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'Cats’to finish its ninth life in June
NEW YORK (AP) - Tears
streamed down Hector Montalvo’s
cheeks as he waited outside the Winter
Garden Theater to see the feline musi
cal “Cats” - yet again.
Before Sunday’s matinee, he’d
already seen the record-breaking show
670 times. And the show’s announced
closure in June - after a 7,397 perfor
mances - was scratching him up inside.
“When I first heard the news, I was
devastated,” said Montalvo, a
Manhattan computer software sales
man.
“This is such a sad thing, but I
guess all good things must come to an
end.”
Marlene Danielle, who plays
Bombalurina, was somber, too: Her
nine lives -make that more than 7,000
lives - are now winding down.
“When we got the news there were
tears, sure, and hugs,” said Danielle,
who has played the role since the show
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began in October 1982.
“And believe it or not, there was
lots of laughter. Somehow, everybody
knows in their heart that nothing goes
forever,” she said.
“We brought the show into the new
millennium. How much
more can you really f/VX
exDect?” fit ft .
The Andrew ll_-V
Lloyd Webber ly 1
musical will bring V\
down the final curtain \ ^
June 25, after a nearly V"
two-decade run on A
Broadway. I Jr
By the end of its I y
run, “Cats” - with its / .
“Now and Forever” KT \
slogan - will have V
played to more than 10 V,
million theateigoers in Fjsz
New York. On
Broadway alone, its cer:
grosses are estimated
to be more than $380
million.
But its receipts
have dwindled in the
last two years, at E^^
times falling to only -
50 percent capacity,
particularly in the
lean winter months
after Christmas.
“When you look at
it, we’re running into
our 18th year, and the
houses have been slow,”
Danielle said. “It’s a busi
ness, and they have to make
men muiicy.
While saddened, cast mem
bers said news of the closure will
make the remaining shows special.
“It makes people cherish the per
formances,” said Lenny Daniel, who
plays the character Alonzo.
“Everything sharpens, and you focus
on what I can do to do the best and
enjoy the time the absolute most:That’s
the general feeling. Every moment on
that stage now, there’s a countdown.”
Other fans were harder hit.
“This is the tenth time I _
have seen it, and I must
admit I’m feeling pretty sad,” said
Ernie Puglise, a Connecticut music
teacher who brought classes to the
show over the years. “I really think it’s
the best musical ever written.”
But fans and cast members were
optimistic about a life beyond the
show’s final rendition of its signature
song, “Memories.”
“We are all trying to leave with the
attitude that this is just another door
opening rather than one closing,” said
performer Lenny Daniel.
Tesha Bess, who has played the
character Rumple Teaser for one and a
half years, said cast members have “all
been auditioning for other things
because we knew this had to happen at
some point”
And Montalvo said life will go on
for him, too.
“I’ve made friends with a lot of the
cast,” he said, “and I look forward to
seeing them in their future projects."
Melanie Falk/DN
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