Joyland is the backdrop for Music Theatre Wichita’s production of ‘Cats’

Since its Broadway debut more than four decades ago, the musical “Cats” has usually had the same setting.

“Normally it’s set in a junkyard and has all the car trunks and trash and boots that cats can play with,” Music Theatre Wichita artistic director Brian J. Marcum said. “We thought we could do the same thing and give it a local flair.”

The result is setting “Cats” – which opens Wednesday and continues through Sunday, concluding the 2023 season – in a replica of Joyland Amusement Park, a Wichita staple from 1949 to 2004.

Marcum said the idea came from Jordan Slusher, a Wichita native and the set designer. Elements of the set include Porky the Trash Pig, Louie the Clown, the Whacky Shack, Skycoaster, Log Jam, carousel and roller coaster.

“The set is huge and so exciting,” Marcum said. “The roller coaster is ginormous.”

Slusher talked to Hal Ottaway, whose family founded the park, to get more of an idea of the park in its heyday.

“He’s given us lots of stories about his childhood and running around backstage at Joyland,” Marcum said. “A lot of the signs are straight from the research Jordan did.”

Marcum said that the sets available for rental for “Cats” were scarce, and that Joyland made a natural connection.

“We just thought it would be really cool and a great homage to Wichita,” he said.

MTW will, in return, offer its set to other companies who might be interested, with an inquiry already coming from a Texas theater.

“They’ll get a little Wichita wherever they are,” Marcum said.

DIRECTOR RETURNS

The only other time MTW has staged “Cats” was in 2007, when a 19-year-old Chaz Wolcott got his first professional gig playing Mr. Mistoffelees.

Wolcott reprised the role for three years on a national tour and returns to Wichita to direct and choreograph the musical for a fourth time.

“There’s an awesome sense of passing down the legacy of ‘Cats’ any time you work on the show,” said Wolcott, who begins teaching at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music this fall after teaching at Penn State. “It’s awesome to teach a new group of kitties the ways of the cats – how we make a paw, how we talk about felinity, how we act like a cat on stage when we’re not doing choreography.”

One of the first lessons, he said, is that kittens lead with their stomach, ears and tail. He also teaches the making of a paw by making them connect their fingers.

“We have to get into the spirit of the cats. I’ve grown to absolutely love the play of it, having fun and acting like cats,” he said. “When the audience comes in and sees this litter box full of cats, they know it’s different than any other show. Every single moment you see someone on stage, it’s like a kitty playing with their toy or scratching themselves.”

Wolcott said he enjoys “watching the cast drink the ‘Cats’ Kool-Aid.”

“It might sound cheesy, but it’s fun to work on,” he said. “We tell all sorts of really awesome human themes through this story about cats. There’s a lot of beautiful messages of redemption and community and second chances and acceptance that I think a lot of people ignore, but there is a beautiful message in the show and the staging of the show. In our cancel culture, we could especially use messages about acceptance and redemption.”

The entire cast is on stage for 95% of the musical, Wolcott said, and he has to instill in his actors that even if they’re not the center of attention they must still be in character.

“They can’t just sit on their tush. They always have to be catlike,” he said. “It’s in the details where the show can be effective. The kids will buy in, but even if we can get the adults to buy in for just a second, it can be something fun.”

Music director Melissa Yanchak said the show is a challenge, especially for vocalists.

“That’s the thing about ‘Cats.’ It isn’t only about the physical aspect of dance but it’s also about the acrobatics and the sustainability of the musicality,” she said. “The singing is hard. It’s everything all rolled into one.”

FELINE ROLES

For the three Actors Equity performers in the company, MTW’s “Cats” represents a variety of backgrounds.

Bronson Norris Murphy, who plays Gus, was in the 30th anniversary tour of the musical in the same role, which he’s playing for the fifth different production. Adam Richardson, who plays Old Deuteronomy, is playing the role for the third time, including the Broadway revival tour.

But Jennifer Marcum, who plays Grizabella – singing the musical’s most famous song, “Memory” – is a newcomer to the role. She saw the first national tour in her hometown of Dallas in the eighth grade and “it’s always been a part of my knowledge.”

“As I’m getting older and appreciating the legacy of Grizabella and all the fantastic actors who have done it, you realize it’s a gift to be able to do it,” said Marcum, Brian’s wife. “It’s about trying to find your place in a new phase of life, wanting to still be seen and appreciated and celebrated, which is harder for women in my decade.”

Gus the theater cat, Murphy said, is a culmination of three roles. He said the biggest compliment he gets is from people who don’t realize all three roles were played by the same actor.

“It’s so much fun as an actor to play against your physical type,” he said. “It’s like doing three musicals in one night.”

Richardson said the show creates magic, especially once the actors get their costumes and intricate makeup on.

“It’s always good with kids, to see their eyes light up in the audience and on stage,” he said. “I always say makeup is the other character in the show. That kind of feels like the graduation into catdom. Those lines we draw on our faces really make our character.”

‘CATS’ BY MUSIC THEATRE WICHITA

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, Sept. 6-7; 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9; 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10

Where: Century II concert hall, 225 W. Douglas

Tickets: $25-$74, from mtwichita.org, the Century II box office and 316-265-3107