Cats - The Musical (Ultimate Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant! A lot more detail than the stage version.
Review: Wonderful cast from all around various world productions. Twenty years after Elaine Paige created the role of Grizzabella, she's doing it again - even better.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I saw this production in Seattle some years ago but this was even better because I could see the CATS faces, their mannerisms, etc. Thought it was great and the music was wonderful!

Rating:
Summary: Now And Forever - Elaine Paige
Review: I have performed this show for over twenty-six months and I believe that it is the best music that has ever ben written for the musical theatre. It was a joy to sing the song Memory so many times at the New London Theatre in 1981. Iam happy that the show has been a success and speaking as an original cast member I hope the film will be a big success. - Love Elaine Paige

Rating:
Summary: Excellently done.
Review: I saw CATS in the theatre when I was twelve. We were about eight hundred miles away from the stage - the music was great, but all I could do was squint through a pair of binoculars at the characters, missing whatever else was going on onstage. This video is wonderful in that it gives you a better-than-front-row view of the show. You are able to come away with a much better understanding of the storyline than you would ever be able to glean from a theatre balcony (trying to figure out exactly _what_ fuzzy-dot #1 was trying to convey to fuzzy-dot #2 in a particular sequence). Seeing the characters up close is wonderful - Ken Page's Old Deuteronomy just makes you want to run up and give him a big hug, and the Rum Tum Tugger and Bombularina exude a lazy sensuality and charm that are sharpened by their proximity to the viewer. Close-up, John Mills and Elaine Page are able to even better express the tragic and melancholy characters of Gus and Grizabella, creatures who live for memories of past glories long since gone. Anyone who dismisses this as a "musical about darling little pussy-cats" is sadly mistaken.

Rating:
Summary: Must See to Believe
Review: This was just amazing. I absolutly loved the video. I fell in love with the costumes, music, set design, and lighting. If you like theatre you must see this video.

Rating:
Summary: spectacular, thrilling, and deeply emotional!
Review: the video/dvd expands ever so much on actually viewing it in the theatre! i was in awe of the show; it had me on my feet on 3 seperate occasions. now, with the video version, i was able to really marvel at the make-up, costumes, and breathtaking choreography. also, all the cast members assembled here reads like the best of... can anyone else ever perform "memory" as heart-rending as elaine paige does here? or ken page as old deuteronomy inviting all to the heaviside layer! a great souvenir of this classic musical that truly stands on it's own wether or not one has seen the show. i heartily recommend it to theatrelovers of all ages. i guarantee 2 hours of sheer delight.

Rating:
Summary: A superb and near seamless production
Review: Cats is the definitive video to get for all modern musical buffs. It hits the stage in a big way with powerful, lively music that makes you want to sing along. One upside (or downside as the case may be) I found was the fact that the catchy music gets stuck in your head all day. It has been wonderfully choreographed, all cats dancing in perfect prescision helps add energy and vibrace to the show. The libretto has been re-arranged in some areas from the origional, and even works better this way. The Griddlebone scene was left out - but that's just one long piece of nonsene that would otherwise clutter up the show. One can't help noticing however that Victoria the cat dosen't sing in the production (hmm) She is certainly the most agile, and is well suited to the part. Ken and Elaine page are in the production together which is great to see. Overall a fantastic production - full marks to the whole team. One wonders however - "who will it be?" they get to stage the production on tour in '99? LET THE MEMORY LIVE ON! - Simon

Rating:
Summary: A superb and near seamless production
Review: Cats is the definitive video to get for all modern musical buffs. It hits the stage in a big way with powerful, lively music that makes you want to sing along. One downside I found was the fact that the music gets stuck in your head all day. It has been wonderfully choreographed, all cats dancing in perfect prescision helps add energy and vibrace to the show. The libretto has been re-arranged in some areas from the origional, and even works better this way. The Griddlebone scene was left out - but that's just one long piece of nonsene that would otherwise clutter up the show. One can't help noticing however that Victoria the cat dosen't sing in the production (hmm) She is certainly the most agile, and is well suited to the part. Ken and Elaine page are in the production together which is great to see. Overall a fantastic production - full marks to the whole team. One wonders however - "who will it be?" they get to stage the production on tour in '99? LET THE MEMORY LIVE ON! - Simon

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding for Lloyd-Webber lovers
Review: Regardless of the fact that a video can NEVER take the place of the on-stage production, it was wonderful! It is also nice to be able to see the costumes and facial expressions that you cannot see in person, even in the best seats! It is wonderful that we do have a video available for those of us who have young ones - my 4-year old now sings "Macavity" non-stop!! He would never have gotten that much out of it had we dragged him to a theatre production. I am so glad this outstanding production has made it to video - I don't have to wait for it to come back to town (I have seen it on-stage 5 times already!!)!

Rating:
Summary: The Jellicle plays been reborn to a different Jellicle life
Review: This is a wonderful adaption of the musical. Many Americans will have problems with it due to a decidely more English approach but a little worldly taste never hurt anyone. Highlights are Elaine Paige as Grizabella, John Partridge as RumTumTugger, Rosemarie Ford as Bombalurina and Veerle Casteleyn as Jemima. Wonderful work by these folks. The two glaring detractions to the video is the editing and the lack of an audience. In the live show the performers pace themselves to applause and laughter. Without that the video appears rushed. Editing between songs is not sufficient enough a replacement to applause. A good point is made with too many closeups in another review. Cats is a perspective musical. Suspension of disbelief is important and you will have to concentrate a little harder to see real cats and not thin people in tights. Over all, a great video to add to any library. (If you collect musicals, buy it without regard) Also. To those trying to compare it too much to the stage productions. Don't. Theatre is a flowing river, not a paved street. This troupe makes a couple of misses but hits more often than not.