Cats: the weirdest musical in the world

I had certainly heard of the musical Cats before. But I only knew it by name, and was aware that it's about singing cats. I was expecting to hear the song Stray Cat Strut. I was wrong. I am still wondering if the $35 I spent for a discounted ticket to see the show at the Kennedy Center was worth the experience I had.

Image found here

The set of the entire show is essentially a big trash heap, where I figure these cats live. A full moon illuminates the stage, and bistro lights hung over the audience. It wasn't spectacular, like Aladdin was. And later the big tire in the back turns into a UFO. Random.

The show began with little sets of eyes lighting up throughout the set, like how you would see a cat's eyes glow in the dark. Then the actors started coming down the aisles wearing hats with lit up eyes on them. Everything was dark until the cats started coming onto the stage.

The company included more than 20 people. Image found here

Quickly you realize how strange this show is and nothing really makes sense. Jellicle is not a real word, and these cats are named things like Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer. I did a little research, and Cats is based off of the poems/stories that T.S. Eliot wrote for his godchildren (now condensed into a book). It also is important to understand that T.S. Eliot was mostly likely drunk when writing these tales (and I wouldn't be surprised if he were a little high, too). And then Andrew Lloyd Webber turned it into a musical, God knows why.

This show has no story. There is no plot. The closest we get to it is that we know the cats will gather for the Jellicle Ball, and then one cat will be chosen to be reborn (kind of like in Logan's Run). Otherwise, most of the show is spent introducing cats and telling their individual stories of who they are. There's nothing to follow, so you're thinking the whole time, "Where is this going?" The answer is Nowhere.

And I need to address the costumes. These are very sexualized cats, wearing shiny bodysuits that leave little to the imagination. In no way did the actors actually look like cats; barely any fur was actually incorporated in the costumes. Cats do not wear feathery epaulettes and legwarmers. Cats heads and ears aren't that out of proportion to their bodies; headbands with ears would have been more effective than the awful wigs the actors were wearing. And while some of the men did their make-up so their lips mimicked those of cats, the women were wearing red lipstick, making no attempt to look like cats at all. The costumes are almost like drag, except drag is way better.

The leather pants that McGee Maddox wore as Rum Tum Tugger showed quite the bulge. Image found here

Asparagus (played by Timothy Gulan) was wearing a colorful patchwork-quilted coat; that's a human thing, not a cat thing. Image found here.

Mistoffelees (played by PJ DiGaetano) wore rhinestones and a light-up jacket that would change color. NOT cat attire. Image found here

Caitlin Bond's make-up was awful. What white cat has black eyebrows?! Image found here.

Not only did the actors not look like cats, but they didn't move like cats, either. That really surprised me, because cats naturally are quite graceful animals. The way they slink and pounce, they're very nimble creatures. Instead the choreography included yoga moves and things like that. It didn't make much sense. And sometimes they aren't even playing cats: you have cats as tap dancing cockroaches (who looked more like hubcaps), or cats creating a make-shift train. Huh?

And most of the music was like cloying carnival music, or little peek-a-boo music. The show first came out in 1981, so there is definitely an 80's vibe. But it's the worst part of 80's music. The only redeeming quality of this show was Keri René Fuller's performance as Grizabella singing Memory:

If this blog post has not convinced you NOT to see this show, here's the official trailer:

WHY DOES THIS MUSICAL EXIST?!

If you'd like to read another review, check out the one from the DC Theatre Scene. And WTOP has an interview, too. 

B-52's concert at the Anthem

I just saw Elvis Costello and Blondie at the Anthem earlier this summer (read that blog post here), so I continued my 80's new wave concerts earlier this week. Berlin and OMD were both celebrating 40-year anniversaries; they opened for the B-52's. I actually preferred the openers! They had a better stage presence and interacted with the crowd more. Plus, I think I just liked their music better.

I had heard of the band Berlin, but I couldn't have told you what any of their songs were. I think the only song I recognized from their set was "Take My Breath Away," made [even more] famous by the movie Top Gun:

As she was singing this song, she was riding on the shoulders of a big body guard, who walked her around the crowd. She was so close! It was probably my favorite part of the night.

During the show they played some of their old music videos, so that was fun. I have to say, I think Terri Nunn looks a lot better now; she's aged well!

No More Words

Masquerade (Click here for a video of the band performing this song earlier in 2019.)

And these were some other songs they performed:

Sex (I'm a Man)

Transcendance (She wrote this for her mother.)

I Want You (She introduced this song by saying that sex used to have meaning and be special, but now she just wants to get some!)

Then it was on to Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). Their frontman, Andy McCluskey, was really engaging and fun to watch. I had never heard of them before, and I also only recognized their song "If You Leave" from the movie Pretty in Pink:

Here are some other songs:

Enola Gay

Electricity

Tesla Girls (This song was in the movie Weird Science.)

By the time the B-52's came on, I was pretty tired. So perhaps that made me a bit more irritable when it came to their voice affects and the loud noises they make. BUT they still have some great songs:

Love Shack

Rock Lobster (This was their second encore song, and someone in a lobster costume came out on stage!)

Private Idaho (I totally forgot this song existed!)

Planet Claire (I had forgotten what a weird song this is.)

Strobe Light (I didn't realize this was their song!)

PS: I met the writer of the Parklife DC blog, where he reviews concerts. It's so much better than my blog! Click here for his interview with Terri Nunn. (I love that she says, "It's always been a male-dominated world, music. And honestly, the reason I think it is only because music is a way for men to get laid." Ha!)

New Musical: Love Sick [SPOILERS]

I am always skeptical of new plays, symphonies, etc. You just don't know what you're going to get. That's why I tend to stick to the classics: Shakespeare, Beethoven, etc. But to support the DC JCC (they recently renovated their theater space), I bought a subscription to see four of their shows for their upcoming season.

Image found here

The first one was Love Sick, a new musical written by Ofra Daniel. I don't remember reading much about it beforehand; I think I skimmed the summary on the Theater J website. I just thought, "I've already bought a subscription, so I need to use the tickets. And with "love" in the title, it must be a romance story." Really, I had no expectations going into it.

Maybe it's because I didn't know what to expect, but I was BLOWN AWAY by this performance. It was AMAZING! Here's why:

• The program notes tell us that: "When Ofra Daniel sat down on Yom Kippur in 2015 to write a one-woman show based on the poetry of the Song of Songs, she was just trying to find an inexpensive way to fill a last-minute empty slot in the season of her startup theater company, Jewish Circle Theatre...[She said,] 'I thought if I compose the music from the poetry itself I don't need to pay royalties to anybody.'" I think that is such a good idea, to write music for ancient poems and use that as your inspiration to tell a love story. Brilliant! 
• Ofra Daniel not only wrote the play and composed some of the music, but she also is the main actress! She is incredibly talented. I was astounded by her acting, singing, dancing...When it comes to the arts, she can do it all!
• I always appreciate the minimal sets of Theater J. There's never too much going on, and it's not sparse either: it's just enough. The large tree at the center of the stage is a beautiful focal point, and it allows the Lover character a special spot in the heavens (if you will) as Tirzah (day)dreams about him. Crates are used throughout the set for multiple purposes: they act as chairs, beds, whatever the characters need at the moment. The actors have plenty of room around the stage to move and dance, but they also shape the set from scene to scene.
• The costumes, especially that of Tirzah (Daniel's character), are very effective. She starts off as an old beggar woman in the streets, covered in piles of rags. But as she tells her story, she removes layers of clothing, going back in time as she describes being a single girl to becoming a wife to coming into her own as a sensual, sexual, individual woman. Her hair mimics the change, too; it's covered in the beginning, then is in braids, and finally it falls long and free down her back. You can see the transformation through the photos below:

Images found here and here.

• The music is fantastic throughout the entire show; I wish they were selling CDs! Everyone could sing. My date said he could have seen any of the female cast members (Sarah Corey, Sarah Laughland, Kara-Tameika Watkins, and Kanysha Williams) sing the leading role. The musicians were just as good, and they were on stage throughout the performance, so they were both the set and characters all at once. I especially loved Ali Paris, who played the qanun; the instrument really set the "feel" for the show, and his voice as the Lover character was fitting; musicians can be so romantic. 
• Speaking of romantic, everything about this play is so passionate. Daniel as Tirzah is a young woman who is married to a man twice her age, and she has no children of her own. Her longing for something more is palpable, and that desire is unleashed when she begins to receive love letters from an anonymous stranger. These letters inspire something new inside of her, and she becomes more confident as a woman, displaying that desire out in the open, even inappropriately so. And when we learn that her husband has secretly written the letters, we really feel his love for her, just as equally as we feel her devastation when she learns the truth. So. Many. Feelings!

Here is a video that can give you a taste of what you're in for should you decide to go (keep in mind this video is from a different production, so the other actors/singers are different):

I can't recommend this musical enough. I would go and see it again, and I saw it less than a week ago. Buy your tickets now!!!

Here is DC Theatre Scene's review, which is also mostly positive.

Daybreaker at Kennedy Center's REACH

I have only been to one other Daybreaker event before (read that blog post here), but I loved it. So when a friend invited me to go to another one, this time at the Kennedy Center's new REACH center, I was definitely down. The event was part of the REACH Opening Festival, so it was cool to be one of the first people to be there (and this was for sure the first yoga event held there!). 

Bow pose. I'm not sure of the name of the sculpture in the background, but it is certainly iconic in this REACH space.

We arrived around 5:30 this morning, so the sky was still dark and you could see some stars. With the deep chanting music (FDVM was the DJ), I felt like I was in a planetarium. But it was amazing how quickly the sky turned blue; it happened so fast that I never noticed the change until it was fully daylight! It was cool seeing birds and planes fly above. I love doing yoga outside, so this event is totally up my alley. The whole vibe of the place and the hundreds of people there felt so good. The "ohm" we all shared in the beginning was really powerful, too.

Hawah Kasat. Image found here.

Hawah Kasat led the yoga practice, and he was great! He was fun and had great energy. He had us hold some poses a little longer than I might normally, but the flow in general was pretty good. I loved that he led us into poses where we were supporting our neighbors: in Warrior 3, Tree, and Boat, we held each other's arms or touched hands to help each other balance. That was so neat! I especially liked when we were in Tree pose, palm to palm, and then closed our eyes; because our hands gave our brains a frame of reference, we could easily stay balanced, as opposed to when you try to do it by yourself. He also read poems to us from The Poetry of Yoga, a book of poems that he helped edit. He is leading a yoga retreat in Belize over New Year's, and I have to admit that I'm tempted to go! He's local to DC, so maybe I will get another chance to practice with him or hear him speak (it looks like he's some sort of motivational speaker from his website).

My friend Eric and I enjoyed the free KenCen sunglasses we got! And I got several compliments on my Lisa Frank top.

Once the yoga practice was over, I thought most people would just leave like last time. But after a few minutes of grabbing some snacks (like Synergy kombucha, Lesser Evil egg white curls, and Emmy's organic coconut cookies), the crowd started dancing, and it really did turn into a dance party! MC Haile Supreme was super-engaging, and he had us moving and jumping and definitely got our heart rates up. He chanted "Love. Power. Respect." and we all joined in, which was really amazing. And the theme of this Daybreaker was "Reach for the Sun," so we frequently had our hands up in the sky. We felt like a dancing community of love and nature and all those good things. There was also a guitarist, so it was fun having live music paired with the DJ beats. I could have stayed all day, except I had to go to work. Bah, real life! The next Daybreaker is in October. I might have to sign up!

Another wedding blog post

I went to a wedding over Labor Day (see that post here), and I had another one this past weekend. This one was for a sorority sister, so I already figured I'd have a pretty good time: I'd know a lot of people there, and it would feel like a college mini-reunion. And that's exactly what it was.

Here were the highlights:

Image found here

• The venue: These two college friends got married at the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA. It was so beautiful! I love gardens and all nature-related things, so I can't believe I had never been there before. The ceremony was outside in the sunshine (we were wearing our sunglasses it was so bright!), and the reception was inside the atrium, which has a babbling brook running through it. 
• I was sitting at a table of all Thetas (and a few husbands), so that was a lot of fun. Most of the girls live in the DC area and I see them somewhat regularly, but I hadn't see some people since our 5-year reunion in 2016, or even since graduation! It was great to catch up. And it was really cute to see how the married sisters interacted with their husbands; so romantic!
• Since both the bridge and groom went to Dartmouth, a lot of their friends were alumni, too. They wanted an all-Dartmouth-alumni photo, and the photographer muttered, "Wow, there are a lot of you." People were kneeling on the ground, some of us sat on chairs, we did what we could to get probably 30 of us in that picture!
• Our take-away gift was a lei made of candy! The bride is originally from Hawaii, so that was a fun connection. Plus, who doesn't love Starbursts?
• The bride and groom danced in college, so they are quite good dancers. It was fun to see them swing dance, do salsa, etc. As a dancer, I wanted to join in, but there weren't many leads there who knew how to dance, so I just hung around on the edge of the dance floor. 
• The funniest conversation of the night was when we were discussing how, no matter what wedding you go to, you end up seeing the pros and cons of the event. Someone suggested that there should be a Yelp for weddings, where people could rate them. Of course this sounds like an awful idea: we don't need to be pouring more hate into the world. BUT, as someone who generally doesn't like weddings, I suggested "PettyWedding.com," (pending a TradeMark. Ok, only kidding, but actually...) where people could complain about the weddings they go to. So then this became a running joke throughout the evening. I said, "The chicken is a little dry. #PettyWedding" and the like. Please feel free to use that hashtag.

My complaints (which I think are actually pretty minor):

• There was no music during the ceremony. I feel like music not only creates atmosphere, but it also offers cues to those walking in the event. It felt strange sitting in silence: you know you're not supposed to talk, but you're also confused about what's going on. I was afraid someone had forgotten the music.
• The ceremony was a little long, because each of the four parents had the opportunity to speak. The bride's mom went on and on about how the groom embraced their family traditions, including making Christmas cards. She even brought cards to show to us! While this is very cute, it was really sunny and I was sweating in the heat. I kept thinking, "Wrap it up!" Also, if I had to hear one more story about how they met in Chem 5 class, I was going to scream. WE GET IT, move on. 
• The music for the reception came from a computer that the bride's sister ran. I understand that a live band can be quite expensive (and probably would have been too loud for that space), but not even a DJ? However, I see how running a computer is pretty much what a DJ is doing, so they saved a couple hundred dollars.
• While I was pleased that it was an open bar, the mojitos were pre-made and not very good. And the bartender had quite the attitude! She wasn't very helpful at all. Even the white wine had been pre-poured (i.e. it wasn't cold anymore). The open bar just didn't feel very fun. 
• The pace of the event seemed to go kind of slowly. The last one seemed to have things planned down to the minute, and at no point did I feel like I was just sitting around. But once the cake was served, everything seemed to die down, especially if you weren't dancing. I felt kind of bad, but I was one of the first people to leave. But things were kind of done, and so was I.

Candy lei!

All and all, this was a fun wedding. But already knowing so many of my friends would be there, I didn't really doubt that. My next one isn't until next August. Whew!

Labor Day Weekend Wedding: A Review

Let's just get it out there: I hate weddings. They are the epitome of self-absorption, a party I call "mandatory fun" because you're forcing me to celebrate your union to someone I barely know (and probably don't like). I usually don't know many other guests at weddings, and by the end I'm chomping at the bit to go home. This is also why I don't go to baby showers and the like. I'm fine celebrating birthdays: that really is YOUR day. But you're taking up too much of the calendar when you start getting married and having kids.

Needless to say, when I was invited to a wedding that would take place over Labor Day weekend, I was fuming. That is so selfish to pick a holiday weekend for your big event. I could have been sunbathing on the Cape! Since I was already furious that I'd have to give up this vacation, I planned on hating this wedding, start to finish.

It didn't begin well. First of all, I didn't know where to park (I drove about an hour to get to the venue.). Now, maybe these kinds of directions were listed on the wedding website and I didn't see them. Maybe. But probably not. So I ended up parking at a nearby parking garage, where I had to pay to park (I would have had to pay for street parking, too, since it was a Saturday). Charging your friends to park for your wedding is so rude. The bride and groom should have told everyone to park in the garage and then given each guest with a car a validated parking slip that was already paid for. But no.

And there was no signage to be seen. Once I parked, I kind of figured out where to go using Google Maps. Honestly, the biggest clue was seeing other people dressed up wandering aimlessly looking for the same place. It was the blind leading the blind. I ended up following a couple who were die-hard Northwestern fans, so they were equally as annoyed as I was because they had to miss the football game (the husband was watching it on his phone). We finally made it to the venue, which was an "amphitheater" (i.e. steps in grass). Again, no signage, just the give-away signs of microphones, a guy with a guitar, and horrible cheesy songs from the 2000's playing in the background. And the tent where the ceremony would take place was BRANDED. The tent had a huge car dealership logo on it. Ew! Unless that car dealership actually paid for that tent for your wedding (in which case, kudos to you for getting your own wedding sponsored), it was just tacky.

The park did have some beautiful waterlilies, though.

Since we were in a public park, there were tons of strangers walking around. This dog had shoes on!

The flower displays were quite pretty.

I knew this would be a religious ceremony, and I amused myself by silently muttering "Jesus Christ!" with an eye roll any time the son of God was actually mentioned during the service. But the ceremony was rather quick and painless, so at least it didn't last that long. And I was able to take my shoes off and wiggle my toes in the grass, so that was relaxing. Also, everybody looked good: the bridesmaids were wearing a pretty wine color, the boys looked pulled together, and the bride's dress wasn't that exciting, but it had pockets, so that was cool.

I was elated to learn that the reception was a very quick walk across a bridge at a local distillery (where I have a professional contact, no less). AND once I found out that it was an open bar, I was ecstatic. I knew the cocktails would be great because their "Forager Gin" is amazing. When I finally made it up to the bar, I asked for one of each of the signature cocktails; that way you don't have to wait in line twice. I would have suggested that those cocktails be made by the batch: it would have been less fancy, but it would have been a lot faster. At least I could enjoy the music: the DJ was playing great rock songs from the Beatles and such.

And of course once I had liquor in me, I was in a much better mood. The snacks during cocktail hour were: endive leaves filled with goat cheese and poached pear; fried risotto and cheese balls; lamb meatballs; and bread/crackers with crab dip and some crudité. The first two were delicious, I don't eat lamb, and as a girl from Maryland, the crab dip was sub-par. BUT I was excited that I was familiar with the catering company, and I knew two of the men working there that night! So they treated me well throughout the evening with more food, water, etc. It's always good to "know people."

When it was time to be seated for dinner, I was pretty happy with my table guests. There were two girls I know through the bride, and they didn't have dates, so I was happy we could all be together. And one couple was so much fun, and the husband and I hit it off immediately. The other two couples at the table were meh: one girl I had met at a party and she's ingratiatingly nerdy (her date was a quiet German man), and the other woman was so obnoxious and insisted on asking one of the other women about her baby even though 1. she herself did not have children and 2. it was clear this couple was excited to have a date night without the baby. Plus, I HATE baby talk, all the time, no exceptions. Talking at weddings is usually boring anyway. During the speeches, which were fine but not great, I found myself saying, "Clink, clink, clink, blah, blah, blah," because honestly, that's what that is. One of the other girls actually brought knitting with her to occupy herself. HA.

Our salads were plated, but the rest of dinner was a buffet. It was okay: I had salmon, red potatoes, veggies, and pearl cous cous. These are all foods I like, so I was happy about that, but it wasn't so amazingly special. I just wanted dessert, which for some reason society has deemed inedible until after the main meal.

After dinner, it was time to dance! Even though I love to dance, I usually don't at weddings because I don't have a date to dance with, and it's painful watching non-dancers try to move their bodies. But the DJ was playing great pop songs from the 90's, so I was in love. I danced with the other single girls and the cool couple, after which I quickly became a sweaty mess (I didn't have my hair pulled back). As we were shaking it, we kept our eye on the ice cream bar that we knew would open at any minute. As soon as we could get dessert, we did! I got chocolate ice cream and put my toppings of choice on it; I also grabbed a little mousse cup and a rose water custard. I have a huge sweet tooth, so it's hard for me to complain about dessert. But these were just so-so: ice cream is great, but I can have it any time; the mousse was gritty; the custard was boring. Sad.

I am not sure if the bride and groom planned this, but once dessert was served, the music got substantially worse. I was not sorry to miss the songs while I ate my dessert. And they weren't getting any better. So I said my goodbyes (the other girls had already left) and drove over to the Eastern Shore to visit with my parents for the rest of the holiday weekend.

I will admit that I (begrudgingly) had fun at this wedding. Not a total wash like I thought it would be!