Have you ever had one of those experiences in a theatre, when you are so incredibly annoyed because some rude person has shown up 20 minutes late, and needs to cut in front of you during that one really great song to get to their seat?

Well, I am terribly ashamed to admit that on February 21^st, 2010 at 1:20pm in Chrysler Hall, I was that annoying rude person – the person at whom I usually narrow my eyes and shake my head as they walk by.

In the years that I’ve attended theatre and musical theatre productions, and even in the past two years that I’ve studied theatre, I’ve had the first rule of theatre etiquette – always show up on time – drilled into my head. I regrettably say that I still, somehow, managed to break this rule. Yes, my head is still bowed in shame.

The fateful box office. Photo: Author.

And it’s not like I have a tremendous excuse either. I have no car that could’ve broken down, the school bus to the MacArthur Center was running on time, and despite that fact that I don’t quite have my bearings around Norfolk, my roommate and I managed to find Chrysler Hall without stopping for directions… more than once. We were so excited to be attending the Broadway musical Cats, just a 15-minute bus ride away from our freshmen dorm room at ODU. Getting out of our crummy old dorm rooms and off campus always feels amazing. Getting off campus to see the second longest running Broadway musical? Even better.

We walked up to Chrysler Hall, and although slightly confused as to why there was no one in sight, patiently waited for the doors to open. When they did, we were told we could pick up our tickets at the box office. I was very proud of myself at this stage. Being early has never been one of my strong points, and we were there 40 minutes before opening curtain. We excitedly marched up to the box office and I requested my tickets for the two o’clock viewing of Cats. You can perhaps imagine the surprised, turned into “I must have heard her wrong,” turned into “I’m going to have a minor panic attack,” look that I gave the lady at the desk when she promptly corrected me with, “You mean the show that started at 1:00?”

Why I had been thoroughly convinced that the show started a 2:00 is beyond me, but this is how I ended up sneaking through Chrysler Hall to my seat while a bunch annoyed viewers glared at me, and some oddly named cats introduced me to the Old Gumbie Cat. Since this was my first time seeing Cats, I was disappointed about missing the first three songs, and was hoping to rely on my previous knowledge of the plot to bring me to the understanding of a) who Old Gumbie Cat was, b) what these furry creatures were singing about, and c) why these cats were all tap-dancing.

Unfortunately, my previous knowledge wasn’t much, nor useful. I’d heard from many how amazing the show is – a definite must-see. In fact, a local college put on Cats in my hometown in Ontario, Canada just last year. Although I didn’t attend the production, I remember reading an article that quoted a lady who’d seen the musical dozens of times and took every chance she could to see it again. As well, right before I entered the theatre on Sunday, a man waiting to buy tickets for the 6:30 show was telling me how this was a show in which you could see yourself reflected in the cats’ stories – again, a definite muse-see.

Chrysler Hall at night.

Knowing that I wasn’t going to immediately grasp what was happening, I came to the decision that I should just sit back, and take in the detailed set, and exquisite singing, dancing, and acrobatics.

The theatre was absolutely gorgeous. Back home, I have to drive 1-3 hours to get to such a prestigious-looking theatre as Chrysler Hall. I was definitely surprised to find it so close to school, and hosting such well-known musicals as Cats. The set was a cleverly arranged, cat-designed junkyard. Random objects, such as a license plate, an oven and a shoe were oversized and effectively created the illusion of small cats wandering around the human world. The cats themselves wore costumes that were intricately detailed, and overall fun.

As I was sitting, absorbing all of this scenery, I quickly came to the following four realizations about cats:

1)    They are very strong.

2)    They are very good at cartwheels, flips, and tap-dancing.

3)    Cats wear a lot of spandex.

4)    Cats can sing, but they cannot speak.

Gumbie Cat.

It was really just pure entertainment all around! (Ok, maybe minus the spandex part.) It was an awesome change from my usual weekend activities of shopping and pretending I can sing. I can proudly admit that I am an even mix between a not-too-hardcore “shopaholic,” and a girl who wishes she could sing well, but really can’t, and subsequently spends all of her free time singing Taylor Swift and the songs from Glee at the top of her lungs. Luckily, my roommate falls somewhere under this category as well, so on the weekends, we often find ourselves successfully memorizing the bus schedule to the mall (which proved to be useful for Cats!) and the lyrics to one too many songs.

Viewing Cats this weekend, instead of shopping (or perhaps in addition to shopping) enabled us to broaden our musical repertoire by 20 songs! At this point however, I truly feel as if I will never get the song “Memory” out of my head. Thank you Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Fortunately, it’s a good song to remember. It was by far one of my favorites, if only because it gave me the chills. It may sound weird, but I would honestly go see any musical, or theatre production in general, if I knew that I could get that feeling. It came in “Memory” at the climax of the song when Grizabella the Glamour Cat who, remembering her glory days and how she’s been forgotten, exclaims “Touch me. It’s so easy to leave me.” This line is filled with Grizabella’s despair and was so beautifully sung that it brought tears to my eyes. At which point, I couldn’t help but chuckle. It’s always amazed me how I can openly cry during a musical number, but have a heart of stone when it comes to movies such as Marley and Me or My Sister’s Keeper. Anyways, those tears combined with the chills sent down my spine assured me that my time was well spent at Chrysler Hall on Sunday afternoon.

Even though I left the show still unsure of who Old Gumbie Cat was, and not completely aware of the plot of the musical, I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon. I returned to my dorm room, after a pit stop at the mall of course, ready to blast some more T. Swift, certain that I would be seeing Cats again – if only to watch the first 20 minutes and hopefully determine the true meaning of a “jellicle cat.”

Viewing this musical and reading Jeremiah Albers’ article has encouraged me to search the Norfolk area for local musical productions, as I have been reminded just how fabulous and entertaining they can be. I have very much enjoyed attending various theatre productions in Norfolk but am now anxious to see what this city has in store for musicals.

As for Cats? Well, they may be able sing, dance, and cartwheel like no other, but I’ll always be a dog-lover at heart.