Cats

[Deleted]

www.thestage.co.uk/news/2016/gillian-lynne-i-am-very-angry-about-being-dropped-from-cats-on-broadway/

"I'd like to murder."

#awkw-aaaard

Don't blame her though. God knows how this fusion is gonna end up!

[BurlyBeaR]

She praised Blankenbuehler as brilliant, but added that his work on Hamilton was mainly hip hop, which she said was not what Cats is about.

What did they put that naff rapping cat in it for then? 

[BurlyBeaR]

Everyone’s point of view is that it will be a brilliant little show, but it will not be Cats,” she said.

Lol. Meow. 

Nice one dear. 

[Deleted]

Think her beef is she is the only principal original creative not to be invited.

Though anyone know if Napier is involved or if someone else is adapting his set?
Sure he said Palladium would be his last adaptation of it.

In two minds re Lynne.
- On the one hand I am a huge Cats fan and her work on the show is iconic (IMHO)
- On the other the whole point of revivals should be to reinvent, reimagine and push forward....

I'd like to see this though. Shame I can't afford the air fare!

(Oh and I know am in a minority but I really like the new Tugger. #jellicoolestcat)

[BurlyBeaR]

Im not going to bore you with my thought of the recent tour again. But it was soooo dated. I'm sure it was great back in the day and introduced many people to MT but jeez let's move on. Miss Lynne is still immortalised at Her Majesty's. It would have been so much more classy for her to commend the new approach and wish it luck.

[Deleted]

The issue is it isnt a revival, its a revisal with the original creative team except her. And someone else is being brought in to tinker with her work, so her ideas but 'improved'. She was without doubt key to its original success and has every right to be annoyed.

She has gone a bit overboard in her language but she is hardly the first theatre person to do that

[max]

It's a tough one. I think the high impact of dance in pop videos and TV shows (yes 2 min routines on Strictly & street dance on Britain's Got Talent) made the choreography for CATS look rather stately in its recent revival. I don't know how you multiply that intensity across a two hour show without breaking the dancers (a different cast for Act 1 & 2 ?!!),but I felt it I'm afraid. Where there was 1 twist or spin I wanted 2 etc. What was once high octane no longer is.

I think insouciant style (Astaire / Fosse) doesn't date in the way the primal thrusts and preening of Lynne's work for Cats has.

Wish she saw it that way, as it's sad she's lived to feel slighted over a much loved project. Though I wish this brilliant woman many more creative years I hasten to add!

[infofreako]

I enjoyed the palladium stop but felt the tour cast in blackpool struggled and it showed in terms of half empty venue for a large part of the run.
That said maybe in smaller theatres like eastbourne on this years run it will do ok

[mrbarnaby]

To be fair to her she has been treated terribly. She was a massive reason the show was the hit it was.. And to be tossed aside like that is pretty shoddy. And ALW shouldn't have let it happen.

If they are going to say it's a new production , they shouldn't sell it with the original logo. That's just misleading the public.

[BurlyBeaR]

Jun 8, 2016 21:43:26 GMT mrbarnaby said:

To be fair to her she has been treated terribly. She was a massive reason the show was the hit it was.. And to be tossed aside like that is pretty shoddy. And ALW shouldn't have let it happen.

If they are going to say it's a new production , they shouldn't sell it with the original logo. That's just misleading the public.

So they can only use the logo if they copy the original production? 

How does that leave the recent Sunset Boulevard then? 

[mrbarnaby]

They only used the logo.. Plus a picture of Glenn.

Cats is using exactly the same poster image.. The logo on a black background. It shouldn't be allowed if they are changing the choreography.

[mrbarnaby]

(I should have said poster image- not just logo in original post)

[ali973]

It can't be a completely independent production because the website is essentially a microsite that sits on the flagship Cats website along with the UK/Euo tour, Paris, Japan, Australia which are based on the "original". However, I do find it sketch that there's absolutely no cast/credits page on the Broadway site.

I'm rather excited to see this and can't wait to book. Can't wait to see the new-ish choreography.

BTW, dame Gillian looks amazing. I can't believe she's 90. You go, girl.

[westendwendy]

Jun 8, 2016 21:43:26 GMT mrbarnaby said:

To be fair to her she has been treated terribly. She was a massive reason the show was the hit it was.. And to be tossed aside like that is pretty shoddy. And ALW shouldn't have let it happen.

If they are going to say it's a new production , they shouldn't sell it with the original logo. That's just misleading the public.

This is a disgrace if the whole show has been rechoreographed - it ran over over two decades because of the success from her input!

That said, it's a small theatre world and I'M NOT SURE if being so vocal will do any favours. She's 90 bless her..

Restaging one song for the tugger is fine but not the whole show!!!

[loureviews]

The strength of this show is that the dancers move like cats, and that is 100% down to Gillian's choreography.

She is right that she basically created the show, and she is right to feel concerned and slighted at being the only original creative excluded.

This new show will definitely not be 'Cats' as we know it.

[wickedgrin]

She could probably have updated and reinvented some of the choreography herself though.

If the whole show is completely redone - fair enough but I suspect there will be a huge amount of her original choreography in there which will be uncredited and more importantly not paid for through royalties. I suspect it is a money saving thing. Didn't a similar thing happen with the tour of Les Mis where the original directing team were replaced (again to save cash I suspect). The revolve was dropped but alot of the staging looked very familiar.

It is a grey area but I would be on Gillian Lynns side, I think, in that she created the show and has a right to protect her copywright and her artistic vision.

[Deleted]

The Les Mis tour thing struck me too... Yes, it was different and refreshing, but an awful lot owed much to the original concept and staging. I'm with Gillian Lynn too. I'd be put out if I were sidelined in this way. Why do these big people treat others like this? There seems no sense of honour these days...

[Deleted]

Wasnt trevor nunn annoyed by the les mis revamp as he wasnt involved?

If this was a revival with a new take then fine, but its the original creative team except her. And to basically say 'your work is good but this new guy can make it better'is insulting. I would say with her input and ideas the show would have flopped originally

Also, as has been pointed out they are using the original artwork. It really annoys me that theatre producer's can get away using the same branding for a different product (hairspray springs to mind)

[BurlyBeaR]

Are they getting away with it though? Or are they paying for the privelege. Even amateur productions get to use the branding if they pay for a license to produce the show. I've often been attracted to an ad for a show based on the recognisable artwork only to find its am dram.

[Deleted]

Jun 9, 2016 18:42:17 GMT @joe10086 said:

Wasnt trevor nunn annoyed by the les mis revamp as he wasnt involved?

If this was a revival with a new take then fine, but its the original creative team except her. And to basically say 'your work is good but this new guy can make it better'is insulting. I would say with her input and ideas the show would have flopped originally

Also, as has been pointed out they are using the original artwork. It really annoys me that theatre producer's can get away using the same branding for a different product (hairspray springs to mind)

Yes, Trevor Nunn was put out. If my memory serves me correctly, he and John Caird did not appear at the 25th Anniversary at the O2

[crabtree]

shall we rework the music a bit as that's not crucial to the show any more either. I hear Gary Barlow has been having a fiddle with musicals recently. Actually, let's cut the cat theme as well and make it about ipads.

[Jon]

The cynical side of me thinks Cameron Mackintosh comes up with new productions of Phantom, Les Mis, Saigon etc with a much cheaper creative team in order to pay less royalties and keep more of the profits. It wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to close Les Mis in the West End and replace it with the new production but until sales dive or it moves theatres, he can't.

[chernjam]

To be honest it is sad to see ALW pulling his "blame the (American) producers" card on this one as well. And they are playing the Hamilton angle big time.

That being said, for me, for Cats to have a revival, I would hope a new/different take on things. ALW has written some new music (supposedly a new Aria in Act II that he forgot to put in the London revival?) the new Tugger (which now is going back to the old tugger?) I'm sure the staging/sets are going to be altered? I mean - Evita was completely restaged and no one screamed that Hal Prince's take was being abandoned. I'm not sure about the point about sacking Gillian for a new choreographer as a way to pay less royalties. I doubt the new choreographer coming off of Hamilton is getting a lower rate than Gillian.

They probably could've treated a 90 year old who was integral to the original creation better.

Well - with all of this, I guess we can see ALW has fully recovered from his health ails and has truly made his "return" - shows premiering with Drama on and off stage.

[Deleted]

Evita wasn't just restaged. It was a completely new production. New concept, design, staging, everything... Even the logo for the show was different.

Is this a brand new production of Cats? Or is it the one that's been touring for years now, with a couple of new songs thrown in, but still performed on the rubbish tip with the tyre that goes off to the Heavyside Layer? If it's the latter, then it's not brand new, is it? It's the same old production, with someone's work put out with the rubbish, and a new choreographer's efforts replacing what is seen to be dated. Who says it has to be staged on a rubbish tip? Let's have a completely new design concept. Start from scratch and I'm sure nobody would feel insulted.

[distantcousin]

Jun 9, 2016 18:45:18 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

Are they getting away with it though? Or are they paying for the privelege. Even amateur productions get to use the branding if they pay for a license to produce the show. I've often been attracted to an ad for a show based on the recognisable artwork only to find its am dram.

Good point, and in fact I know a "rival" group to the one I'm in did Cats earlier this year, and we're expressly told by Really Useful that they could not blatantly copy any of the choreography or costumes. So it HAD to be a new interpretation.