Please be aware that I did view this on "Pay What You Can Night" and if this was 5 days before opening I can only imagine how wonderful it will be in 5 more days.

When you first enter the theatre for this piece (which someday is sure to become one of the greatest comedies of the 21st Century), you find yourself just staring at a set that resembles a cat's scratch post -  a fully-carpeted stage. Floors, background and even the pieces of the set which are flying in the air above the empty stage are all carpeted like a large playpen for a cat.

As the production begins we meet Samantha played by ERICKA KRUETZ who greets the audience throughout the production and asks us to take part in her 'life' as a cat. The moment she asks us to take part in her life is the same moment you fall in love with her character. There are few performers these days who can accomplish this task and MS KRUETZ is one of them.

fuel cells

This story focuses around the life of Samantha the cat. We witness everything from her birth, her time in the kennel, and even her first time she sleeps in the same bed with a human, Shuman played by MICHAEL KROEKER. Shuman (have we caught the play on the name yet) has emotional issues that apparently Samantha calms, however their relationship also brings up lots of other issues in regard to relationships. To solve this problem the writer introduces Matilda played by MEGAN BYRNE who works for a vet but desires to be a 'cat therapist'. She apparently understands Samantha when she speaks and therefore offers her services to Shuman. If these three characters haven't spun this play to all levels, we add yet one more component... Oscar. Oscar played by JEFFREY WOODARD is the alley cat. He is bad dude, a loner, and an 'outdoor' cat. Possibly the least developed character but with what I witnessed, who cares!?

When you combine these four characters what you end up with is a look at how individuals lack the ability to communicate. The basis of all relationships and most of us have trouble with this very basic action. Samantha feels unloved and neglected by Shuman, Matilda ventures in to assist in matters of communication, Samantha meets Oscar and desires to be an 'outdoor' cat (something she has never experienced before). Oscar desires to be a traveler and only stops in to meet Samantha briefly with no intention of sticking around. None of these characters actually say what is on their mind they leave it for the others to guess.

The way the technical aspects play into this production is wonderful. Those pieces mentioned earlier above the stage are lowered to create different locations - like a cat's playtoy where you attach something to a string and watch the cat jump, run and attack it. The chair, desk and bed all lower on ropes to create the inside of living rooms, vet offices and bedrooms. Once you are done with one of the pieces it flies back out. Costumes are simple yet effective. The cats Oscar and Samantha are in sweat pants and tops each in their own color, while the humans are in jeans and skirts also of their own color causing everyone in primary colors to stick out on this yellow Dr. Seuss-like set. Lighting is complex with several specials (individual lights which draw focus onto an actor) which the actors on "Pay What You Can" often had trouble finding but then again it was 5 days until opening and that is what technical rehearsals are for.

Enough can not be said about this production.

This play is not just funny - it is hysterical