Cats Credits[]
Broadway - 05/09/1988 - 08/1991 - Grizabella
Interview[]
Diva Talk: 8 Grizabellas, Including Betty Buckley and Elaine Paige, Share Their "Memory"s - Playbill.com, Sept 2016.
Loni Ackerman played the role on Broadway from 1988-1991.
How long did it take you to get into full Grizabella makeup each night?
LA: I got it down to ten minutes!!
What is the pressure/challenge like of having to deliver "Memory," the vocally demanding song everyone waits for all evening?
LA: Waiting all evening, praying that the Goddess of Phlegm will not make a guest appearance!
Was there any one performance of "Memory" that stands out in your mind as your best ever?
LA: No...I’m still working on it!
What was the most memorable onstage Cats mishap—either your own or by a fellow cast member?
LA: Well… at the end of the show, the cast danced "happily" around the stage. The Macavity cat and I took to doing the jitterbug (much to the stage manager’s horror!). One matinee we jitterbugged so hard, we fell off the stage into a nice elderly lady's lap. She thought it was great fun... we got into deep litterbox s***!!!!!!
Why do you think the musical has endured?
LA: It's Cats!
What version of "Memory"—other than your own—do you admire?
LA: Laurie Beechman. The cry in her voice was haunting...I miss her.
Video[]
Gallery[]
