Forty-two furry felines will take the stage this weekend as Elmhurst Children’s Theatre presents the award-winning musical “Cats,” based on T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” and featuring music by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
In four performances Friday through Sunday, the cast of fifth- through eighth-graders will tell the story, in song and dance, of the annual gathering of Jellicle cats during which one special cat is chosen to ascend to the “Heaviside layer.” The show features the well-known song “Memory.”
Elmhurst Children’s Theatre offers children in fifth- through eighth-grade, who live in Elmhurst or attend District 205 or local parochial schools, the chance to audition for the group’s productions. The group stages two main stage productions, a summer show and the Unintentionally Hilarious Sketch Comedy Troupe each year. The theater’s roots go back to 1937 at Elmhurst College, when directors there began presenting plays for children.
The “Cats” cast is considerably younger than that, but includes quite a few veterans, including some eighth-graders who have each appeared in nearly a dozen of the group’s productions.
“I love performing because I like the feeling of being on stage,” said Sandburg Middle School eighth-grader Meagan Maiers, who said “Cats” is her 10th show with the group and a favorite. “I like this show — the soprano parts are really fun.”
Bryan eighth-grader Lily Crow, who has done 10 shows, eight with the Elmhurst group, said she likes how much dancing there is in the show. “And it’s an acting stretch,” she said. “There’s a lot of expression with this show. It’s way different — you have to be a cat.”
Sandburg sixth-grader Oliver Roy is a newcomer to the group, but said he enjoys not only his role in the play but also “the new friendships and fun things in and out of rehearsals.”
Those rehearsals are key to the quality of the Elmhurst Children’s Theatre shows. For “Cats,” the student actors have spent nine hours a week for nine weeks rehearsing. And those 81 hours don’t include time spent practicing at home or the additional hours spent on makeup.
“The kids at Elmhurst Children’s Theatre are really kids who go above and beyond in terms of doing work outside of rehearsal,” said Emily Leonard, the professional director of the show.
She said the show is an ambitious production that has called on the actors to stretch their limits.
Other professionals involved in the show include music director Jennifer McCormick, whose recent work in Elmhurst included shows with Immaculate Conception Grade School, and choreographer Tori Marie Cahn, whose recent credits include the School of Performing Arts in Naperville and Wheaton Drama.
Parent volunteers manage productions and rehearsals and create costumes and sets.
Leonard called the show mesmerizing.
“A very engaging performance and it’s a lot of fun to watch and it goes by quickly,” she said.
Graydon Megan is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
It’s showtime
What: Elmhurst Children’s Theatre production of “Cats”
When: 7 p.m. March 17 and 18; 2 p.m. March 18 and 19
Where: Auditorium of Bryan Middle School, 111 W. Butterfield Road, Elmhurst
Tickets: $8 available at the door
Website: elmhurstchildrenstheatre.com
