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CATS, NODA EAST REVIEW

CATS, NODA EAST REVIEW

Cats

Date: 7th November 2024
Society: Chelmsford Young Generation Amateur Musical Society
Venue: Chelmsford Theatre
Type: Musical

Director: Claire Carr
Musical Director: Bryan Cass
Author: Tessa Davies

This is such an iconic show that any audience expects a riot of colour, movement and spectacular costumes and makeup. Young Gen, lead by their Artistic Director Claire Carr and her team, delivered this in abundance.

From the beginning of the overture until the end of the finale, we were entertained by a group of extraordinary young people. There were 47 in the cast, from an audition group of 75 and I don’t think I would have wanted to make the choices. The end result was a cast (yes, that is the correct word for a group of cats, and very apt) were amazing, apparently some of them were not trained dancers but it was impossible to tell from watching. They all captured the feline characteristics and created their own particular characters which were maintained throughout. It would be very unfair of me to pick out particular characters as everyone in the cast was simply outstanding.

The attention to detail, was amazing with so many youngsters on stage, every single one was completely focussed on their part in the show, yet still part of the overall ensemble. That’s a feature that many adult shows do not display, it was very impressive. Claire’s choreography was excellent and delivered with accuracy and precision.

The stage discipline displayed by the cast was excellent, right down to Grizabella holding her exit pose at the end of the Journey To The Heavyside Layer until she was well clear of any sightlines. Again, that is something a lot of adults miss!

The set was well designed with a number of levels and extra features, like a car and a slide. The cast were blocked to use all this well and it made the production a joy to watch. The costumes were beautifully designed, and the makeup was also well designed to match the costumes. Clearly a lot of thought and work has gone into making the ‘look’ of the show as good as the performance. Lighting and sound were excellent, and the band was well balanced so we could hear all the dialogue and the vocals clearly. The crew support and backup were discrete but clearly well delivered as the cast all seemed very happy to be on stage and delivering their performances.

As you can see, I loved this production, would happily watch it again if I had time and left the theatre thinking that Musical Theatre has a wonderful future in the hands of these young people.

Well done to everyone onstage and backstage, you must all be proud of what this show has achieved.

Tessa Davies
On behalf of Victoria Carey
Rep for district 8
NODA East

NODA owns the intellectual Property Rights to the content of all show reports written by NODA Councillors, Reps and Assistant Reps.

Cats

Date: 7th November 2024
Society: Chelmsford Young Generation Amateur Musical Society
Venue: Chelmsford Theatre
Type: Musical
Director: Claire Carr
Musical Director: Bryan Cass
Author: Tessa Davies

This is such an iconic show that any audience expects a riot of colour, movement and spectacular costumes and makeup. Young Gen, lead by their Artistic Director Claire Carr and her team, delivered this in abundance.

From the beginning of the overture until the end of the finale, we were entertained by a group of extraordinary young people. There were 47 in the cast, from an audition group of 75 and I don’t think I would have wanted to make the choices. The end result was a cast (yes, that is the correct word for a group of cats, and very apt) were amazing, apparently some of them were not trained dancers but it was impossible to tell from watching. They all captured the feline characteristics and created their own particular characters which were maintained throughout. It would be very unfair of me to pick out particular characters as everyone in the cast was simply outstanding.

The attention to detail, was amazing with so many youngsters on stage, every single one was completely focussed on their part in the show, yet still part of the overall ensemble. That’s a feature that many adult shows do not display, it was very impressive. Claire’s choreography was excellent and delivered with accuracy and precision.

The stage discipline displayed by the cast was excellent, right down to Grizabella holding her exit pose at the end of the Journey To The Heavyside Layer until she was well clear of any sightlines. Again, that is something a lot of adults miss!

The set was well designed with a number of levels and extra features, like a car and a slide. The cast were blocked to use all this well and it made the production a joy to watch. The costumes were beautifully designed, and the makeup was also well designed to match the costumes. Clearly a lot of thought and work has gone into making the ‘look’ of the show as good as the performance. Lighting and sound were excellent, and the band was well balanced so we could hear all the dialogue and the vocals clearly. The crew support and backup were discrete but clearly well delivered as the cast all seemed very happy to be on stage and delivering their performances.

As you can see, I loved this production, would happily watch it again if I had time and left the theatre thinking that Musical Theatre has a wonderful future in the hands of these young people.

Well done to everyone onstage and backstage, you must all be proud of what this show has achieved.

Tessa Davies
On behalf of Victoria Carey
Rep for district 8
NODA East

NODA owns the intellectual Property Rights to the content of all show reports written by NODA Councillors, Reps and Assistant Reps.

About Us

Chelmsford Young Generation is a music and drama society (charity registered) for young people aged 8 to 18, established in 1968. They work with professional directors to perform two shows each year at the Chelmsford Theatre.

Chelmsford-Young-Generation-Cats-Flyer