Nicole Scherzinger to Take Role of Grizabella in Cats!

With the recent announcement that Nicole Scherzinger will take on the role of Grizabella in Cats, I want to explain here on the Simon Morris blog why I think its inspired casting.

Nicole Scherzinger to Make West End Debut

According to the Independent, the former Pussycat doll has agreed to take a sojourn to the West End. She will be playing the role of Grizabella in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Cats for a limited run at the end of 2014.

Of what will be her West End debut, Scherzinger said that “to have the opportunity to work with Andrew, Trevor and Gillian is a dream come true. I grew up listening to Andrew’s extraordinary music and was lucky enough, a couple of years ago, to record Cats’ beautiful song ‘Memory’.”

Does a Popstar Have Any Business on the West End Stage?

So is she right for the role? Let’s start with the elephant in the room. The uninitiated are probably thinking right now, ‘she’s a popstar, she has no business on a West End stage.’

Yet you read it for yourself, she’s already recorded the character’s (and the show’s) signature song. In fact, she has a musical theatre background, majoring in acting and musical theatre at Wright State University.

More to the point, she’s had experience, as she’s not only played the part of Velma in a production of Chicago, but she rose to the occasion when she took on the role of Maureen in a special production of RENT at the Hollywood Bowl in LA. Critically lauded, the latter was a resounding success.

Could Nicole Scherzinger Play Grizabella?

OK, so we know Scherzinger can hack it on a musical theatre stage, but is she specifically right for the part of Grizabella. I think she is, and it’s all to do with who Grizabella is as a character.

Despite her outward appearance as a past-her-prime glamour cat, complete with ragged worn out overcoat, black sequin dress and gold kitten heels, Grizabella is an outsider, just looking to be accepted and adored as she once was. Scherzinger’s own struggles, coupled with her penchant for glamour, mean she can identify with the character.

You Need to Find Something in the Character you can Identify With.

Ultimately, any successful actor will tell you that in order to pull off a part, you need to be able to find something in them that you can identify with. That’s why I think Scherzinger can pull off the role of Grizabella.

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Could Reform to Child Labour Laws Benefit West End Musicals

This week on the Simon Morris blog, I ask whether proposed reforms to child labour laws could benefit West End musicals.

Child Stars are Pivotal to West End Theatre

Many of our favourite West End musicals either have a significant child character or a child character as the star. Look at Billy Elliot or Matilda, for example. Without their child stars, these shows would fall part quicker than a Soufflé that’s failed to rise.

Yet, shows prominently featuring child stars often opt to open on Broadway rather than the West End, meaning New York’s musical theatre scenes sees the benefits these productions bring, rather than London’s.

Andrew Lloyd Weber Explains Why He Might Open His Next Production in New York

Notably, Andrew Lloyd-Weber commented on this recently, as he revealed that he is likely to debut his next production across the pond due to restrictive child labour laws. Lloyd Weber commented that "it's much easier to cast children in New York than it is here."

He elaborated by saying that "you don't have to do all this triple casting, you can cast them as if they're adults and then you can have them for a six–month or a year contract if you want to, without these endless changes. And with a show that is so dependent on the children really being able to play, I think that's important."

What Are the Proposed Reforms to Child Labour Laws?

Yet recent proposed reforms to child labour laws could draw musical theatre producers such as Lloyd-Weber back to London. I came across an article on this subject in the Telegraph recently, which went on to make a compelling case for why moves to reform child labours laws could benefit the West End.

The article went on to point out that the reforms would give child actors shorter breaks, and allow them to work longer hours. Specifically, these plans would allow children under five to do live television and radio broadcasts until 10pm, whilst they would allow children over five to do so up until 11pm. This would cut down the red tape productions face when staging a musical on the West End, making it easier, and more cost effective, for them to do so.

What Do You Think, Simon Morris Readers?

Therefore, the argument goes that reforming child labour laws would draw new productions to London, rather than New York. Yet the move certainly has its detractors. What do you think, Simon Morris readers? Would reforms to child labour laws benefit the West End and even if they would, would they be the best thing for the West End going forward?

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Take Her or Leave Her

Even I didn’t know, Simon Morris readers that Jessie Wallace once played Maureen in RENT. Reading that this week reminded me of the versatility of this iconic role and leads me to explore just why Maureen is such a fantastic character.

Maureen Johnson is a bi-sexual performance artist who is the girlfriend of lawyer Joanne and ex-girlfriend of film maker Mark in the hit 90’s musical RENT. That short description alone should give you an idea of just how many opportunities an actress is given when she takes on this iconic role.

Musically, Maureen requires a girl with lungs. Her signature introductory song, ‘Over the Moon,’ is a stylised Native American chant that reimagines classic nursery rhyme ‘the cat and the fiddle.’ Her main duet, the stunning ‘Take Me or Leave Me,’ with partner Maureen, is probably the best break up song in modern musical theatre.

The thing is that Maureen is so flighty that there are a number of different ways you can play her. I turn to three interpretations of the classic RENT character here to illustrate just why she is so fantastic.

The role was created on Broadway by the ever talented Idina Menzel, who went on to also create the iconic role of Elphaba in Wicked,  for which she won a TONY. Maureen was in fact her first major role on Broadway and she reprised it in the film version of the production.

Menzel made the character strong, determined and passionate. With Idina’s Maureen you saw the activist side of the character emerge. She cared about the world around her and the art she produced. She was very much the fresh faced, idealistic Maureen with a slight edge.

Next we turn to Nicole Scherzinger’s interpretation of the character at the Hollywood Bowl production of the musical. As the leading Pussycat Doll, Nicole oozes sexuality and this is an important aspect of Maureen. Maureen sizzled during her turn at the bowl.

Finally, we turn to Jessie Wallace’s portrayal of the activist. The EastEnders actress replaced Denise Van Outen in RENT Remixed, a reimaging of the piece set in the modern day. Despite the negative reviews it got, Jessie highlighted the hardness in Maureen; what gives her the strength to get up and stage her raw protest pieces.

Maureen is such a complex role and each of the three actresses highlighted a different aspect of the character. That’s why Maureen is so fantastic; you never know what you’re going to get from her. It’s a new experience every single time.

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