Cats

Reviewed by Pauline Adamek

In 1981, a musical adaptation by Andrew Lloyd Webber of British poet T. S. Eliot’s collection Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats took London’s West End by storm. Cats was immediately transferred Stateside, where the Tony Award-winning musical still holds the record for being the second longest-running show in Broadway history.

Boasting a large cast of dancers and singers prowling around the theater, both on and off the stage, the whimsical musical has endured as a crowd-pleaser, providing perfectly inoffensive and family-friendly fare. The slight storyline focuses on a motley gang of cats that nocturnally inhabit an urban alley crammed with oversized junk. Known collectively as the “Jellical cats,” the kitties perform various song-and-dance numbers, which is how we learn what makes them special.

Munkustrap (Karl Warden) appears and introduces Jennyanydots (Colette Peters), a large tabby cat, with the song “The Old Gumbie Cat.” We also meet Skimbleshanks, Carbuckety and Bustopher Jones — a rotund, spats-wearing “cat about town” who frequents gentlemen’s clubs. A highlight in Act 2 is the introduction of the “Magical Mr. Mistoffelees” — a small and nimble black cat (performed brilliantly by Dane Wagner), who can perform feats of magic and pirouette endlessly.

It’s difficult to work out why the solemn feline leader Old Deuteronomy (Clent Bowers) is revered as the gang’s patriarch, yet faded old glamor-puss Grizabella (Kelli Provart, who dazzles with her powerhouse voice) is shunned by the fickle cat community. (Old Deuteronomy selects which of the Jellical cats will be reborn with the next new moon.) Adding to the confusion, the sound mix is a bit muddy when the company is singing in chorus. (Happily the lyrics of all the solos comes over loud and clear.)

Really, this show is just an excuse for a riot of embellished Lycra costumes, comedic fat- suits, vivid makeup and fluffy fright-wigs (costuming is well-executed by Christine Bogle). The modern choreography allows for plenty of pawing, clawing, catlike gestures as well as occasional acrobatic leaps and balletic flourishes. The live musical accompaniment is a mishmash of styles, from soaring orchestral melodies to a jazzy swing number, to a tap routine (that could have been much crisper) to heartfelt ballads such as Grizabella’s renowned show-stopping tune “Memory.”

Apart from the occasional cringe-inducing sour-note from a flute or trumpet, the orchestra gives a decent performance under the John Glaudini’s musical direction. The musical’s 1980s origins only reveal themselves when some tired old synthesizer sounds come to the fore (then again, the dancers’ leg warmers also hearken back to an era that contemporary fashion would sooner forget.)

Though director-choreographer Dana Solimando has done a great job adapting this vivid musical to the spacious La Mirada stage, the quality of the energy is sometimes tepid, as if the cast were conserving their energy — which is odd, given the not-especially challenging dance routines. A notable exception is Todrick Hall, who brings a rock-star swagger and blazing charisma to his performance as the feisty tomcat Rum Tum Tugger.

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Boulevard, La Mirada; Wed.-Thurs., 7:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 2 p.m. (added perfs Sun., May 4 & 11, 7 p.m.); through May 11. (562) 944-9801, www.lamiradatheatre.com