Here's another Drat review:
Julio Martinez:
"The Group Rep is offering the West Coast Premiere of the Ira Levin (book and lyrics) and Milton Schafer (music) 1965 musical, that is set in turn-of-the-19thcentury New York. “Drat! The Cat” did not fare well on Broadway in ’65, but Group Rep’s production, directed by Bruce Kimmel, with a keen observance of the Victorian style and manners of the 1890s, offers a charming journey back to the slapstick comedy of the Keystone Cops, haughty society matrons, greedy bankers, a hapless young cop and the lady he loves. The opening Overture sets the tone for the whole show beautifully executed by choreographer Cheryl Baxter, who introduces the locals, surrounded by a bevy of bumbling cops, while The Cat gleefully robs the townsfolk at will. Aiding the proceedings is Music Director/Pianist Gerald Sternbach and a first-rate five-piece pit band. At the center of this tale are Bob (Alec Reusch), a naive young cop who has been assigned to capture The Cat, and Alice (Sydney DeMaria), a society ingénue, who leads a double life. Their budding but slowly developing relationship is encapsulated by Bob in the first act ballad, “She Touched Me.” The seemingly ambivalent Alice finally responds in the second act with “I Like Him.” Another plus are the supporting performances of Lloyd Pedersen and Constance Mellors as Alice’s disapproving parents, Lucius and Matilda Van Guilder. April Audia is also a delight as Bob’s working-class Irish mother, Kate Purefoy. And Hisato Masuyama is perfectly cast as the always disdainfully superior Butler.
Drat! The Cat! will run on The Group Rep Theatre’s Main Stage (First Floor) through April 27. For tickets and information
www.thegrouprep.com and (818) 763-5990. The Group Rep Theatre venue is located at 10900 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood 91601.:
