RETURNING A MEMORY
Joanna Ampil brings back Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats to Manila
Joana Ampil has made a name for herself on London’s West End, having done iconic roles in equally iconic musicals such as Kim in Miss Saigon, Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar, and Fantine in Les Miserables. One of her most recent undertakings is the role of Grizabella in Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s Cats, which she will perform in Manila for the very first time during the show’s run at the Theater at Solaire beginning Nov. 6.
The Tony award-winning musical follows a group of cats that gather for the “Jellicle choice,” for a chance to ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life.
BEING GRIZABELLA
Among these cats is Grizabella who famously performs the song “Memory,” a song that Joanna has mastered having done the role on numerous international tours. “[Grizabella] has been my dream role for the longest time,” recounts Joanna. “I remember watching it when I was 17, not because of ‘Memory’ but because of the music in the Jellicle Ball, and I was so amazed by the sound. I immediately loved Grizabella, ever since then I had my eye on her.” As she was too young then, Joanna had to wait for a few more years, and finally she is playing her.
Joanna shares that a lot of people relate to her downtrodden, aging character. “Even as humans we can relate to that. A lot of us can relate to her story. It’s an absolute honor to be playing her,” she beams.
The 44-year-old actress has been playing Grizabella as early as 2013, but still finds the expectations of audiences the hardest thing to conquer. “So many amazing actors have sung this particular song, and they expect a certain sound,” says Joanna. “Performing it in a show scenario is quite a different experience, it’s also nerve-wracking—you know the people know the words so well, you can’t make any mistakes.” Another thing that Joanna deals with is having to make each performance fresh, something she mastered during her time on West End. “You have to be able to keep it fresh and make the audience feel like they’re watching it for the first time. I suppose we develop this skill, we get better at it, and it becomes second nature,” she says.
Even as humans we can relate to Grizella, a lot of us can relate to her story. It’s an absolute honor to be playing her.
A TIMELESS CLASSIC
Joanna herself calls Cats “timeless and a classic,” as it appeals to many people of all ages which is why it’s still so popular today. Even though there is new generation of theatergoers who will eventually see the show, Joanna is confident about its iconicity. “Cats has been around for so long, and people are always so curious about it,” as she relates it to the likes of Les Miserables and
Phantom of the Opera, which pioneered a golden age for musicals. “We get into this world of cats, and it’s completely different… It’s something that you need to see and, as an artist it defines me as a dancer.” Joanna laughs at her confession, since
Cats was a show she had always wanted on her CV.
She even shares that the most fun part about her role in Cats is that it is not as tiring as those of the other cast members. “I’m only onstage for 32 or 34 minutes,” she says. “After the show everyone else is tired and want to go home!” But she says her favorite scene in the musical is the opening, where she shows off her so-called dancing skills.
BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Webber started working on Cats in 1977, which premiered four years later on West End, but Joanna says the impresario has yet to see her as Grizabella. She did share one story she had with Webber, when she gave a private audition for his Jesus Christ
Superstar when they were looking for a Mary Magdalene.
“He’s quite eccentric, in a good way,” Joanna recalls. “I remember when he was listening to me—or when I thought he wasn’t because he was pacing up and down—I went like ‘I wonder if he didn’t like my performance.’ But after the audition, he tapped me and said, ‘That was really good’,” after which Joanna got the job. “He’s very nice, but he’s very… aloof? He’s a genius but there’s always that eccentricity about him. I hope he still remembers me!” laughs Joanna, hoping that he’ll finally catch a glimpse of one of her performance in Manila or Singapore.
One of the most highly praised aspects of Cats is the extensive makeup and costume design which make the cast appear like real felines. Fortunately, Joanna says, the look of Grizabella was updated after former
Pussycat Dolls lead singer and fellow Filipina Nicole Scherzinger-reopened the show in London. “It’s updated,” she says. “It’s based on the original, and it’s the perfect version.”
The actress says she puts on her own makeup. “The makeup artist will teach us one-half of the makeup, and we learn it by copying on the other side by ourselves,” says Joanna. From what used to take an hour and a half, she is able to do her makeup in 20 minutes, partially because of the pressure of doing eight shows a week.
BEYOND CATS
Having done so many roles for the past 20 years, Joanna finds it hard to think a character she wishes to play. “I might sound greedy but I’ve played some of the most iconic roles already. It’d be a bonus to play something else,” admits Joanna. “Mary Poppins is one. She’s not defined by a relationship with a man or anything like that. I like independent characters. Also Elphaba, but Wicked has come here several times already.”
One challenge Joanna would like to take is a role in a Stephen Sondheim musical such as Sweeney Todd, which is currently running at the Theater at Solaire starring Lea Salonga. Though she has sung Sondheim songs at concerts, she has yet to play a role by him. “I think it would be a challenge. It would be one of those shows that sound complicated but once you know it, you’ll be proud of yourself.”
Joanna is also aware that a film version of Cats directed by Tom Hooper (Les Miserables) will be coming out this December, and she expresses her hope it does well. “Although it’s a completely different approach—I’ve only seen the trailer once or twice,” she says. “It has a different look from its stage version, but it’s based on it, so I hope they do really well.”
Due to popular demand, Cats has extended its Manila season and will run from Nov. 6 to Dec. 1 at the The Theatre at Solaire.