(2018) Cats - Magical Mr. Mistoffelees

I grew up watching the original ALW Cats musical on VHS. I knew the songs, I loved the characters, and in 2018 I decided it was time for a rewatch of my childhood favorite. It became an all consuming obsession that led to hours upon hours of hairbrush karaoke and interpretive dance, two annoyed parents, and several inside jokes with friends. It also led to a tearful goodbye to both of my cats in the coming years, who were there with me when I was little. Singing 'Memory' to your dying cat is just heartbreak on a completely different level. So not only was Cats something special to me when I was little- but it became something irreplaceable in my adulthood, as well.
When I was little, my favorite was Grizabella. After the rewatch- I still loved and sympathized with Grizabella-- but my heart was with Jacob Brent's Mistoffelees. The way he portrayed his character was so energetic, but still so shy-- I loved the vibe. That, and the idea of a tuxedo cat doing magic tricks is just genius. In this piece, I wanted to pay tribute to both ALW and Brent. The old 90's CGI effect of the rainbow sashes was unforgettable, so I wanted to incorporate a feeling of nostalgia into this piece by using those sashes. As for Mistoffelees himself, I hadn't really ventured into animal-human anatomy before, so I just did something weirdly in between. Perhaps someday I'll redo this piece, and actually get Mistoffelees to look like Brent in the musical...