Things lacking in a musical

The other day Claire and I went to see Cats at the Opera House. I have good and bad comments, so I'll start with the good. Ending on bad comments is often much more whimsical, and I'm just the kind of person that likes to leave a bad taste in your mouth.

I wouldn't claim to be a big singing and dancing fan, but when it comes to the theatre I could be converted. These are all very very talented people and some of the dance moves were amazing. I also loved how they used the set, with people dressed as cats scurrying around and popping up from lots of little hiding spots. The singing was top notch, especially when Grizzabella sang 'Memory'. At one point she really unleashed, probably more than doubling her volume and actually gave me goosebumps. This is the stuff that makes theatre great, and so much better than just the movies.

Another high for me was the outfits the girl cats were wearing, and some of them certainly danced like they were on heat. Unfortunately, some of the boy cats didn't leave a lot to the imagination, which was much less pleasant to watch. I'm pointing the finger at you Skimbleshanks! My favourite characters would have to be Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer (a pair of theiving cats) and Magical Mr Mistoffelees (he's so shiny).

What wasn't so flash was our seats. We were up in the gallery, which was really quite high up. Normally not bad seats I'd say, except we had some really annoying people sitting in front of us who leaned out a long way and blocked our view. The only thing we could do was also lean out ourselves, which of course passed the problem on to those behind us. All this leaning and the cheap uncomfortable seats didn't feel so good for my neck and shoulders.

My biggest gripe however is the plot of the show. I was hoping for more of it. There is very little speaking, it is nearly all singing, and for the first hour I was straining my ears to hear all the words so I wouldn't miss something important to the plot. I realised soon after intermission that there isn't really much to it, it's really just a succession of 'introducing the characters' songs. Once we got home after the show Claire and I checked out Wikipedia for a better idea of what went on, and it seemed to me that some bits were missed out. Hmmm, maybe I just didn't strain my ears enough.

Oh, another highlight of the night was discovering caramel coated nuts on sale just outside the opera house entrance. A bit noisy to eat during the show though.