"I have a thing that I call ‘Cat Story Time’ and I sit down with the cats and I tell them my version of the events, and tell them sort of what I know." This episode features Chaz Wolcott who played the magical Mr. Mistoffelees on the US National Tour 5 of CATS and has been the director and choreographer for multiple regional productions of the show. Hear Chaz share how he booked the show multiple times with perfect timing, his experience on tour, and how he tells the story when he's directing a ...
May 28, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 167
"I had seen the show after it opened and I knew that Skimbleshanks was the role for me. I knew that was the role that I wanted to do in the show." This episode features Kevin Winkler who performed as Skimbleshanks on the US National Tour 4 of CATS and is the author of a new book called "On Bette Midler". Hear Kevin share his crazy audition stories, why he knew he was perfect for Skimbleshanks, and some fun stories from his time on tour. Plus, Kevin shares more on his book and Kevin and Mike cast...
May 21, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 166
"Watching the 1998 VHS which I rented on Netflix. I got the DVD mailed to me." This episode features Lucy Horton who played Jellylorum on the US National Tours 5 of CATS and in multiple regional productions. Hear Lucy share how she actually booked the show multiple times but had to turn down the contracts before joining the 5th Tour, how she approached the show on tour and regionally, and why Grizabella is still her Jellicle choice. Plus, Lucy shares a crazy story about being stuck in the tire a...
May 14, 2024•44 min•Ep. 165
"What overtly having categories does dramaturgy of CATS itself is that there is a particular outcome of winner or loser that happens at the end of every song." This bonus episode features the creative team of the Perelman Performing Arts Center reimagined production of CATS set in a ballroom which is appropriately titled: "CATS: The Jellicle Ball". Like me, many of you have been obsessing over this new production. I originally spoke with one of the directors Bill Rauch in July of 2022 when I fir...
May 10, 2024•38 min
"When I got the audition appointment I was like this would be a blast to pretend to be a cat at this audition. Let's do it. I texted Kim and asked - How much cat do you give at the audition?" This episode features Mackenzie Warren who was Bombalurina in the 2016 Broadway Revival of CATS. Hear Kim discuss seeing her friend Kim perform as Demeter in the show, how she created her backstory for Bombalurina, and her experience on the TV show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt which had a CATS episode. Plus, M...
May 07, 2024•43 min•Ep. 164
"Part of me just needed to come on and defend Munkustrap. He gets a bad rap. You haven't talked to a lot of them. It's a rough time being in a leadership position when everyone's just trying to fool around. And you talk about herding cats, literally herding cats." This episode features Brett-Marco Glauser who perform as Munkustrap on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Oasis of the Seas production of CATS in 2016. Hear Brett-Marco share his experience in multiple regional productions of the show i...
Apr 30, 2024•51 min•Ep. 163
"I remember there's Green Eyes and a couple other times that the cats go into the house and into the audience. Because of everything that was going on I was an advocate about being like… can we figure out a way around that right now? And that night we didn’t." This episode features Brett Michael Lockley who performed as Pouncival on the US National Tour 6 of CATS and is currently a swing (and making his Broadway debut) in The Who's TOMMY at the Nederlander. Hear Brett discuss being in the show t...
Apr 23, 2024•54 min•Ep. 162
"What I think makes CATS so special is you could look at our cast and point out any single one of us and know exactly who our cat was because we were just like them." This episode features Katie Hutton who played Rumpleteazer on the 2022-2023 Asia Tour of CATS performing in Korea and Taiwan. Hear Katie discuss learning part of the Ball for university auditions, how her friendships within the cast influenced relationships on stage, and how her own personality fit into portraying Rumpleteazer. Plu...
Apr 16, 2024•50 min•Ep. 161
"A couple of cast mates and I have thought of a familial relationship for Grizabella that I haven’t heard theorized before. Maybe she is Gus’ daughter and when she left, that’s why Jellylorem started taking care of him. And that’s where Grizabella got her desire to be a star from." This episode features Yardén Barr who is current performing as Grizabella on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Oasis of the Seas production of CATS. We recorded this episode during Yardén's rehearsal process before ge...
Apr 09, 2024•45 min•Ep. 160
"I always say I owe my entire life to CATS." This episode features Felicia & James Gardner who met originally on the US National Tour 4 of CATS. Hear Felicia (Farone) and James tell the story of how they met on tour, how Felicia played Demeter while James worked as a sound engineer, how Felicia went on to make her Broadway debut in CATS, and a ton of other crazy stories. Plus, Felicia and James tell the fun story of how they didn't actually connect on tour but how they hit it off while on Br...
Apr 02, 2024•53 min•Ep. 159
"For the Met Gala, I was like, I have to make a CATS joke before anybody else does. So I made it and it ended up being, at the time, my most watched and my most liked video ever." This episode features Nina Straface who is a theatre content creator, performer, and CATS defender. Hear Nina share how her CATS Tik Toks continue to go viral, how she strategically plans her content, and her thoughts on the musical. Plus, Nina shares a cool parallel between a book series called Warrior Cats and CATS t...
Mar 26, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 158
"On that tour I was a very innocent, inexperienced young lady. I did not really understand a lot of the movement that I had to. I really had to fake it until I made it with being the sexy cat." This episode features Samantha Sturm who was a swing on the US National Tour 5 and then played Demeter in the 2016 Broadway Revival of CATS. Hear Samantha discuss learning sections of the Jellicle Ball in dance class as a 12 year old, the differences from being on tour vs on Broadway with different choreo...
Mar 19, 2024•45 min•Ep. 157
"When a show opens you are the mayor of the little town. That is the theater. And you have to solve all the problems and social issues of the cast, as well as running all the technical aspects of the show." This episode features Scott Faris who was the Production Stage Manager for the US National Tour 2 and part of the US National Tour 4. Hear Scott share what goes into being a PSM on tour, what type of notes he had to frequently give the cast, and a detailed breakdown of how CATS actually works...
Mar 12, 2024•49 min•Ep. 156
"In SPAMALOT, there's two eight counts during the Broadway number where we can do whatever choreography we want from a Broadway show and I do the Jellicle Ball." This episode features Michael Fatica who performed as a Swing on the US National Tour 5 of CATS and is currently in the ensemble of SPAMALOT. Hear Michael discuss watching the 1998 movie in college, how his tour worked on various backstories for the characters, and his fun experiences performing in Central and South America. Plus, Micha...
Mar 05, 2024•50 min•Ep. 155
"I saw it in Seoul, Korea. It was a local production … It was the first time I really saw a musical transcend language. It was much more about the language of the cat." This episode is features John Schwab who who is an actor and the host of another Broadway Podcast Network show called Curtain Call. John and Mike teamed up for a special BPN crossover series where we each joined each other's shows. Part 1 can be heard on the Curtain Call podcast and part 2 is here. Hear John discuss seeing the sh...
Feb 27, 2024•55 min•Ep. 154
"The name for Jennyanydots in Spanish is Bombonachoona. If I had to translate it, it would be a mix between marshmallow and good cat." This episode features Cecilia Arias who played Bombonachoona which is the Spanish translation for Jennyanydots on the Mexico Tours 3 of CATS in 2019. Hear Cecilia discuss how she performed in CATS in school growing up, how she handled having multiple injuries during her run, and why she is firmly Team Gus for the Jellicle choice. Plus, Cecilia runs through all of...
Feb 20, 2024•47 min•Ep. 153
"The main focus in the beginning was on Rumpleteazer and finding your individuality in your cat. Then after that was understanding where does your cat fit into the story?" This episode features Rose Iannaccone who played Rumpleteazer on the US National Tours 6 of CATS in 2019 before the pandemic. Hear Rose discuss dancing to the 1998 VHS as a two year old, how she came up with her Rumpleteazer backstory, and fun stories from being on tour during the buzz of the 2019 movie. Plus, Rose shares a fu...
Feb 13, 2024•46 min•Ep. 152
"We had all of us in that night. We were at the call board and our stage manager is divvying up to us… you're gonna wear this CAT costume… So there were three Grizabellas on stage that night." This episode features Michelle E. Carter who played Jennyanydots on the US National Tours 6 of CATS. Hear Michelle discuss how the 2019 CATS movie was her very first introduction into the show, how she had different stories for her character depending on who else was on stage with her, and how she infamous...
Feb 06, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 151
"My first conclusion of the Heaviside Layer was that these cats were being transitioned off to be adopted." This episode features Olivia Kaye Da Silva who is a theatre content creator. Hear Olivia share how she grew up seeing only the trailer for the 1998 movie, how she saw the show for the very first time recently and how she became obsessed, and how she got into content creation. Plus, Olivia gives some insight into her deep dive into what she thought the Heaviside Layer actually was. Check ou...
Jan 30, 2024•44 min•Ep. 150
"Remember what you said about the train light? I saw CATS a few days ago in Japan. I saw the Japanese production and you're absolutely right. The train light shined directly into my face." This episode features John Zamborsky who played Skimbleshanks on the US National Tours 6 of CATS. Hear John discuss seeing the show the first time as a kid, some amazing Skimbleshanks canon derived from Tumblr, and, as you can see in the quote, experiencing the excruciating pain that is the light hitting you i...
Jan 23, 2024•54 min•Ep. 149
"Cats is one of those shows that made me fall in love with theater. It was the first show that I ever saw as a kid." This episode features The Broadway Bob who is an incredible theatre content creator and performer who has hot takes on CATS. Hear Bob talk about how he got into content creation, his experience seeing CATS as his very first musical, and all of his fun takes on the show. Plus, Bob and Mike create a new cat called "Snifflebottom," share the cat's backstory, and make it's case to b...
Jan 16, 2024•55 min•Ep. 148
"Even though I didn’t have a big role, I made an impression on the stage." This episode features Leigh Webster who played Casandra and was a Dance Captain on the US National Tours 2 & 4 of CATS as well as the Original Broadway Production. Hear Leigh talk being a behind the scenes dance captain, how each show had to adapt to each theater, and some of the crazy tour stories. Plus, Leigh shares some fun stories about celebrities who came to visit backstage on tour. Produced by: Alan Seales &...
Jan 09, 2024•37 min•Ep. 147
"As a kitten, I want to go up on that tire. I don't know where it's going or anything like that, but why can't I go up there? It looks like a fun ride, right?" This episode features Nancy Melius who played Rumpleteazer on the US National Tour 4 of CATS. Hear Nancy talk about her auditions before booking the show, how each dance movement has a specific meaning, and how she interpreted the relationship for Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. Plus, Nancy shares crazy stories about how their bus and theat...
Dec 19, 2023•46 min•Ep. 146
"The first thing we did when we got the new programs to get ready to sell for the first show is we opened up all the inserts to check out the girls in the show. As we went through the girls in the show, I picked out Leslie's picture, and I said, I'm gonna marry that one." This episode features Kevin & Leslie Harvey who met on the US National Tour 4 of CATS. Hear Kevin and Leslie (Trayer) tell the story of how they met on tour, how Leslie played Syllabub while Kevin was selling merchandise ...
Dec 12, 2023•58 min•Ep. 145
"This production is something that you’ve never seen before." This episode features Sam Larielle-Jones who plays Quaxo in Australia's Willoughby Theatre Company production of CATS. Hear Sam talk about how his production differs from previous versions, how he created his character story for Quaxo and how he got involved with this particular production. Plus, Sam shares the synopsis that was shared at his cast's first rehearsal including the three themes the story centers around. Check out Sam o...
Dec 05, 2023•53 min•Ep. 144
"At the end of the show after the bows when the cats sort of dance offstage I remember we were dancing together and then he picked me up and twirled me. He carried me offstage and that's one of my favorite memories from that show." On the US National Tour 4 of CATS, Helen Frank was performing as Demeter and Bombalurina and Steve Watkins was in the CATS Chorus where they met and married on tour. Fast forward to 2014 and their daughter Lauren, who was 17 at the time, performed with Steve in the ...
Nov 28, 2023•50 min•Ep. 143
"I couldn't wait to learn the shadow dance. I got to rehearsal and it wasn't happening. I finally got up enough nerve and I went up to T Michael Reed and said, ‘am I going to learn the shadow dance?’ And he said, ‘we don't do that on the tour.’" This episode features General McArthur Hambrick who played Alonzo in the Original Broadway Production and on the US National Tour 4 of CATS. Hear General talk about his auditions for the US National Tour 3 before getting cast in the 4th tour, how there i...
Nov 21, 2023•50 min•Ep. 142
"I got to final callbacks and I was like, I should maybe watch this cause I don't know what I'm auditioning for. I got to Mungo and Rump and then I don't even think I finished it." This episode features Maria Briggs who performed as a swing and as Victoria in the 2016 Broadway Revival of CATS and is currently in the ensemble of SPAMALOT. Hear Maria discuss how she twice booked tours of CATS but did not take the jobs, what it was like making a Broadway debut as Tantomile, and how surreal it was t...
Nov 14, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 141
"I didn’t know who Pouncival was from a hole in the wall." This episode features Shane Hall who played the magical Mr. Mistoffelees on the US National Tour 5 of CATS. Hear Shane talk about how he fell asleep the first time he saw CATS, how he learned the show with just one other cast member, the different ways Mr. Mistoffelees entered the stage, and some really fun stories from life on tour. Plus, Shane shares a really cool story about how the costumes changed to make the dancing a little easier...
Nov 07, 2023•50 min•Ep. 140
"In the ball, most of the names stay the same. Copeland was Copeland, Jutters was Jutters. But I believe in the States, there's a section called American Airlines and in Germany it was Lufthansa." This episode features Lynette Tompkins Engel who was Tantomile in the Hamburg Production of CATS. Hear Lynette discuss learning the show in German, how she was taught to perform as a cat (including not meowing), and a super fun story about how covers had to sit at certain restaurants to wait for a call...
Oct 31, 2023•53 min•Ep. 139
