Why do people hate Cats

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 10:06am

I used to love Cats but last summer, I was watching the video and I thought, "Huh, it's a lot more juvenile than I remember it." Plus, I know a lot of people who don't like Cats. Does anyone know why this show is met with such divided reception? And don't just say, "coz it's crap."

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 10:08am

I find that it's plotless structure doesn't keep me involved and the sequence with the Chinese cats has its music stolen from Puccini's TURANDOT. Yup, it's the "Ping, Pang and Pong" music--note for note.

Updated On: 8/15/06 at 10:08 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 10:15am

Why do people start a thread on why people hate "Cats" every other Tuesday?

Updated On: 8/15/06 at 10:15 AM

[ILoveMyDictionary]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 10:46am

I don't like the show because it has no plot. I prefer things with storylines.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 10:53am

Why do people hate people who hate "Cats?"

[latheatrelover]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 1:23pm

I think people on BWW probably do, because everyone here is a critic of Broadway shows, but the general public must like it because how many years did it run? And didn't it at one point hold the honor of longest-running show?

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 1:26pm

Yes it was immensely popular and was the longest running on Broadway for many years. It astonishes me becuase I don't know anyone who likes it. Even Ute Lemper dissed it, and she was in it in Vienna. The one thing I did admire was the physicality of the actors/dancers playing CATS. Those people deserve a medal.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 1:28pm

"And didn't it at one point hold the honor of the longest-running show?"

Inexplicably!

[jimnysf]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 1:30pm

"Why do people start a thread on why people hate "Cats" every other Tuesday?"

LOL. This does seem to come up at least once a week.

[LaVieHilary]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 1:31pm

Cats is more of a showcase of the dancing and singing rather than telling a story and analysis. If I were to tell you what Cats is about I would just say, "It's about cats." and basically that's all there is to it. Like lathearterlover said, "but the general public must like it because how many years did it run?" exactly. The general public.

[latheatrelover]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 1:39pm

And people go to it because they get sucked in by the name Andrew Lloyd Webber and one song "Memory". I recall it not being a bad show, by any meas, and it was fun to watch the dancers, but I also recall it being very loud (try sitting in the last row of the balcony next to an enormous speaker during the opening).

Speaking of Cats, I've always wanted to know, who was the cute young singer (actress' name) that sang the opening part of Memory with Buckley on the Tony broadcast the year it was nominated? Anybody know for sure?

[WOSQ]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 1:44pm

Cats is a show that tried to do "everything" for the audience including to feel and to have a good time.

A show that tries to do everything shuts the audience out of having to do even the basics. It then becomes a floor show or a televison variety special.

As trite and at times nonsensical as the lyric of Memory is, at least it guided the audience into feeling something. The same with the pirate number. These allowed us to become involved.

Cats was also a triumph of PR. It had major news stories for months leading up to the premiere. Seat availability was limited and it routinely sold out for years, all based on the idea that it was the show to see. If they gave Tonys for flackery, Cats would have won hands down.

Never mind that the reviews were not all that good and that the NY Drama Critics Circle gave its Best Musical award that season to Little Shop of Horrors.

I have always wondered what Cats would have been like in a smaller house without that big set (maybe a few platforms and some black velours), with a suggestion of costumes and that great lighting. It might have been a better musical although not as big a cash cow.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 2:07pm

People love to hate anything that's popular. It makes them feel superior to the masses, but they are obviously a minority if the show is an international phenomenon, so in the end, it makes no difference whatsoever. I enjoyed it in London, but I didn't care for the tour. For me, the show really loses its spark without the environmental staging.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 2:12pm

I do not hate CATS. I love CATS the musical. I have loved this show since I was a child.

It was the longest running musical for a while. Children and millions of people adore this show.

I do not see the need to start a thread about why you hate a show. Start a thread about a show you like. Don't spread hate, spread love

Updated On: 8/15/06 at 02:12 PM

[jakethesnake]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 2:15pm

Because I'm allergic to them. And I find them to be very moody, unlike dogs. Dogs are always fun and cute and licking my face. I love dogs. I hate cats. Hamsters, sometimes. Ferrets, absolutely.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 2:45pm

I saw the original Broadway cast back when I was a teenager and it bored me silly. While the dancing and designs were well done, I found it trite and precious and utterly superficial, a total triumph of style over substance and, then as now, I was someone who greatly preferred substance over style. I've just never been one who cared much for spectacle, especially one as empty and meaningless as this one.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 2:49pm

It just had no plot. Some of the songs were good and the dancing was great, but it felt like a children's musical. I was very dissappointed.

Updated On: 8/15/06 at 02:49 PM

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 2:52pm

I like it.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 2:54pm

Well, TS Eliot wrote the poems for his grandchildren, so they have a properly fairy tale, fanciful feel to them. But, Elliot (a first rate dramatist himself) never intended for them to ever be used in a dramatic context, so they necessarily seem episodic and unrelated to one another in the show. I guess it's a good show for kids and their often short attention spans, but, for me, as a teenager, I wanted more -- much more.

Updated On: 8/15/06 at 02:54 PM

[[e-mail]]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 2:54pm

I disliked the lack of a coherent plot, the costuming was a bit too extravagent for me. Frankly the show I felt was just relying on effects to cover the fact it's absolutely horrible (I feel the same way about Lion King). Personally, I find it to be boring and believe that it has only one decent song. I cannot even make it through listening to the Cats Soundtrack (and btw Sunset Boulevard is one of my all time Favorite Musicals, so it's not because I hate ALW). I don't know, I mean it's a feat to perform that show, but it's like boring to watch. I know countless people who told me they went to see the show on Broadway and decided to sleep through it they were so bored.

I know a couple people who like the show, but once again, not the serious musicians. IDK, maybe we're too discriminating to enjoy it...

Speaking of PR. Andrew Lloyd Webber is the king of it. When you ask someone on the street what made him famous, they don't even know what his first show was or which one is the biggest, they just immediately tell you he's one of the greatest composers who's ever lived. Kind of interesting. I also seriously wonder how he won that Grammy for Requiem, but that's another post...
Updated On: 8/15/06 at 02:54 PM

[MCfan2]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 2:55pm

Since I went in expecting just some good singing and dancing and no story, I liked it fine. I mean, I probably wouldn't go again because I prefer a good story, but I liked it for what it was.

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 2:56pm

If so many people dislike Cats then how come it ran for ssooo long?

[WonderBoy]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 2:57pm

Having played RTT, I can say that while it isn't brilliant theatre it was a show that appealed to millions of people. I cannot tell you how often the Winter Garden was full of non English speaking audiences. It is a show that one can come too and just watch and listen to the music and be entertained. Make sense?

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 3:00pm

I wonder how CATS would fare in our 24-hour media-savvy internet based society. It might have tanked. I remember as a kid seeing all the news and newspaper stories about CATS and wanting to see it soooo bad. There was anticipation about getting to the theatre to see people acting like CATS. Actually, that is one of the reasons the internet saddens me. So much mystique and anticipation of new Broadway shows are lost. It's quite sad indeed. That's why I won't read any of the ACL posts. I need to hang on to some giddy anticipation and surprise. It's part of the reason I love theatre. CATS might not have survived on online onslaught of bad will and spoilers.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 3:01pm

Severe allergies.

Technically, I've never seen it, but ever since I was little, the only song I could stand to listen to was the overture. I never had a desire to see it. If I wanted to see dancing, I'd go to the ballet instead, not suffer through songs I already know I don't like.