The role in Cats: "Leader Cat". The leader of the cat family is full of wisdom and experience. He must attend the annual cat meeting and finally decide which cat can ascend to heaven and be reborn. The representative of mature women in the play "Charming Cat" is the leading dance at the climax of the whole play. In the blue-green light, only her red fur is full of warmth; Charming cat. When I was a child, I was the most beautiful cat house. Tired of the cat family life, wandering outside, but tasted the cruelty of the world. When I got back to the cat's house, I was as ugly as a cucumber. She looks the most like a person, with long hair shawl, black evening dress and high heels. A song "Memories" calmed the hostility of all cats to her and aroused deep sympathy and pity for her. There are also rich cats, nanny cats, theater cats, rock cats, crime cats, charming cats, hero cats, superman cats and magic cats. This group of various, different and anthropomorphic cats constitutes the world of cats. At the dance, they all showed their talents; Singing, jumping or playing, staged a thrilling "human tragicomedy", telling the theme of love and tolerance.
The dance and music in Cats are excellent. In order to express their feelings, directors do not hesitate to use a large number of dance scenes to express the different characteristics and personalities of cats. There are not only lively tap dances, but also dignified and gorgeous ballet, jazz dance and dynamic modern dance. How to make it look good, how to make it up, no rules, ingenuity, and eclecticism. In particular, the dance of "Jericho Ball", which lasted for more than ten minutes, was magnificent and passionate, making people fascinated.
The stage of Cat is also wonderful. Its design concept is "the world seen in a cat's eye". The audience can see a garbage dump from the perspective of the seat. 1500 pieces of toothpaste, broken plates, bad credit cards, coke cans, abandoned cars and so on are piled up together, all enlarged according to the size of the cat's eyes. There is also a 5-ton overpass on the stage for cats to play up and down. During the performance, three workers hid under the bridge to control the smoke and lights, creating a "magic cat". Cat's clothing is designed according to the image characteristics of each cat. There are more than 250 sets of * * *, which vividly depict the skin color and fur patterns of cats of different ages and sexes. Each actor is painted with a cat face that matches his identity, and with more than 30 wigs of different colors and textures, he vividly dresses up cats with different personalities.
Cat, is it the British composer Andrew? Lloyd. Andrew Lloyd Webber according to t? s？ T.S. Eliot's poetry collection "The Old Opossum Tells the Cats in the World" is a musical with music. Since 198 1 premiered in London, it has become one of the most famous musicals. One of them, Memory, is widely circulated all over the world. At present, Cat is the highest-grossing stage play in the world and the longest-running stage play in Broadway in new york and West End of London in England.
Although Cat has traveled all over the world from Europe, America, Australia and even Japan, it has never had a chance to enter the stage in China, which is a pity. Fortunately, at the end of 1997, Weber assembled the best actors and crews in the world and made a video of "Cats". Since then, colorful cats are no longer limited by the stage. Even if they are thousands of miles away from Broadway Winter Garden Theatre, you can still see the "now and forever" style cats that are popular all over the world.
"Cat" was produced by thousands of people on many different stages, and her songs and dances were not strictly regulated. Sometimes a song will be sung by different cats, and sometimes some plots will be completely deleted. For example, in the cat video, the songs of two thieves and cats are sung by thieves themselves, but on the stage, this song is usually sung by Mistoffelees. In the video of Cat, a very important song "The Story of One Pirate Roaring Tiger" was also deleted. Many times, such changes are very small, mostly because the actors are suitable or not.
Each song contains all the lyrics used in British, American Broadway and cat videos. There are several famous songs with WAV music. I have been lucky enough to listen to the music of these three cats (including CDs published in Britain and Broadway 198 1 and 1982), but I think the video version of Cats is the best because it has the opportunity to bring together the best actors. So MP3 songs are all taken from cats' videos. Another point is that I have never seen a cat on the stage, so the introduction of the plot comes from the video. Of course, the video version is really the best story.
Cat is a musical musical created by British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber based on T.S. Eliot's poems. Since 198 1 premiered in London, it has become the most famous musical. Among them, the famous song Memory is widely circulated all over the world. At present, Cat is the highest-grossing stage play in the world and the longest-running stage play in Broadway in new york and West End of London in England.
Although Cat has traveled all over the world from Europe, America, Australia and even Japan, it has never had a chance to enter the stage in China, which is a pity. Fortunately, at the end of 1997, Weber assembled the best actors and crews in the world and made a video of "Cats". Since then, colorful cats are no longer limited by the stage. Even in the Winter Garden Theater on Broadway thousands of miles away, you can see the "now and forever" style of cats sweeping the world.
First act
At midnight, there was no sound on the sidewalk.
..... until the arrival of the first Jericho cat.
Then, a cat appeared in every corner of the dump. Tonight is the annual Jericho dance, where all the cats gather, and the fast-paced music quickly washes the whole stage and the whole theater. All cats sing and dance to the music. In the song, they translated the characteristics that Jericho cats are proud of: "We can dance in the air, like a high-altitude swing, we can do somersaults and bounce on the tires".
Because people (spectators) appear in the world of cats, at first cats are disgusted and suspicious of people who enter their territory, but soon they accept the observation of strangers and tell them three names of cats: one is the daily address of the family, the other is a dignified and unique name, and the other is a secret name that only cats can know.
Victoria, the pure white cat, performed a solo dance, symbolizing the official start of a dance. Embryo Cat Monkou Strapp, a strong man, is the manager of the cat clan leader Lao Deuteronomy in his absence and the guardian of the kitten. In the story, he acts as a commentator, telling the kitten (and the audience) about the rules of Jericho and introducing others.
Our cat is on. Monkou Strapp explained the meaning of the Jericho Ball to the kitten. This annual full moon night, only cats can appreciate its magic. Moreover, Deuteronomy, the leader of their clan, will choose a cat from the clan and send it to the heavy floor before dawn, so as to be reborn. So at this dance, all kinds of cats will introduce themselves, hoping to surpass that wonderful and happy cloud.
Next, Munkustrap introduced JennyAnyDots, who treated all the kittens kindly and lovingly like an old mother. Then Ram Tum Tagg, the rock cat, came on stage to introduce himself. Tag is a curious cat spoiled by similar families. He also likes the infatuation of all female cats. Grizabella, a charming cat that hasn't appeared in the garbage for a long time, appeared, but now it is old, ugly and dirty. Because when she was young, she betrayed Jericho's cat and left the cat family to travel in the outside world, which was cruel and bitter. Now griza Bella is exhausted and comes back alone. But all the cats didn't forgive her and drove her away. Griza Bella then quietly hid in a corner of the stage.
Bastorf Jones appeared in JennyAnyDots' song. This fat cat who loves to eat is a noble cat that makes all its kind proud. Then two thief cats, Mongojerry and Rumpleteazer, performed songs and acrobatic dances. After their song ended, the old Deuteronomy appeared! After everyone paid tribute to the old leader, Monkou Strapp organized a funny dance for him, which made everyone laugh. Later, with the arrival of the dance climax, all the cats joined the song and dance, and the main theme of the cat sounded again.
Griza Bella returned to the center of the stage again, but the cat still refused to forgive her. At this time, griza Bella sang a touching song "Memories", and Old Deuteronomy sympathetically watched the heartbroken griza Bella go off again.
Act ii
When the cats returned to the stage again, Deuteronomy sang songs to remind them of the importance of remembering happy times. Gus, an old cat, was brought to the stage by Jeremiah. Gus is an actor who has swept all cinemas. Now he recalls his days, especially his most proud creation, the story of the great pirate roaring tiger. Next, the scene changed, and everyone seemed to return to the time when Gus was very popular, and performed the story of the roaring tiger and his lover Griddlebone on the stage. Skimpobank, who was sleeping on the train, was awakened by a loud noise. Skimblebank, the train cat, is an interesting and lovely uncle. Everyone helped him build a locomotive from the waste of the dump and let him stand on it magically.
However, at the end of the story of the train cat, the joyful dance was interrupted by the criminal cat Macavitt. In the dark, Makaui leads his men to intercept Deuteronomy.
Bombalurina and Demeter, two female cats who once knew Makaui Ti, told the kittens who didn't know Makaui Ti what the wanted men had done. At this time, the old Deuteronomy suddenly returned to the field. All the cats were still surprised, but he took off his gray skin. It turned out that Makaui tripped over the old Deuteronomy. Munkustrap led several other male cats to fight with Mike, and finally the criminal cat escaped in the dark.
"Don't worry, we have the amazing Mr. Misto Phyllis!" Rum Thum Tagg said to everyone. He introduced the next contestant, Misto Phyllis. Mistoffelees, the magic cat, successfully changed back to the old Deuteronomy at the request of many cats. The cats thanked him together for his contribution, and were ready to listen to the old leader's choice again.
Grisa Bella started again. But this time, when she sang Memories, Jemima, the youngest kitten in the cat family, responded to her with a clear song. Then the cats understood what Deuteronomy told them. One by one, they forgave griza Bella and brought her back to a warm and happy family in Jericho. Before dawn, Deuteronomy chose Bella, griza, and embarked on the road beyond the clouds, and was reborn! In the singing of cats, Deuteronomy leads griza Bella out of the clouds, and griza Bella disappears into the colorful clouds in the sky.
The last song was sung by Deuteronomy for the audience. "You should take off your hat and salute the cat and say,' How are you, my respected cat'. This will definitely make the cat happy. " Because after all, cats are no different from humans.
About lyrics
The lyrics of Cat were adapted by Trevor Nunn. Its story comes from T·S· Eliot's Practical Cat, published in 1939. This collection of poems was actually written by Eliot to his godson. Most of the lyrics are taken out of the poetry collection intact. However, in order to coordinate with the music he composed, Nunn made some minor changes in poetry, such as repeating eight lines of lyrics in Song of Jerichos. Besides, The Wedge, The March of Polly Clay Dog and the story of Grisa Bella are all found in Eliot's unpublished novels. The most famous song "Memory" was adapted by Nunn from another "Rhapsody on a Windy Night" by Eliot.
About music
From 1977, Andrew Lloyd Webber began to compose music based on his favorite book "Old opossum tells about cats in the world". Because Weber's original plan was to write some Sanqu on the stage, in 1980, he performed several songs he had already written at the Edmonton Music Festival. Eliot had died at that time, and Eliot's widow Valerie Eliot attended the music festival and brought many unpublished poems and stories to Weber. These stories include the later famous "griza Bella, A Charming Cat" (Eliot didn't include this completed poem in his poetry collection because he thought "this story is too sad for children"). With this information, especially the story of griza Bella, Weber felt that he had finally found the theme of the story, which was more like an opera with a beginning and an end. He found Nain as a lyricist and director, and they cooperated to put such a fairy tale poetry collection on the stage, which obviously did not meet the box office requirements.
About "memory"
It is said that Nunn was dissatisfied with the songs in the play until it was close to the premiere date. He feels that the climax of the whole drama is not strong enough, and there should be more emotional music that can make the audience more engaged. Weber didn't want to at first, but he went home to start the arrangement again. He told the director Nunn not to get his hopes up. When Webber came home that night, he spent the whole night writing a song. The next morning, Weber played his masterpiece for Nunn on the piano in the rehearsal room all night. After hearing this, Nunn said to the people next to him, "I ask you to remember the current date and time. Because what you are listening to now is the next legendary song. "
This piece is the most popular "memory" in the history of musical.
But at that time, she was just a melody with no lyrics at all. Unlike other cat songs, Memory is not written according to existing poems, and there are no other poems to apply. Nunn invited three poets to write Memories, but he still didn't get satisfactory lyrics. At that time, it was not until a few days before the premiere that Nunn returned to his villa in the country and decided to write the lyrics of Memories himself. He spent a whole week rereading Eliot's poems, borrowing clues from Rhapsody on a Windy Night and griza Bella, the charming cat, not only wrote touching memories, but also made clear the theme of the whole Cat. Grizabella, a charming cat, became a cat's emotional outlet. In her Memories, she expressed her pain in the outside world, the happy and beautiful days she lost forever, and her desire to go home. This unforgettable song was born.
About Weber
Andre Lloyd Webber is a famous British music producer. He has created many touching works. Besides Cats, his famous works include Phantom of the Opera (1986), Ai Weita (1978) and Jesus Christ Superstar (197 1). For example, Phantom of the Opera is still staged in Toronto, Canada. (Note: Weber's Phantom of the Opera and China's opera film Singing at Night before and after liberation all come from the same story. But their music seems different. ) and "Ai Weita" was put on the screen at 1996, starring Madona who has been a pop singer for ten years. Weber also became the first person in modern musicals because of several successful musicals in succession. 1997, he was knighted by the Queen of England and later knighted as a Lord.
About Andrew Lloyd Webber, there is a detailed introduction in the Chinese website "Ji Fangping's Nest".
The music world also contains the above and other music introductions.
About the cat's performance
As a musical, Cat premiered on1981May11. The venue is the New London Theatre in West End of London. Since then, it has been all the rage in Britain. With its unbreakable box office record, Cat has become the most successful and longest-running musical in British history. 1982, cats began to perform on Broadway in New York, USA, which is the holy land of stage plays all over the world. By the summer of 2000, it had broken the record of the longest duration and the most consecutive performances on Broadway. Up to now, Cats is still staged in West End of London. Besides, Cats is also the longest tour in the United States (there have been at least four national tours so far).
Cat won seven Tony Awards (it can be said that it is an Oscar in the field of stage play), and Memory has become a classic in modern music. This song has been recorded over 600 times, including famous singers barbra streisand and Barry Mandillo.