Cats (2006)

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Edmund Keefe Auditorium (and Concord City Auditorium) May 5, 6, 7 (and June 9-10), 2006 Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber based on “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” By T.S. Eliot Cameron Mackintosh, The Really Useful Company and David Geffen First Performance at the New London Theatre, London May 11, 1981 Presented by Cameron Mackintosh and the Really Useful Theatre Co. Ltd. Original Broadway Production Directed by Trevor Nunn Associate Directed and Choreographed by Gillian Lynne Designed by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber

In Memory of Mr. Albin R. Tamulonis

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Fifty-one years ago, a handful of dedicated individuals, interest in sharing
their love of musical theatre, established the Nashua Actorsingers.

On March 10, 2005, Actorsingers lost our last charter member of the
organization, past president, dedicated supporter, dear friend, Albin “Al”
Tamulonis.

We are indebted to Al for his vision of bringing musical theatre to the
Nashua audience, and we will always be grateful to him for opening the
doors to so many artists eager to show their talents on stage or behind
the scenes, in the orchestra, or directing. Thank you, Al.

Our condolences to his loving wife, Penny, and the entire Tamulonis
family.

Notes from the Director

About a year ago, when Donna and I discovered the community theater rights
for CATS were available, we began this journey to produce one of the world’s
most beloved musicals. Some called us crazy… perhaps we were! Many said
we could never pull it off — we wouldn’t get enough people to audition, we
wouldn’t find enough dancers, we couldn’t handle the costumes and makeup, we
wouldn’t have enough time or money to build the set, and that nobody would
wear a unitard! We proved them all wrong. We had almost 90 people audition,
and we now have an extremely talented cast of 40, gorgeous costumes and
makeup, a little bit of magic, and a fabulous show in store for you.

Some people say CATS has no plot. Although the plot is a bit light, loosely
tying together the poems of T.S. Eliot, it tells thes tory of the annual gathering of a
special tribe of cats (the Jellicles) who meet once a year at the Jellicle Ball where
their leader (Old Deuteronomy) choose one cat to ascend to the Heaviside
Layer and come back — reborn — as a new Jellicle cat. The plot showcases cats
telling their stories, hoping to be the one chosen. The challenge in presenting
this plot is that many productions have actors play 2 or 3 different roles, so you
often see a specific character in only one song, making CATS appear to be a
musical review instead of a show with a story line. In our production, cats show
up for the Jellicle Ball, they tell their stories, and everyone stays to the very end to
see who gets chosen. We hope you appreciate our interpretation. Enjoy the
show!

Paul Metzger, Director