Ep. 18: Megaconcerts: "Cats," 1998

TOUCH MEEE! IT’S SO EASY TO LEAVE ME! All alone with the memory, of our days in this MEGA musical season… Hello listeners! This is the final episode in the Broadway Babies’ SUPER MEGAMUSICAL MEGASEASON, and they decided to spend it discussing Jellicle songs for Jellicle Cats! Cats by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber is the O.G. of MEGAmusicals, and Alex and Daisha thought it wise to end at the beginning. Join them as they discuss the usual ins and outs of the musical, the weird impact Cats had on Blockbuster musicals, and who ACTUALLY deserved to ascend to Heaviside Layer. They also wrap up the season with some final thoughts on the value of MEGAmusicals. Hope you’re cat people...or fans of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, because that’s what you’ve gotta work with on this episode of Broadway Babies!

Podcast cover art: David Taylor

Twitter: @bwaybabies Facebook: Facebook.com/broadwaybabiespodcast

OBC Cast recording: Spotify | Amazon | iTunes

Video recording: iTunes | Amazon | Amazon/BroadwayHD

• "Prologue: Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats" performed by  Company
• “The Rum Tum Tugger” by John Partridge and Company
• "The Naming of Cats" by Tony Timberlake, Michael Gruber, and Company
• "Gus: The Theatre Cat" by Tony Timberlake and Susan Jane Tanner
• "Memory" by Elaine Page and Helen Massey

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by T.S. Eliot

Distributed by Really Useful Films

• BBC’s “The Story of Musicals” has a segment on “Cats,” its production history and its impact on British musical theatre
• This retrospective by the UK Independent goes into more detail about “Cats’” branding and merchandising impact, as well as its West End and populist legacy
• Does “Memory” sound at all like the flute bridge solo in “California Dreamin’”? Like Ravel’s “Bolero” ballet movement? Listen and decide for yourself!
• I always love watching the “Who sang it best?” videos: This one is of the “Memory” climax!
• A fun read! 
• The source material!
• The singing voice of Jemima! 
• A side by side a fan did of Casteleyn and Massey performing Jemima 
• Entering the gates of Hell
• IT WAS BETTY BUCKLEY (start at 7:25 for an example of enviable breath support, or 4:30 for the whole song, which is beautiful!)