CATS on OASIS - Time to "Dump" it?

[John&LaLa]

We will do another Oasis Back2Back in February/March and plan to see it three times again. We will also attend the cast performances in Dazzles and Jazz on 4.

 

But, we're not the typical cruiser who wants a no-brainer musical that is over in 30 minutes so that they can head to a bar.;):rolleyes:

 

Intermission is great, potty break and the bar

[SherriZ366]

What about Jersey Boys??

 

Well, as the repeat passengers come on and don't go to the show, the empty seats will tell the story.

Jersey Boys was on FR a couple of cruises ago and we enjoyed them.

[ehfl]

I always wondered why they picked that show. There are so many better choices. Royal has been known for having great live entertainment, and CATS is known as the show that brought lip-syncing to Broadway. Yes, recorded music is cheaper, but most people want to hear live performers.

[tahqa]

I always wondered why they picked that show. There are so many better choices. Royal has been known for having great live entertainment, and CATS is known as the show that brought lip-syncing to Broadway. Yes, recorded music is cheaper, but most people want to hear live performers.

 

I don't know why they had that reputation on Broadway, but the Cats performers on Oasis most definitely sing their own lines. The music track is pre-recorded, but other than that it's all live.

[e11wa]

it is not as easy as just 'dumping' a show.

 

I move musicals for a living, and the average show is somewhere in the region of 20-40 semi trucks worth of gear.

 

Obviously, the lighting and sound isn't something that would go, but moving the sets and machinery that goes with CATS is a massive undertaking, and not something that can be simply undertaken over night, or in a day.

 

Couple that with the requirement to tech and rehearse a new show, as well as cuing sound lighting and mechanics isn't something that happens in the flap of a wing.

 

I've just opened a production of The Royal Shakespeare Companies Matilda the Musical, and that was ~30 trucks, a 4 week production build with 6 weeks of rehearsals in the theatre with nothing else going on for that entire time.

 

While it may not be a show you like, I guarantee that the powers that be did their homework before committing the commission of sets, wardrobe and automation to a production that would be hugely difficult, and anything but cost effective to change.

[Ocean Boy]

We will do another Oasis Back2Back in February/March and plan to see it three times again. We will also attend the cast performances in Dazzles and Jazz on 4.

 

But, we're not the typical cruiser who wants a no-brainer musical that is over in 30 minutes so that they can head to a bar.;) We are also odd because, when young, we were taught to appreciate and enjoy Broadway productions; it's just our family way. I wish we were taking our grandchildren with us in February as they would like "Cats".

 

So the typical cruiser is a mindless drinker or does that only apply to cruisers who don't like CATS because, of course, they haven't been taught to appreciate the same things in life that you do?

Edited August 5, 2015 by Ocean Boy

[xpcdoojk]

it is not as easy as just 'dumping' a show.

 

I move musicals for a living, and the average show is somewhere in the region of 20-40 semi trucks worth of gear.

 

Obviously, the lighting and sound isn't something that would go, but moving the sets and machinery that goes with CATS is a massive undertaking, and not something that can be simply undertaken over night, or in a day.

 

Couple that with the requirement to tech and rehearse a new show, as well as cuing sound lighting and mechanics isn't something that happens in the flap of a wing.

 

I've just opened a production of The Royal Shakespeare Companies Matilda the Musical, and that was ~30 trucks, a 4 week production build with 6 weeks of rehearsals in the theatre with nothing else going on for that entire time.

 

While it may not be a show you like, I guarantee that the powers that be did their homework before committing the commission of sets, wardrobe and automation to a production that would be hugely difficult, and anything but cost effective to change.

 

We saw Matilda in London 2 years ago, and it is great. Very cute, with a slight Monty Python feel. That said, the music is completely forgettable, for me, compared to Cats.

 

I do think most cruisers, RCI or other lines, would prefer a regular 30 minute production show to a full broadway production. I am certain most people have no idea the logistics involved in bringing a production like Cats or Matilda to the stage.

 

jc

[ehfl]

I don't know why they had that reputation on Broadway, but the Cats performers on Oasis most definitely sing their own lines. The music track is pre-recorded, but other than that it's all live.

 

In the Broadway version, there was a LOT of acrobatics by the characters, and they hired mostly gymnasts, rather than actors or singers. Even if they had used trained singers, there is no way they could physically sing while doing acrobatics at the same time.

 

I'm assuming that on the ship, the singers don't do their own acrobatics, and the dancers don't sing.

[eugreene2]

...then slowly drains the life out of you. LOL I am a regular at Broadway shows and love them. I had read all the reviews so my roommate and I were determined to see the entire production on Oasis. We sat through about the 1st 45 mins of the 2nd half and just couldn't take anymore. The ways CATS is written is not for cruise ships. It's a series of poems, basically. There needs to be a storyline. Maybe if they hired an unbelievable, powerhouse vocalist or celebrity, that would help. As of now, there's just not enough to keep most people there for 2.5 hrs.

[John&LaLa]

Prior to Oasis, no cruise ship attempted a "full" Broadway show.

[Charles4515]

So the typical cruiser is a mindless drinker or does that only apply to cruisers who don't like CATS because, of course, they haven't been taught to appreciate the same things in life that you do?

 

Sort of. Cats is fairly deep intellectualy. The average Joe is not going to appreciate it whie on a mainstream cruise line vacation and I don't think they should have to. I enjoyed the show and sat thru the whole show but I had read TS Elliot in college. A cruise ship is the wrong venue for that particular show. Cats is a show that you should take a trip to Broadway to see. Shows like Hairspray are what they should have onboard.

Edited August 5, 2015 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

...then slowly drains the life out of you. LOL I am a regular at Broadway shows and love them. I had read all the reviews so my roommate and I were determined to see the entire production on Oasis. We sat through about the 1st 45 mins of the 2nd half and just couldn't take anymore. The ways CATS is written is not for cruise ships. It's a series of poems, basically. There needs to be a storyline. Maybe if they hired an unbelievable, powerhouse vocalist or celebrity, that would help. As of now, there's just not enough to keep most people there for 2.5 hrs.

 

There is a storyline and the Celebrity cast is quite good. I do agree that Cats is the wrong show for cruise ships.

 

To the person who posted that the powers that be did their homework before committing I would give them an F. I went with seven or eight friends and I was the only one who stayed to the end. I would say a majority of the audience left before the end. I can imagine that they are getting many complaints about the show. The only reason I can see them going on with that show is that they have a contract that obliges them to perform it for a certain amount of time.

[CVU]

The only reason I can see them going on with that show is that they have a contract that obliges them to perform it for a certain amount of time.

That is what we were told on board the 1st night it was on, that they had a contract.

Andrew Lloyd Webber got on/off in Southampton to see the production and said the Orchestra was not ready and so we had a piano player for our cruise.

Huge line ups the first night, incredible and then poof, no line ups after that 1st show. Word got around pretty quick when people could walk in and get as seat rather soon after it started.

[eugreene2]

There is a storyline and the Celebrity cast is quite good. I do agree that Cats is the wrong show for cruise ships.

 

To the person who posted that the powers that be did their homework before committing I would give them an F. I went with seven or eight friends and I was the only one who stayed to the end. I would say a majority of the audience left before the end. I can imagine that they are getting many complaints about the show. The only reason I can see them going on with that show is that they have a contract that obliges them to perform it for a certain amount of time.

 

Sorry but there isn't much of a plot to Cats and the production on Oasis had zero celebrities. I saw it in April. It was just the ship's cast.

[Dinkachu]

When deciding on our Dec. 2015 cruise out of Lauderdale, we could have chosen a Sat. departure on Oasis or a Sunday departure on Allure. We live in central Fla, so no flights to worry about.

 

All things being fairly equal, we choose Allure because we were bored in a local production of CATS and it has bad reviews on Oasis, and the men in the family love all you can eat meat on a sword at SAMBAS, which Oasis does not have. So, we booked 3 Boardwalk balcony rooms on Allure.

 

I wonder if Oasis has lost other travelers due to CATS? Maybe we should re-think our plan - perhaps there will be fewer crowds on Oasis!

Edited August 5, 2015 by Dinkachu

[John&LaLa]

When deciding on our Dec. 2015 cruise out of Lauderdale, we could have chosen a Sat. departure on Oasis or a Sunday departure on Allure. We live in central Fla, so no flights to worry about.

 

All things being fairly equal, we choose Allure because we were bored in a local production of CATS and it has bad reviews on Oasis, and the men in the family love all you can eat meat on a sword at SAMBAS, which Oasis does not have. So, we booked 3 Boardwalk balcony rooms on Allure.

 

I wonder if Oasis has lost other travelers due to CATS? Maybe we should re-thing our plan - perhaps there will be fewer crowds on Oasis!

 

But was the choice based on Sambas or Cats :what:

[Dinkachu]

But was the choice based on Sambas or Cats :what:

 

CATS was the initial deciding factor, and if there were no SAMBAS, we would still have chosen ALLURE to avoid CATS. The fact that there was also a SAMBAS was just icing on the cake.

[Charles4515]

CATS was the initial deciding factor, and if there were no SAMBAS, we would still have chosen ALLURE to avoid CATS. The fact that there was also a SAMBAS was just icing on the cake.

 

 

Sambas is the worst specialty restaurant I ever did on Royal Caribbean.

[Diver2014]

Bring back Hairspray! I'm an Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals fan but we got up and left at the intermission of Cats. This is not a show that adjusts well to a cruise ship! People want to be entertained for an hour and then go have a drink! It may be a great show show for the theater lovers but not for the cruise ship lovers. What next? All 4 hours of the original Les Miz?

[Charles4515]

Sorry but there isn't much of a plot to Cats and the production on Oasis had zero celebrities. I saw it in April. It was just the ship's cast.

 

LOL. I meant Royal Caribbean cast. Been on so many Celebrity cruises the last couple of years I must have Celebrity Cruise line on the brain. Anyhow the Royal Caribbean cast was excellent and I feel bad that Cats is the wrong show for a cruise ship because their talent is not being appreciated and the audience is walking out of the show because of that, not because of their performance.

[foxgoodrich]

I think the expectation from the typical cruise audience is for something similar to a one hour Vegas type production show with singing/dancing/acting (like Once Upon A Time on Freedom), or a Broadway musical that's a more typical musical comedy (like Hairspray.) Cats is very very different - it's poetry set to music. There's little or no dialogue, so it stages kind of like an opera.

 

Now I am NOT implying in any way that cruise ship audiences are not sufficiently sophisticated to enjoy this kind of production. What I am saying is that Cats is so very different from anything cruise audiences have seen before, it just does not meet people's expectations. I am not surprised that we've seen lots of folks posting who haven't enjoyed it. It's just too different, and lots of repeat cruisers are not terribly fond of change!:eek: (I would include myself here to some extent - I miss those pillow chocolates, among other things.:o)

 

From Royal's perspective, they went for a BIG show. It's one of the top 3 longest running Broadway shows ever, and in the top 4 for London's West End. I bet it cost them plenty. I think they were expecting to WOW the audiences, but it sounds like that's not happening!

Judy

[beachnative]

I think the expectation from the typical cruise audience is for something similar to a one hour Vegas type production show with singing/dancing/acting (like Once Upon A Time on Freedom), or a Broadway musical that's a more typical musical comedy (like Hairspray.) Cats is very very different - it's poetry set to music. There's little or no dialogue, so it stages kind of like an opera.

 

Now I am NOT implying in any way that cruise ship audiences are not sufficiently sophisticated to enjoy this kind of production. What I am saying is that Cats is so very different from anything cruise audiences have seen before, it just does not meet people's expectations. I am not surprised that we've seen lots of folks posting who haven't enjoyed it. It's just too different, and lots of repeat cruisers are not terribly fond of change!:eek: (I would include myself here to some extent - I miss those pillow chocolates, among other things.:o)

 

From Royal's perspective, they went for a BIG show. It's one of the top 3 longest running Broadway shows ever, and in the top 4 for London's West End. I bet it cost them plenty. I think they were expecting to WOW the audiences, but it sounds like that's not happening!

Judy

 

VERY well stated.

 

While we were on the Oasis we had the opportunity to talk to many of the cast members and, among things, discussed ways that the ship could prepare guests for the show. They said that the ship is working on it.

Edited August 6, 2015 by beachnative

[SherriZ366]

There is a storyline and the Celebrity cast is quite good. I do agree that Cats is the wrong show for cruise ships.

 

To the person who posted that the powers that be did their homework before committing I would give them an F. I went with seven or eight friends and I was the only one who stayed to the end. I would say a majority of the audience left before the end. I can imagine that they are getting many complaints about the show. The only reason I can see them going on with that show is that they have a contract that obliges them to perform it for a certain amount of time.

Agree about the F based on the comments on Cruise Critic. Remember -- powers that be did their homework on Dynamic Dining and it has now been limited to QN class ships. It won't be extended to O class ships even though the OA and AL had dining rooms remodeled for DD.

 

Wish they would bring back Hairspray to OA before she moves to Port C.

[John&LaLa]

CATS was the initial deciding factor, and if there were no SAMBAS, we would still have chosen ALLURE to avoid CATS. The fact that there was also a SAMBAS was just icing on the cake.

 

Ok, what if Sambas was on Oasis instead of Allure. Would you still go with Allure

[John&LaLa]

VERY well stated.

 

While we were on the Oasis we had the opportunity to talk to many of the cast members and, among things, discussed ways that the ship could prepare guests for the show. They said that the ship is working on it.

 

I kind of expected a Playbill, that would help