mark.waltz "We liked it a lot. It was better than 'Cats'", theater audiences on a TV comedy sketch show proclaimed in a monotone voice after seeing the latest theatrical spectacular. Certainly, "Cats" has gone onto become one of the most financially successful musicals ever, but does that make it good? According to the billions who have seen it, yes, but to a small majority of those involved in the theater, it is a joke, the type of show one would sneak into like an alcoholic sneaking a drink. The music is mediocre (with the exception of one Broadway standard that everybody has probably heard, even those who hate musical theater), the story non-existent, and the premise manipulative. It's like the movies of today, all style-no substance, and after seeing the TV version and the new Broadway revival, I concur that indeed, this show has given me "Cat Scratch Fever".T.S. Elliott's book of poems was just that, poetry, and when put into the premise of a big spectacular musical, is a two hour pretentious ball of fur. It's mesmerizing to watch, and I feel for the talented performers who get put into all sorts of twisted positions, much like Julie Taymor did with her dancers in the stage version of "The Lion King". But unlike the king of the jungle, this kitty is about as emotionally involved as commercial cat Morris and cartoon cat Garfield. At least with those two, you could count on the commercial being over in less than a minute (and usually laughed at his cynical commentary) and the comic strip had wry comments on life, pet and human relations and with a 10 second reading, much more to give to the world than this has done in the past 35+ years.The premise of this show is simple: It's the jellicle ball for jellicle cats, and a song indicating what a jellicle cat is really gives no complete definition. Old Deuteronomy is sort of the great God like old cat who must choose which one of the jellicle cats will go on to start another life, and within the span of two hours, various cats of no varying personalities (with the exception of a few) audition for that honor. Ken Page is one of the great character performers of the theater, and makes a lovable and commanding Deuteronomy. The problem, then, is not in the performances, but within the show itself. Elaine Page repeats her London role as the aging glamour cat Grizabella who sings the poignant anthem "Memory" at the climax of act one, then repeated throughout act two, and she provides the only poignant moment for me that rendered any kind of emotion.There's a show-stopping John Mills as the "theater cat" who claims to have performed for Queen Victoria, giving one analogist the idea that "Cats" was a metaphor for the relationship between Queen Victoria and Disraeli. Original director Harold Prince summed it up best when he replied to that inquiry, "It's about cats." So even the director knows that it's pointless entertainment, manipulating theater goers for decades and certainly packing in the tourist trade in both London and on Broadway. Of course, everybody who has seen this show or knows about it knows "Memory" and characters like Rum Tum Tugger and Jenny Any-Dots (who would name their cat that?), and after seeing this, I needed a double shot of Rum Tum Tugger.The staging is impressive, but after a while, the dance numbers do nothing but take away the notion of any plot, and one number in particular reminded me of the 2002 disaster "Dance of the Vampires" where the living dead danced at the vampire ball in front of a mirror, with no reflection. The staging is corny, sometimes tacky, and when I saw this on Broadway, I realized that everybody around me with the exception of me had drunk the "Cats" kool-aide. I was happy to get this off my bucket list, but I certainly will laugh more every time I see a comic jab at this show, like Woody Allen did in "New York Stories" and what Marc Cherry did on the short-lived "The Five Mrs. Buchannans" when Eileen Heckart rushed her daughter-in-law Harriet Harris out of a store, claiming, "I'm not going to be late for Rum Tum Tugger just because of you." Like those two great theatrical ladies who obviously got the joke (Harris's character referred to it as technically amazing but artistically empty), I too am not taken in by over-stuffed smelly costumes and junk yard modern art when there is no point to the show in the first place.

TxMike I am a fan of real cats, I enjoy musicals, and the musical "CATS" has been a favorite of mine for years. In the theater you are far enough away that you don't see a lot of what is going on, especially details of the make-up and expressions on the characters.This 1998 film production was made especially to create a version on film. It is simply the stage musical masterfully performed, but with cameras set up from various points to get both full, wide shots and very intimate close-up shots. There is no audience applause at all, so it was probably filmed only with the cast and crew present. It runs 2 hours and all the performances are outstanding. If you could say any two are featured it would be Ken Page with his wonderful, full bass voice that goes all the way up into the lower part of the tenor range, as Old Deuteronomy, who gets to choose which cat goes up to the "heaviside layer" to be reincarnated. And Elaine Paige as Grizabella the Glamour Cat, no longer young but aged and tattered. Both of them render their songs wonderfully and with the right emotion.I found it at my public library on DVD in Widescreen and with Dolby 5.1 sound. I first saw this film version several years ago and again today.Note: The "heaviside layer" is is a layer of ionized gas occurring between roughly 90–150 km (56–93 mi) above the ground — one of several layers in the Earth's ionosphere. The "Heaviside layer" is used as a symbol for heaven (in the afterlife sense) in the musical "Cats."

marazion1010 I don't really know how to put this performance into words. It was a brilliant show for such a large performance being put into film. The production team of it just grabbed the best they could get. Elaine Paige is really good at her part which she is possibly best known for and as for John Partridge that sexy beast! He is just utterly fantastic as the Rum Tum Tugger - just like he was on stage when I saw him. This may seem at first a little slow but it gets way better after the prologue! It is just truly amazing and I think everyone should see it as now the musical has stopped running on stage now. This is possibly one of very few musicals that I cannot get tired of because it is just such an interesting and blockbusting show which deserves more credit than it gets sometimes!

Sarah Chayer (popstar11231) I LOVE Cats. I saw it the movie for the first time what I was about 11 or 12. I sat down and watched the movie all the way through. It was GREAT! (My obsession with The Phantom of the Opera moved on to Cats.) The dancing, choreographed by Gilliann Lynn, is spectacular and very original. The words, written by TS Eliot, were terrific, and the music, by none other than Andrew Lloyd Webber, was breath-taking! This was a really great cast. My favorite characters would have to be Rum Tum Tugger (John Partridge), Mistoffelees (Jacob Brent), Rumpleteazer (Jo Gibb), and Demeter (Avea May).I really love Cats, and I would recommend it to any Broadway fan. Along the line of Andrew Lloyd Webber productions, I recommend watching "Joseph and the Amazing Techni-colored Dreamcoat" too. It's almost as good as Cats and I'm sure anyone would love it! Long live Andrew Lloyd Webber!!!!!!!!