical before and I'd never seen Cats so it seems like the perfect (and expensive!) thing to do.
It's funny watching a child begin to enjoy some of life's culture. She had no idea what was coming. Initially, to her it was just a word. She was marginally excited only because she had the day off school to go to the matinee session.
Once in the theatre, however, Miss 9 took one look at the stage set and declared, 'This is gonna be fantastic'. We had snagged seats that were four rows from the front and slightly off centre so all of the action was right above (and below) us.
The musical itself was pretty amazing. The dancing and singing were incredible. There were times, when the dancers were somersaulting across the stage that I could practically see Miss Nine's eyes popping out of her head! And when the actress playing Grizabella did her power notes in Memory in Act 2, my eyes started watering over. Incredible and talented!
My only subtle criticism is that, unlike most musicals, Cats is so not a narrative. The story line is thin. To me, it is more just a series of descriptions of individuals cats, set to music and dance and presented one after the other. Given that the whole thing is based on poetry by T.S. Eliot, I suppose that it stands to reason that you don't really follow a distinct story journey.
On the drive home, after convincing me to buy the program, the cd and a hat, Miss Nine declared that it was the best thing she'd ever been to. She turned to me and quite innocently asked, "If they ever do a musical about dogs, can we go to that one, too!'
Yes, I think that's a definite sign of success!
