APR. 8/9/10

KIP AOKI / KAOKI@STARBULLETIN.COM

COURTESY OF JOAN MARCUS Old Deuteronomy and Grizabella, the glamour cat who sings the hit song "Memory."

Humans learn the animals’ ways
to prepare for their parts
in the musical

'Do you have cats?" I'm asked. The publicist on the other end of the line is trying to gauge whether I'm qualified to speak about "Cats," the popular musical opening Tuesday at the Blaisdell.

Feline influx The hit musical "Cats" returns What: "Cats" Where: Blaisdell Concert Hall Show times and prices: 7:30 p.m. April 12 ($30, $45 and $55); 7:30 p.m. April 13 and 14 ($35, $55 and $65); 8 p.m. April 15; 2 and 8 p.m. April 16; 2 p.m. April 17 ($45, $65 and $75); and 7 p.m. April 17 ($35, $55 and $65). Call: (877) 750-4400 or log on to www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are available at the Blaisdell Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets. Opening-night benefit: For the Ronald McDonald House, $100 tickets include VIP seating, a pre-show reception, a chance to meet cast members and a treat at intermission. Call 973-5683 to reserve tickets.

I look down at Bella, my longhaired black cat, who is gently patting my arm with a paw to get my attention. Meanwhile, Merlin, my black-and-white cat, is parked in front of the off-limits pantry, meowing loudly. He stalks the closet several times a day, his curiosity never satisfied in seeing what treats -- canned goods, boxes, crinkly plastic bags -- it may contain.

"Yes, I have cats," I answer.

But, cat lover that I am, I am not one of the more than 8 million people who have watched the musical kitties scamper and play since its debut.

It's been 25 years since composer Andrew Lloyd Webber set T.S. Eliot's crafty poems from "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" to song. The book was originally intended for Eliot's younger relatives, but it's adults who never tire of watching humans transform into cats who play, dance and sing in the Jellicles' junkyard. This will be the fourth time the show has been brought to Hawaii.

Although loyal fans may not be looking for anything new from the production, Kym Chambers, a performer from "Cats" who is allergic to the real felines, promises there is always something new to see for repeat "Cats" fans.

"Because there are very few times when there aren't 20 cats on stage, people will see something different each time they watch the show," Chambers said. "I was watching the show one time and there was so much going on onstage."

Chambers and Justin P. Wingenroth flew in a couple of weeks ahead of the opening to get the word out.

"We justified it as we've been here longest. We put in our dues," Chambers joked.

"Cats" closed on Broadway in 2000, and since then the musical has entered its second of nine lives, performing in dozens of cities nationwide.

COURTESY OF ELISSA JOSEPHSON Kym Chambers gets ready to portray motherly cat Jellylorum. Each of the performers applies their own makeup, which takes between 15 and 30 minutes.

WINGENROTH and Chambers have been on tour with the production for two years and will hang up their cat suits, and arm and leg warmers when their contracts expire in June, but in the meantime, they've had the opportunity to turn their characters into creations of their own imagination -- with the director's approval, of course.

As Mr. Mistoffelees, Wingenroth has given the proud cat, known for its dramatic flair, a more playful attitude through dance. And Chambers demonstrates her vocal abilities performing two roles, mainly as the motherly cat Jellylorum, but also as Griddlebone in a dream sequence.

Like any two felines, Wingenroth and Chambers are as different as the cats from the Jellicles' junkyard are. Wingenroth is an easygoing cat, content in the give and take of conversation while feasting upon fajitas during a lunchtime interview. Chambers is as curious and alert as any feline, asking question after question with little rest in between.

Wingenroth said much of the challenge of being in production is to communicate, through body language and while hidden beneath fur and makeup, the personalities of the 20 cats who appear on stage or sidle through the audience. Each cat has its own history, such as bedraggled Grizabella or slinky Cassandra.

COURTESY OF ELISSA JOSEPHSON Up to 20 cats prance around the stage at one time in the musical "Cats."

"To watch humans become the cats is fascinating," Chambers said.

To help "Cats" cast members get into their feline characters, actors take part in exercises focusing on "head, shoulders and back."

Wingenroth said actors are allowed to explore their feline personas in "felinity workshops," classes devoted to mimicking a mouser's every mood, from playful to curious to serious. It's exactly as it sounds: exercises in batting balloons around with their hands -- while on all fours -- and performing leisurely stretches, a part of any cat ritual. Actors must think about how a cat would groom itself, how it would pick up an object or play with it. Or how a cat might be just as content to sleep half the day away.

Wingenroth doesn't own a cat, yet says it's fascinating to watch a cat's behavior for comparison's sake.

"Now, when I see a cat, I'll think, 'I'd do that.'"

Added Chambers, "We've been with the show so long, it's in our blood."