“Cats:” Oct. 7-23, Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m., Sun., 2 p.m. The Phoenix Performing Arts Center (409-411 Main St., Duryea). $12. Info: 570.457.3589, phoenixpac.vpweb.com, phoenixpac08@aol.com
Stealthy, skulking and surreptitious, cats may have nine lives, but they also have a penchant for Fancy Feast and harbor an unexplainable fascination with birds and other diminutive creatures.
As you can imagine, that makes it difficult to relate, especially if your role in a certain upcoming play requires you to take on those attributes as your own.
“It was extremely difficult to keep telling yourself you’re not a human being, you’re a cat,” said Lee LaChette, director and choreographer of the forthcoming local production of “Cats.” “And it’s like you have to watch your arms and what they’re doing, and you’ve got to crawl instead of walk. So, a lot of it was interesting.”
The much-loved musical will be produced on a NEPA stage for the first time by Phoenix Theatrics Young Adults at The Phoenix Performing Arts Centre in Duryea on weekends Oct. 7-23.
“Cats” has been translated to more than 20 languages and has gained notoriety since its opening at the New London Theatre in London in 1981. And according to LaChette, the rights are available for purchase from Rodgers & Hammerstein, with the cost based on each theater’s seating and average ticket prices. Phoenix was able to get the ball rolling on the production thanks to those standards, along with help from its sponsor, Bath Fitter.
The popularity of the show and the ease of obtaining it beg the question: Why hasn’t the production been staged in the area before?
“Well, it’s pretty challenging,” LaChette explained. “The music itself, of course, because of it being Andrew Lloyd Webber (the original composer). Plus, it being a rock opera, it’s non-stop music and dancing. I think the dancing, more than anything, will hinder a lot of people from wanting to do it, because it’s a lot of choreography, non-stop for two hours.”
Because of that, LaChette and the performers have taken more time than usual to prepare for “Cats,” choosing to forego the standard preparation period of six or eight weeks that the company usually prescribes to.
“We’ve put a lot of time and effort into it,” she said. “We started back in July. We started right after the Fourth of July, so we’ve been working on this for three months.”
With the exception of the stage, which remains the same throughout the entire show, every aspect of “Cats” is in-depth, particularly the costumes, music and makeup.
“We had makeup rehearsals,” LaChette said. “Everybody in the cast got a diagram of their face and learned how to put their own makeup on. We actually took diagrams of the faces right from the Broadway (production).”
She noted that the company also received help in the form of backtracks from Rodgers & Hammerstein, because it would be impossible to fit an entire orchestra in the theater. And there will be some special effects, like a black-lit stage.
To transform into our feral friends, the crew at Phoenix put a lot of fur, sweat and tears into the process
“That’s probably why nobody else wants to touch it, except somebody crazy like me,” LaChette said, laughing. “It’s a challenge.”
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