photo courtesy of Lick-Wilmerding High School
Lick-Wilmerding High School’s production of CATS opened on Thursday, March 31, after months of collaborative effort to put the show together. The musical was a great success, combining the talents of students and faculty across LWHS’ Performing Arts department.
Cats first debuted on Broadway in 1982 and, at the time, broke records as the longest running show. Creator Andrew Lloyd Webber based the musical off “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,” a collection of poems written by T.S. Eliot in 1939.
Lloyd Webber transformed the original verse into lyrics, the songs give life to the feline characters — called Jellicles. As the musical follows the Jellicles in preparation for a ritual, it presents many of the cats’ unique personalities to the audience.
LWHS theater teacher Miguel Zavala explained the show as a “whimsical spectacle that deals with what it means to belong.” Instead of selling tickets for CATS, the Performing Arts department accepted donations for The San Francisco San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “From an equity standpoint it has really resonated with the community,” Zavala said.
CATS began rehearsal in January, directed by Zavala. Around 60 LWHS students were involved. LWHS Performing Arts Department Chair and dance teacher Tabatha Robinson-Scott choreographed the musical’s dance numbers and trained the dancers. LWHS Vocal Music teacher Tony Asaro was responsible for musical direction, training the solosists, the chorus and conducting the Orchestra.
Joined by Zavala behind the scenes was Julia Ghorai ’23, Carter Jenkins ’23, Clara Sewell ’24, Sarah Wolfe ’24 and Evan Wyers ’23 working in stage management. They took charge of the backstage communication and problem-solving. Kaiden Carr ’24 and Gavin Sibbitt ’25 worked on props.
Ghorai’s favorite part of working on CATS was the connections she made with the crew. “When you are connected via headset to seven other people for hours every day you are bound to at least become closer than you were before. The job of calling the show is very high stakes and sometimes the pressure can be suffocating, but I felt so supported by everyone I was working with, it almost didn’t bother me anymore,” she described.
photo courtesy of Lick-Wilmerding High School
While the cast and crew prepared for CATS’ opening, the entire school became a lively backstage, with students running around to perfect everything from sound to costumes to choreography. The cast and crew worked incredibly hard on the production, spending entire afternoons and lunches dedicated to their craft, and their diligence paid off — the musical was phenomenal.
As the audience entered the theater on opening night, they marveled at the beautiful stage before them. The set was illuminated by a bright moon and flickering starry backdrop, overseen by the lighting crew — Ronan Furuta ’22, Ollie Garfinkel ’25 and Mats Krikhaar ’23. “It’s a lot harder than it seems to get those lights to only hit the moon without spilling onto the stardrop,” Krikhaar said. By experimenting with all kinds of techniques, like using blackwrap and DIY gobos made from pie tins, the crew was able to isolate the light into a sharp ring.
The sizable set pieces were created by LWHS stagecraft teacher Kate Boyd and her stagecraft class. They sought inspiration from playgrounds to create places cats could pop out and climb around. Trap doors and a slide were incorporated between set pieces like a large-scale cereal box, a toaster oven and a can of sardines.
Working on lighting cues and set design was the Crew, composed of Eamon Brannigan ’24, Nisu Fletes-Berkowitz ’24, Elita Paquin-Askew ’24, Arianna Ponce ’24, Thijs Simoian ’24 and Tate Summers ’25. They switched between soft, sunset orange lighting and sharp spotlights in a matter of seconds.
The Orchestra began the prologue, “Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats,” as cast members in fantastic costumes and makeup climbed on stage, moving through the audience and set. The makeup was done by the actors themselves, adding their own twists and personalities into the characters they played. They got creative with adding stripes, dots and whiskers in colors across the rainbow — whoever said cats can’t be pink or blue? Maddie Garfinkel ’24 helped the cast with their makeup, which was outlined on character sheets by the Costume Crew.
The Costume Crew — Genavieve Caperton ’23, Nicole Joseph ’23, Isa Maeder ’23, Sam Kaplan ’23 and Sophie Woods ’23 — designed and handmade the astonishing pieces worn by the cast. They began the process in January by reading Eliot’s original poems and brainstorming designs for the characters based on their descriptions. Lead costume coordinator Juliana King said, “We didn’t want to do the same thing as Broadway, we wanted to do additional storytelling through the costumes.”
Because the cast would need to crawl and dance in their costumes, the Costume Crew worked on designing outfits that wouldn’t be too heavy or restrictive. They also sewed over 30 pairs of tails and ears to help the cast be easily recognized as felines.
Throughout the first few scenes of the musical, the cats taught the audience about the Jellicles. Cats crawled into the front rows as they sang “The Naming of Cats,” which the audience welcomed as an explanation for characters such as “Rum Tum Tugger” and “Jennyanydots” listed on their playbills.
Cast members Andrzej Davis Krukowski ’23 and Charlotte Wyman ’23 described the ritual of the Jellicle Ball. Old Deuteronomy would choose one Jellicle cat to ascend to the Heaviside Layer where they would be reborn. Throughout most of the play, characters were introduced that wanted to be chosen. They showed off their distinct personas with songs and beautifully choreographed dances.
The accompanying music was played in the pit below stage by the Orchestra. Nate Mak ’22, Noah Mendiola ’23 and Minh Ly ’22 played keyboard. Ramon Yusuf ’22 was on drums, Mica Schillinger-Hyman ’24 on bass and Nick Gellerman ’23 on guitar. Eamon Riley ’22 played the cello and Justine Jaremko ’22 played woodwind. Instrumental music teacher Jason Gillenwater helped in the Orchestra as well. Behind the scenes, Alexandra Pate ’22 worked on sound and Amit Krishnan ’23 took the role of assistant musical director.
In addition to the Orchestra, four singers — Lilian Devlin ’22, Claire Malaney-Lau ’25, Maya Martinez-Krams ’22 and M. Garfinkel — were in the pit, joining the cast in company music numbers.
photo courtesy of Lick-Wilmerding High School
The first cat the audience met, Jennyanydots the Gumbie Cat played by Lily Hessekiel ’22, was a great introduction to the carefully crafted wackiness of the musical. As music shifted from gentle verse to lively chorus, so did the Gumbie Cat, taking turns between stretching into a nap and tap dancing across stage.
Between Hessekiel’s theatrical smiles to her adoring audience, and much of the cast entering on stage as Jennyannydot’s cockroach companions, the number was nothing short of delightful. The cast gave a wonderful tap dance performance across the stage as Eliana Goldfarb ’22, Charlotte Baszucki ’22 and Aditi Shankar ’24 sang in the background.
The cast truly immersed themselves in the peculiar world. Boyd noted that watching the cast members develop a lot of self-confidence over time was really rewarding.
Jennyanydots was followed by the Rum Tum Tugger, played by Jayvyn Morthel ’22. He demonstrated his dance moves, smoothly swerving away from cat after cat fawning for his attention. The audience laughed as a domino line of cats fell down from a single kiss the Curious Cat blew their way.
The ensemble observed Grizabella the Glamor Cat, played by Rhea Verghese ’23, curiously and cautiously during her first appearance onstage. The lighting crew projected a faint blue wash over the stage, directing most of the light towards Verghese. “Even the positioning of the light can change the entire feeling of the number. For the more somber songs, we used cooler tones, blues and purples, as well as dim lighting to create an uneasy, sad feeling that accompanied the music. We also attempted to isolate those on stage, creating a narrow, almost claustrophobic feeling,” Krikhaar said.
Next, Eitan Camacho ’23 took the stage as Bustopher Jones the St. James Street Cat, holding a sizable silver ladle. A gentleman and a consistently peckish cat, Camacho left the audience grinning.
Another amusing scene swept over the stage with the entrance of partners-in-crime Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer, played by Sahara Shrestha ’23 and Cecille Pardo ’22 respectively. The mischievous twins were completely in sync in their mannerisms, and their voices complemented each other perfectly in song. Always engaging in trickery, jewels fell out of their pockets as they cartwheeled across the stage.
Old Deuteronomy, played by Mirabelle Moore ’22, made her dazzling appearance onstage near the end of the first act. All the cats looked at her in awe as she entered, wearing a white gown handmade by Caperton and a sparkling firework crown.
Verghese re-entered the stage as Grizabella. Unaware that Old Deutoronomy was observing her from a ledge on the left end of the stage, the cat began to sing “Memory,” a widely known and hauntingly beautiful song. Singing to the moon illuminated in the backdrop, Verghese left the audience with chills as the first act closed.
Zavala explained that the audience’s presence in the theater was super rewarding, especially after such a long time without live theater. He also loved being able to collaborate with everyone in the Performing Arts department again to create a musical. Beauty and the Beast was the last musical LWHS produced, in 2019.
“We really wanted to transport the community to a place that was full of joy and happiness. Something nonviolent and just entertaining.” Zavala said. “Theater can teach us things, but it’s also joyful and healing. It can be therapeutic.”
Audience members found their seats again after intermission, before the second act opened with a duet between Old Deutoronamy and Jemima, played by Lori Agbabian ’24, and eventually the whole cast joined in. A soft light shone on Moore, giving a glistening effect to the necklace and crown she wore.
Next Shankar, playing Jellylorum, helped the old and frail Asparagus, played by Jack Stanley ’23, tell his stories of the theater to the audience.
Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat, played by Sydney Franklin ’23, came on to tap dance, following other cast members taking the stage in a train line. With periodical train whistles accompanied by the ensemble’s “choo-chooing,” the scene was a perfect balance of organized chaos, fitting right within the theme of the play.
Just before the infamous Macavity — played by Gabby Goldman ’23 — was introduced, Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer were seen kidnapping Old Deutornomy. An evil ambiance swept over the Ehrer Theater as Macavity snuck across the stage. Bombalurina and Demeter, played by Baszucki and Goldfarb respectively, described Macavity as she glided and danced balletically.
Cast members including Sarah Atkins ’23, Charlotte Choi ’25, Mary Darin Cline ’23 and Gabby Samaha ’23 joined on stage in a group dance number. They sang of Macavity’s ability to leave a crime scene moments before being discovered, and as they turned around to see the mystery cat, archetypal to the character, Macavity wasn’t there.
To pull off the reveal at the end of Macavity’s number, the team working on lighting design took down the lights washing over the company. They used a moving light and flicked it onto where Macavity stood, guiding the audience’s gaze.
Ella Carter Fenster ’22 introduced Mr. Mistoffelees next. Played by Noelle Winn ’23, the illusionist spun and leaped as a glittery red curtain was held up by the company. Showing off the cat’s magic tricks, Mistoffelees dropped the curtain to reveal Old Deuteronomy, safe from the attempted kidnapping. The cats sat around her, happily greeting her and anxiously awaiting Old Deutoronamy’s choice about the Jellicle Ball.
photo courtesy of Lick-Wilmerding High School
Just then, Grizabella stumbled onto stage, the spotlight highlighting black tears down her face. The entire theater went silent to hear Verghese belt a reprise of “Memories,” the cats watching her both in confusion and awe. Between her eyes watering and her earrings sparkling like the stars in the backdrop, Verghese left the audience with goosebumps by the end of her song.
Breaking the silence, Victoria, played by Kreeya Makan ’23, approached Grizabella. They held hands as the rest of the cast joined them upstage, singing “The Journey to the Heaviside Layer.” Grizabella climbed a white staircase brought on stage, reaching towards the moon, and was rolled off stage.
The cast came on stage after the play was finished, accepting the audience’s overwhelming applause. There was a standing ovation every night of CATS — the musical was a great success!
