LD Natasha Katz had plenty of fun working on the latest incarnation of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s musical, ‘Cats,’ collaborating with choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler to focus the audience’s attention on the different feline characters, and highlight their characteristics. “It’s like movie editing,” Katz says, noting how, with each of the show’s 700 cues, “we tell you where to look.” The lighting also plays a key role in the story telling. A good example of a striking character is Rum Tum Tugger, who cavorts narcissistically during his Act One number. “Andy thought that he was so vain in that he thinks he’s in his own rock concert,” Katz says. “He’s playing air guitar all night long [so] all the lights feel very rock ‘n’ roll.” She utilized ten Sharpys with their thin beams to follow him around the stage. On the flipside, the melancholy Grizabella gets bathed in sad lighting “because she’s looking back on her life with so much regret,” says Katz.
—Bryan Reesman, from “Inside Theatre,” PLSN, Nov. 2016, page 32
