Cats (1998 Film)/Featurettes

Transcripts of the bonus featurettes from the 1998 Cats film.

What's a Jellicle Cat?: The Making of CATS The Video
["Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats" plays]

Cast:

Feline, fearless, faithful and true to others who do what

Man:

Three, four

Cast:

''Jellicles do and Jellicles can '' Jellicles can and Jellicles do Jellicle cats sing Jellicle chants Jellicles old and Jellicles new Jellicle song and Jellicle dance

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Really, none of us knew what we had. Except that we all thought that we had something very extraordinary. I mean if you think back to 1981, I had never really had a success outside of my work with Tim Rice apart from a couple of short pieces like Tell me on a Sunday.

Gillian Lynne (Stage Director & Choreographer)

I staged the show and choreographed it in absolutely record time. I mean, I think we had something like five and a half weeks so we were so up against it for time and it was a very hard show to get the kids through the first time. I don't think we thought about whether we would be a hit or not. We were just praying we could even open.

Lloyd Webber

Trevor Nunn was the head of the Royal Shakespeare Company and there'd never really been a dance show in England and it was poetry being set to music with dance. I mean, it looked like a recipe for disaster.

('Parkinson' 1981)

Michael Parkinson

The stage is not going to be full of people dressed as cats like in a pantomime, is it?

Lloyd Webber

Oh, no, no, absolutely not!

('On the town' 1981)

Host

So it's not going to be a children's musical about pussy cats.

Lloyd Webber

No, not at all.

Lynne

That's the exciting thing about the show. It won't be a Jazz show. It won't be a balletic show. It won't be a modern dance show. It will be all these things, we hope, and also something that we'd never done before. It's an adventure.

Lloyd Webber

All cats are Jellicles, you see. This is made clear in one of the unpublished poems.

Host

But all the other cats are Jellicle as well.

Lloyd Webber

Well all cats are Jellicle cats, fundamentally. You see, dogs are Pollicle dogs and cats are Jellicle cats.

Lynne

She's saying, the man was wonderful when he made love to me, but I hated him, aren't we? So, if we...

Lloyd Webber

I think that the real moment of truth came when a paying public first saw a cat. Because, either that was going to be one of the biggest moments of legendary bathos ever seen in the history of theater. Or it was going to be...it would work. And luckily, luckily, it worked. But I remember all those kids saying, "What are we doing here?" -

Elaine Paige

Cavorting about as cats, you know

Lloyd Webber

- just before they went on.

Paige

Were we going to get away with this?

('Omnibus' 1981)

Host

But first tonight we'll be looking at 'CATS', the dance musical of that name at the New London Theater in Drury Lane. It's based on T S Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. The music is by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The director is Trevor Nunn and the choreographer is Gillian Lynne. The show opened rather shakily, as a matter of fact, because it took a lot of the critics by surprise.

Paige

Eventually I think one realized on the opening night, when it all came together, the response was such that you thought, Yes, I think we are involved in something rather ingenious and rather special.

Lloyd Webber

Trevor Nunn was terrifically helpful on everything to do with the choice of text and everything that we used. And because obviously with his knowledge in the straight theater as it were, he was able to bring something to the party that I think probably other directors would not have done. And then of course, Gillian really is the most experienced choreographer British theater has ever produced.

["Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat" plays]

Cast

''Then he gave one flash of his glass green eyes '' And the signal went all clear! They'd be off at last for the northern part Of the Northern Hemisphere!

On-screen text

Since opening in June 1981 in London, CATS has become the longest running British musical in the world. It has been seen by over 48 million people in 20 countries. In 1997, work began on filming this most famous of shows.

Lynne

I came to work on it because Andrew rang me up and said "Can you get on a plane immediately and come and talk to David Mallet and myself?" And then he explained to me about it. I didn't believe it would happen, frankly. Because it seemed like it was going to be in a rush and after 16 years, I thought they can't be suddenly going to rush this through. And so I didn't take it seriously till I got home.

["The Rum Tum Tugger" plays]

Rum Tum Tugger

Meow

Cast

The Rum Tum Tugger is a curious cat

''If you offer me pheasant, I'd rather have grouse '' If you put me in a house I would much prefer a flat If you put me in a flat then I'd rather have a house If you set me on a mouse then I only want a rat If you set me on a rat then I'd rather chase the mouse

Cast

The Rum Tum Tugger is a curious cat

Rum Tum Tugger

And there isn't any call for me to shout it

Cast

For he will do  As he do, do  

Rum Tum Tugger

''And there's no doing anything about it. '' ...No So you'll catch me in it right up to my ears If you put it away on the larder shelf 

Cast

''The Rum Tum Tugger is artful and knowing  The Rum Tum Tugger - ''

Rum Tum Tugger

''- doesn't care for a cuddle '' So I'll leap on your lap in the middle of your sewing Cause there's nothing I enjoy like a horrible muddle 

David Mallet

Cut!

Lloyd Webber

And a joy for me, of course, because I'm working for the first time with a proper orchestra. I don't mean we've had a bad orchestra in the theatre, you know, but a big one, which CATS could often do with. Great excitement. It was new ground. The music's been re-recorded. It's been recorded from scratch for this production. And in places it has a much bigger orchestra than we had originally, like "The Jellicle Ball" or "Memory", which is a great joy for me. But it's marvelous to have a chance of working now - of course, it was 17 years old - and now we're able to work with some more recent electronic instruments and things. It's been great fun!

Simon Lee (Musical Director & Conductor)

In order to be some kind of definitive CATS, this is ... has musically become an amalgam of various versions of the show. One of the very points of CATS is that it's written in so many different musical styles.

Nigel Wright (Music co-producer)

We've been through the show, and decided where it needs to be big, it's big. Where it needs to be small, it's small. Whereas before, where it needed to be big, it was as big as a 16-piece could be. But now when it's big, it's a 90-piece, it's a big orchestra.

Wright

OK. Let's start "Memory". Is Sylvia down there? [ --- Yes. ] Have we checked we're OK for 15 minutes overtime?

Wright

If you overrun with a big orchestra, it's hugely expensive. So it's just organisation of making sure that when you start on the day or everything's right. [Memory] And it's not always right. And you can overrun but you try not to.

["Memory" instrumental plays]

Lee

Andrew has total involvement in the project. And it's absolutely imperative that he does. Everybody can put their interpretive ideas into it, but they may not be relevant if that's not what the composer had in mind.

Lloyd Webber

And we really have to look at this. The phrasing of the flute, I thought I'd addressed, but it's completely wrong. It's not supposed to be in these, you know, two-note phrases. It's ... [singing melody] It's not - just none of the poetry here, remotely.

Wright

OK.

Lloyd Webber

And I need to hear what was the "The Ad-Dressing of Cats" ...

Wright

He has an uncanny knack of walking in and putting his finger on the problem, annoyingly so. You may well have sat here for a couple of hours, trying to work out why things aren't going the right way and he'll come in and he'll say "What's the problem?" and you'll tell him and he'll put his fingers straight on it and you think, "How did you know that?"

Lloyd Webber

And then, that comes up. But it doesn't come up in proportion to everybody else. In other words, they're mezzoforte, everybody else has got to forte here. And they hit forte there. And then they come off sforzando, I think we do that. [Singing -- many generations] So they just crescendo up a little later. I think that'll be nice.

Paige

Oh, well, the re-recording of the song was something I thought, "Yikes, here we go. We've got to go and do it again." So, we were all at CTS studios and the orchestra struck up, and I sang along.

Paige [singing]

I remember the time I knew what happiness was 

Paige

And then there were a lot of discussions and it all went very quiet and we didn't record it again. And I thought "That's rather peculiar."

["Memory" playback]

Lloyd Webber

I'm terribly unhappy about all this. This has all been done against the clock. I just want it [unintelligible] this session all ahead. I just don't think this would [Wright: -- I'm taking it into overtime. I might as well do it.] I mean, I'm just not happy with this at all.

Wright

OK.

Lloyd Webber

I just don't want to let this orchestration out at all.

Wright

I totally agree.

Lloyd Webber

And I don't want to let "The Moments of Happiness" orchestration out at all.

Wright

Okay. Well, then we should stop now.

Lloyd Webber

I don't honestly think... I think we have to do this all again and have another day.

Wright

OK.

Wright

When we started to record, Andrew's first impression was "It could be bigger. It could be bigger. It could be better than this for film."

["Memory" orchestration plays]

Paige

It's always haunted me, this tune. It's spine tingling.

["Memory" orchestration plays]

Lynne

There's something about a cast that comes from different countries and different shows, and is sort of thrown together in a hurry. You're either going to have terrible eruptions or it's all going to go very well indeed.

["The Jellicle Ball" orchestration plays]

Lloyd Webber

It's very exciting. It's good to see so many faces I know. I always wanted the Ball to kind of be like, a kind of my "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" but we've never ever had the resources to do it of course, you see.

["The Jellicle Ball" orchestration plays]

Lynne

I mean, it was very scary trying to cast this. We did CATS in Antwerp last year and we wanted to find a little young thing with a wonderful wide open face and didn’t think of her until last minute. And then thought, "Ah! We'll try to get Veerle", and she was free. So it was neck and neck!

Lynne

I don't think anybody knew how detailed this show was. And so you have to do enormous close cover as well as all the big stuff.

Lynne [to the cast]

I know this is hard but all our - my task is to make us all proud of what we're going to do. We have a huge responsibility, and I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders, in the sense that I have to deliver a thing of CATS, a production of CATS, that is worth shooting, that can hold up our heads and the reputation of this show all over the world. And what I don't want is to - us to do a video. And when we look at it and we say, each of you say, and I say "Christ, I could have done that better, ugh!"

Cast [singing]

''Oh! Well, I never! '' Was there ever a cat so clever as

Magical Mr Mistoffelees?

Lloyd Webber

I heard absolutely no melody line at all.

Wright

There won't be. Not today

Lloyd Webber

Okay. I understand.

Wright

You have to pay more for a melody line

Lloyd Webber

Thank you.

Wright

I told Gary that. Budget has to go up, we have no melody line.

Lloyd Webber

I wish somebody would remember that in my contracts. (laughing)

Lloyd Webber

There haven't been that many changes made to the show itself, except that of course being close up to it in the way that we are, we're able perhaps to tell the story a little clearer, a little better. And of course one of the great joys also is that being up closer, I think that the words could sing a bit more. I think sometimes they can get lost in performance. I think it's much easier to follow what Eliot himself wrote in this. And we've been able, I think, to keep pretty close to the spirit of the stage show, in fact that's been the intention from the beginning.

Lloyd Webber [to Susan Jane Tanner, Susie Mckenna and Rosemarie Ford]

It's more of a telling to somebody who is a little closer to you. It's just a tiny bit, you're telling an audience whereas it should really be like [-- telling the kittens] you’re really telling a load of children like Nigel and I, you see. (laughing)

Tanner [singing]

Or such an impeccable back 

McKenna

In the whole of St. James's the smartest of names is  The name of this Brummell of Cats

Tanner, McKenna and Ford

And we're all of us proud to be nodded or bowed to  By Bustopher Jones in white spats!

Lloyd Webber

Just a little bit less, a little bit less Joyce Grenfell, you know. And I think that brilliantly done was the word "Brummel". I think to get to the word "this Brummel of cats" is a real celebration of old Bustopher. But I think we let him down a wee bit if we slightly sort of send him up, which by doing the accents too much I think we might be in danger of doing.

David Mallet

Here we go and playback!

Cast

In the whole of St. James's the smartest of names is  The name of this Brummell of Cats

And we're all of us proud to be nodded or bowed to

By Bustopher Jones in white spats!

In the whole of St. James's the smartest of names is   The name of this Brummell of Cats

And we're all of us proud to be nodded or bowed to

By Bustopher Jones in white spats!

Mallet

Cut! Gillian, what did you say about the beginning?

Lloyd Webber

I think the choice to go to David Mallet to direct the stage production, as it were, for this video was a pretty obvious one in many ways.

Lynne

Six seven eight

Cast and Lynne

Jellicle cats, as we said, are small

Mallet

Do you think you could do that? That's not unreasonable is it?

Lloyd Webber

David is of course very well known for his work with dance. And there's a lot of dance in CATS.

Mallet

I just want to say one thing. If anybody makes a bollocks of anything, don't worry, we've got 15 more days to fix it.

["Macavity" plays]

Cast

''Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity '' There never was a cat of such deceitfulness and suavity

Lloyd Webber

I remember David right back in Hot Gossip days, and always thought Hot Gossip was pretty extraordinary in the way that it was shot. And there's a funny story there, because when I went to see Valerie Eliot, T S Eliot's widow, to ask whether or not I could have the rights to make a musical out of CATS. One of the things she said is "I don't want them turned into pussycats" And I said, "well, that's not what we had in mind." She said, "Well, the thing was Tom - T S Eliot - turned down Disney you know, because he didn't want them to be pussycats or turned into cartoon cats." I then said, rather sort of taking my courage, "I was sort of seeing them a little bit more like Hot Gossip." She said, "Yes, Yes. I think Tom would have liked that."

Mallet

Gilly, I can't see my white pussy at all.

Cast

''Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity '' For he's a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity

You may meet him in a by-street

You may see him in the square

But when a crime's discovered then

Macavity, Macavity, Macavity, Macavity

When a crime's discovered then Macavity's not there!

Michael Gruber

Munkustrap is really the storyteller. He's entrusted with giving the information to the other, maybe younger, cats who have not been to the Jellicle ball before. He gets up and says exactly what they're here to do. He's also caretaker of the kittens, wants to make sure everybody's safe. In all the Macavity scares, he's there to protect the tribe. So he is the protector.

Lesley Lightfoot (Wardrobe supervisor)

- and paint it to go with their costumes. So each pair of shoes has about an hour's work done on them.

Karen Dawson Harding (Make up Designer)

It's quite a difficult one, because they're meant to be felines, but they're also meant to be humans. So the make-up has got to be strong enough for the theatre to actually be able to be seen everywhere in the theatre. But not be too strong so it actually masks out the character of the humans themselves. Because it's for film, we've taken away some of the harder theatrical lines and softened it.

Lightfoot

All the washing. Every leotard washed individually by hand. Without a draining board, which I asked for the first day I was here. No draining board, hand scrubbing. Very difficult in these conditions. Next question?

Cast

''For she's a jolly good fellow. '' Thank you my dears.

Gary Lucchesi (Executive Producer)

You need a great cast to pull it all off. Because if the cast isn't up to par, everybody else's work is marginalized. And I think that we're very fortunate in having an absolutely extraordinary cast. I think this is the best cast of CATS that I've ever seen.

Gruber

One of the highlights is working with Sir John Mills. I mean, who would have thought? To see Gus performed by an actor of age, and of theatrical heritage. I mean, really puts a whole spin on it that I don't think has ever been seen before. I mean, Sir John, it's like a lesson in acting. And to be able to sit back, I don't think there was a dry eye each time. And to be around his energy is something that I will, you know, cherish my whole life.

John Mills

And I wonder if you could give me any "cat" thing. I'd be very grateful ... "cat" movements or anything.

Lynne

When you put your hand out for your vision, if you tuck in - that's it. There. So it's feeling. That is like a paw now, immediately.

Mills

Yes, that's it.

Mallet

You want to just have a look? Take a small look. Whatever you just gave me is the one.

Jellylorum

When some actor suggested the need for a cat - 

Gus

''- and I say '' that these kittens,

they do not get trained

as we did in the days

when Victoria reigned.

They never get drilled

in a regular troup

and they think they are smart

just jump through the hoop

Jellylorum

and he says as he scratches himself with his claws 

Gus

''Well, the theater is certainly '' not what it was.

These modern productions

are all very well,

but there's nothing to equal

from what I here tell

that moment of mystery,

when I made history

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer

''Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer '' We're a notorious couple of cats

as knockabout clowns

quick-change comedians

tight-rope walkers and acrobats.

''We have an extensive reputation '' we make our home in Victoria grove

This is merely our center of operation

for we are incurably given to rove

Jo Gibb

I'm Rumpleteazer and I'm part of a duo who is Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. And we're the two naughtiest cats in CATS, I suppose. We're always doing what we shouldn't, being where we shouldn't be, getting up to mischief and creating hassle for everyone else. The number "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer" talks through a process of that when we decide to go out burgling one night, which we do often, of course. But, she's lovable at the same time as being naughty and cheeky, she's always getting a clip around the ear from the older cats. But they like her, really.

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer

And most of the time, they leave it at that 

Paige

Grizabella, well, she's really an old dilapidated cat who's had a very good life, indeed, and has been in a few scrapes in her life. I think she has a few regrets. And I think she may now, at this point in her life, feel a little tired and lonely, and certainly feels rejected in this piece, because every time she appears, poor thing, they all shun her. And she just wants to be loved, and to be involved in the life of the community of these cats, and, ah, but they don't want her around.

Grizabella

''Remark the cat '' who hesitates towards you

in the light of the door

which opens on her

like a grin

Ken Page

Well he's the Jellicle leader of the tribe that we are in CATS. He's the oldest member and he's probably the father of a lot of them, I think.

["Mister Mistoffelees" plays]

Jacob Bret

He's a bit of a rascal, I think. I think he's a bit of a child prodigy of the tribe, brilliant in what he does but a little wacky at the same time. And he's not really an adult yet and he's not a kitten, so he's in that in-between stage. But he has these magical powers and he doesn't quite know how to use them yet, but he's learning.

Lynne

Making the show work for cameras has been a fascinating task. I think it will be always difficult for performers who aren't versed in both all the time to do it, because, as we know, it's utterly, utterly different.

Gruber

I didn't really expect it to be this difficult. It's probably been the greatest challenge of it, because the focus hasn't really been on figuring out what to do, it's sort of been figuring out how to do it.

Gibb

It's really difficult to create an atmosphere for film. You've got to click it on and click it off. I've realized just how hard it is for TV actors or film actors by comparison to stage actors to grab a moment from nowhere, when they've suddenly been sitting down having a coffee and then they say, "Right, let's go for that shot."

Page

I think the advantage of film is that you can get inside of a piece and really concentrate on what's going on between people and see the energy and the story, really, that's there. When I did the show the first time, I was 28. Coming to it now, it's really a challenge and a treat, really, to get to do it again. I don't find I have to "act it" as much, now I just have to "be it".

Grizabella

''Daylight, I must wait for the sunrise '' I must think of the new life

And I mustn't give in

''When the dawn comes '' tonight will be a memory too

And the new day will begin

Jemima

''Sunlight through the trees in summer '' endless masquerading

Grizabella and Jemima

''like a flower '' as the dawn is breaking

Grizabella

''the memory is fading '' Touch me!

It's so easy to leave me

all alone with the memory

of my days in the sun.

If you touch me,

you'll understand what happiness is

Look, a new day

has begun

Gibb

This is the definitive version of CATS. It's an honour actually to be used in it. And I’ve got this now, forever. The production with Elaine Paige in it, the production with Ken Page in it. All the brilliant people that we've got to work with, and I'm along with them, and I've got this now on video to show my kids in later life.

Lee

It will never have sounded like this before.

Lloyd Webber

Because we want people to come into the world of the CATS and into this glorious rubbish dump that we've created and to then lose themselves in it. And I think that to approach something from that angle as if it is a complete piece of work in its own right rather than just filming something that has been achieved, it's been thrilling.

Cast

''A cat's entitled to expect '' these evidences of respect.

So, this is this and that is that

and that’s how you address a cat!