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[0:00] Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Ariana Grande. Hi, I'm Cynthia Erivo, and you're listening to the Broadway Podcast Network. Visit vpm.fm to discover more. There's a cat over here. There's a cat over there. I'm the one who died. I'm the one who died.

[0:27] Speaker 2: Welcome to the wrong cat died the podcast breakdown of the cat's catastrophe. I'm your host, Mike Abrams, and today we have a special guest. She starred as jelly Alan in the 2016 Broadway revival. Welcome Sarah Jean Ford and thanks for being here. Thank you for having me. So I want to start with my first question I kind of always like to ask, which was, what was your history and knowledge of cats prior to being on the show? Have you had you seen it? Did you see it as a kid? What was your familiarity with it?

[0:57] Speaker 3: Okay, well, I remember telling these stories, and I'm telling it again. I hated cats, but I didn't know, like, I didn't know it, you know, I was judging it before I knew it, and I I just like, I was just like, I don't know. I wanted to, I think I wanted to have an opinion at a very young age. You know about my my craft before. No, no. Okay, no. So used to like theory of it, yes, you know, like those people that did that with rent, you know, those people, so I did it with cats. And my mom would always be like, Oh, my God, we should get this soundtrack. Sarah, like, at Blockbuster, you know, we go to Blockbuster and pick out CDs, and I'd be like, sick, Mom, I don't want cats.

[1:44] Speaker 3: No, I did not. I did Phantom, and it did, like, you know, forever plaid, of course. But then I got the audition, and then I was like, I'm gonna get this I like new pretty

[1:56] Speaker 2: much, right away. And then how did your mindset shift right away? Well, it had

[2:00] Speaker 3: to. I mean, as an actor, obviously, I'm like, I have to believe in what I'm doing, and I have to, like, really invest and be, you know, I like, I like being creative. And I remember, before rehearsal started, I was like, Trevor Nunn, better have us on our knees like, meowing and catting for like, a week. And we did, yeah, that is exactly what we did, and it was genius. Before

[2:21] Speaker 2: your rehearsals, did you watch any of the other versions? And

[2:26] Speaker 3: yeah, Tyler Haynes and I. Tyler is my best friend, my BFF. He and I sat down and we watched it sober, stone cold, sober. And we were like, but I felt like I was high, you know, when I watched it, yeah, but when I was watching it, I think at one point at the same time, we were like, What can I curse on him? Yeah, sure. I was like, What the fuck is going on right now? And he was like, Sarah, what are we doing right now? The

[2:58] Speaker 2: first time I saw it, it was the, I think the movie it's with. This is 40, maybe, or the one, where is it? Oh, my God. Now I'm drawing a blank on who they go to see Cirque du Soleil in Vegas, and they take a bunch of drugs. Oh, right, yeah. So when I saw it, that I saw matinee on us on a Saturday, and I was like, I should have, I was way too sober to see this the first time I saw it. Yes,

[3:22] Speaker 3: I often made jokes about starting a business out of the stage door, selling catnip. And it would just be pot brownies. And then I was going to start it on the stage door and be like, you have to take it a half hour so it sets in right when this time happens. And then, and I had all these dreams of doing and then I was like, I will go to prison if I get caught. Like, I'm, like, dealing from I will even I will get blacklisted from the Broadway community. I was like, that could be, like, a great thing. I would have, like, sudden stardom.

[3:55] Speaker 2: So that's, that's something that's something that I did want to ask about, which is, if you're advocating needing drugs to see this show, okay, why do so many parents bring children? Because

[4:06] Speaker 3: children are don't need drugs to be that happy and that we in the moment and present. But there's

[4:12] Speaker 2: so much about this show that's not age appropriate. Absolutely not.

[4:16] Speaker 3: There's nothing appropriate about anything. I'm a mom. I watch everything. So everything sucks. Would you bring your kids? Yeah, my three year old daughter came. You asked jelly, Lauren, well,

[4:28] Speaker 2: okay, she had a very well you were in it. That's different to see mom, yeah. What about in three years? Five years, nobody, the traveling shows around is going on. Would you bring you're not in it anymore. Would you bring

[4:42] Speaker 3: your kids? Well, no, I'm not gonna go see that show right now. I'm sorry. No desire right now. Maybe I will later when I'm like, I want to revisit that moment of my life. But no, I no desire to take my kid. You know, I mean, do we talk about the movie like everyone's like, Oh my god. What's your opinion on the movie, and, and? And I'm like, Guys, it's cats. Like, it's like, a weird show. Of course it's gonna look weird, like it's cats. If it came out right now, people would be like, what? But at the time, I think the time needed it, you know, like, there was something about that, just like 80s. Just like, Yeah, I mean, like, it's like 80s. So how would you describe

[5:24] Speaker 2: the show to someone who'd never seen it? If it is, I mean, 80s is a good description, but there, how would you describe the story? Because I think that's going to be the challenge for the moviegoers. Yeah, there's the plots loose

[5:36] Speaker 3: well, and then, like, the little secrets of like, the cats, you know, Journey is that, like every original cast member came up with, like, a very, very intense back story for each and every one of them. And they all, like, really justified whatever story that was that they themselves were telling. And then in every company, from then on, they would be encouraged to find a new story within the like building blocks of whatever they had created, which was essentially that we were sort of like a little cat village, and we knew each other, and then somehow, and there was, like a caretaker and a cleaning cat, and you know the one that sort of is like the prince of The mall, and there's the bad boy. And then, and then there was Grizabella, and she did something that we all detested, something she had done, something she had been someone. She had been someone to each and every one of us that we all just disliked so much that we turned on her,

[6:40] Speaker 3: then the youngest of us said, Hey, like, I want to be like her. And then suddenly we realized, oh, like, we're teaching our children, like not to not accept those that are different than us, than have been through hardship and trauma.

[6:59] Speaker 3: have to, because I did it for a while, so I had to believe in it. Oh, yeah, like jelly, Loram and and Grizabella were sisters in my world, and Grizabella stole my only chance at love, and I never loved again, and I just became a weird nurse cat to this old love with buster. No, I know I was, so that's the rumor we can

[7:22] Speaker 2: get into that I was, we can get into the buster, the the family tree, or of sorts.

[7:28] Speaker 3: Well, I did have sort of like a thing for him when I did it. But yeah, because

[7:32] Speaker 2: that's the rumors that you Grizabella and Buster from our friends growing up, and then you, you were friends with Grizabella. I

[7:40] Speaker 3: was, I was sisters with her, okay? Sisters, yeah. And

[7:47] Speaker 3: which no one of the rumors. What is this rumor from? Oh, there's rumors. There's a lot of they're not from our particular version. Is what I'm saying. Every particular cast comes up with their own. I would love

[7:58] Speaker 2: that they somebody to tell me any version, right? Because I I'm trying to break them down. And

[8:04] Speaker 3: well, and here's the thing. And then you like, you know, you get new cast members, and suddenly they don't know. They're not in on that, like, idea, you know, we haven't all sat down and said, like, Okay, this is who we are to each other, you know. And and then things change, and everything kind of gets wonky. I mean, I left the show for nine months in the middle of my I opened it, and then I left to go do a show out of town. And then when I came back, my track opened back up, and I was like, Sure, I'll go back in. And it was so hard, but it was a different cast completely, almost. Yeah. So what is,

[8:34] Speaker 2: what was your backstory when you wrote your story for for jelly? Jelly,

[8:41] Speaker 3: well, because of Tyler Haines being in the production and and us knowing each other for 18 years, like we, we just fed off of each other. And we, we had, like, a whole we were buddies. Like we were super buddies, and we grew up together. And we, we both sort of, like came up with it together. But like, I was Grizabella. I was sisters with grizzabel. I mean, like, we're cats, like, there's like, we're probably all related, yeah, dotted lines in this family, yeah? So much incest. Let's get real. But like, I so we all sort of grew up together, the three of us and and we wait. Tyler has a whole thing about, um, Gus. Like, Gus was our family as well. He was a part of our family. There's a

[9:29] Speaker 2: rumor that, like a few of you, including you, I'm trying to think who else that were actually part of a family's house, like you were house cats. Oh, you like, broke out for the the ball. Well, we also

[9:41] Speaker 3: all have this like question, like, I have a collar,

[9:44] Speaker 2: so that's what everyone who has a collar, I think was, that was how that theory was, right? All

[9:50] Speaker 3: sort of have collar like, I feel like everyone has a collar, don't they?

[9:54] Speaker 2: I don't think. I don't know. I've seen this show twice. That's part of the reason I'm breaking this down. On is because I had traumatic experiences in my few times, and I'm trying to, as a theater outsider, really trying to figure out what's happening, no, and I'm grateful my mom brought my sister, and I'm grateful I was not brought because I was not expecting anybody to come into the crowd as an adult. Horrifying for me. So I can't imagine as a child, did you see our production? I didn't. I saw the last preview.

[10:23] Speaker 3: Wow, I might have gotten in your face. I made a kid cry one day, and I was so I think I was just like, it was like previews. So we were like, rehearsing during the day and then doing the show at night, and I was just tired, guys. I was like, a new single mom at the time with a three year old at home. So I was like, a just turned three year old. What was I doing? And I was like, just eating so much food and just like shaking in the corner, like we all were, we were just dead by the end of that process, because it was the hardest. It was like war. We went through war together anyways, and I went into the audience with my green eyes, which I was a job that I fought for. PS, I was like, driven on. Make me one of those. I will live my life. I will live my best life in no and I got out there and I was like, This is terrible. Why did I choose this awful job to, like, just scare people anyways. And I got in a little girl's face, and I made her cry. And I started crying. I started Corona because I was so tired. And I was just like, Oh, I'm a mom and I it was great. Gave me a lot to work with. You know? I was, like, really invested in my performance that night.

[11:29] Speaker 2: Again, why are children at the show? I

[11:32] Speaker 3: don't know. I don't know you. You made

[11:35] Speaker 2: a kid cry. Yeah, and that's going to be there. They're never going to own an actual cat in your

[11:43] Speaker 2: I'll apologize, so you get a very like, sincere, emotional performance in the yeah and the play. Tell me about, I mean, because I already chatted with Christopher here, I know. Tell me about working with him and singing and having that song. I mean, it comes right after intermission, which I thought was an interesting choice to have a very quiet, I know it's emotional song, right after everyone gets new drinks and food, yeah,

[12:10] Speaker 3: it sort of forces them to, like, listen in a weird way, like they're and they don't really listen at first. And you can, like, I can feel them, and I'm like, Ah, I can't grab you. I can't grab you. And then, like, and then eventually I get them. So it has to be, like, super she has to be super approachable and, like, warm and inviting, in a way. And so, yeah. Anyways, let's see working with Christopher. Girl. I'll start there because he is one of the most delightful humans that has entered into my life. I met him, I think the Christmas before, at a at a party, a friend's party, and we talked about meditation. And I was like, hmm, I like you. And then, and then we got the show together, and I don't know, I don't know how to explain that, that that on stage and off stage relationship, it's like, one of the most special I've had. I'm getting choked up even thinking about it. He's just, like, such a lovely human and we just worked off of each other. It's just one of those relationships. I mean, I've had, like, maybe a couple of them in my career, and he is it just tops it. It's like, the top, yeah. So

[13:15] Speaker 2: you've been a part of the cast, if you didn't play jelly, which character would you want to like, which performance would you really want to do? Which is,

[13:24] Speaker 3: I mean, I wanted to, I wanted to play Grizabella, like, I remember sitting there and being like, I would like to play this role like, I think I can sing it, and I think I can do this. And this would be a wonderful thing to do. So I would go straight to that, just because, yeah, and then, and then I think I would like to play Demeter. Oh, but more than Demeter, I want to play monkey strap.

[13:45] Speaker 2: Interesting. Okay, the narrator, basically, absolutely, but Demeter has got a interesting story. Demeter

[13:52] Speaker 3: is really cool. I think she would be, like, really fun. See here, here's the silly part. That was like, that's not what my physical life lets me do I wouldn't be able to dance to me or monkey strap. No, I could probably dance Andy's Andy, Andy's a good dancer, but I could probably do that.

[14:10] Speaker 2: So not actors, but characters. What's your favorite and least favorite cat?

[14:17] Speaker 3: Right? Not actors, characters and fake. Want to go that route and favorite, I feel like, I feel like I didn't ever like the the meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, what is her name? Is the what is her name? The one that sing, one that it touches. No, that's the white cat. But the the one that sings, the one that sings the little one, the Sarah Brightman one, I don't have no idea. Okay, I can't, I can't think of it right now. Why is the least favorite? Though, I don't know. Because I think she's, I think she's under. Developed, okay,

[15:04] Speaker 3: I get it. It's always gonna be, always Peter. I would say my favorite is Monkey strap. Okay, he's the best one. I feel like he would be so fun to play. He's

[15:22] Speaker 2: a little under appreciated. Ah, he could be so cool. He does have a nice fight scene with Macavity, yeah,

[15:29] Speaker 3: staging. That was so much fun. I put myself in that number, actually, yeah, I did. I put myself because I was like, Okay, well, I can't stand around in this right now, like, I have to put so I learned it, and then I just put myself in it. Like he never said, No, Sarah, and that you fought with bonus trap. I didn't fight with him, but, yeah, I was in the like, like, that fun thing. I was in that part

[15:56] Speaker 2: that was fun. So you did. You talked a little bit about the movie. Are you going to see the movie? Of

[15:59] Speaker 3: course, I think a group of us have talked about seeing it together. So yeah, absolutely. And we have friends in it. You know, Robbie Fairchild is a lovely friend of mine, and Judy Dench Just kidding. We're like, really, they're just best friends. We're just best friends, I don't know. Um Yeah. Want to support it. Yeah, absolutely neutral. Okay, when friends have jobs, and I like when people have jobs and and art gets made, you know, it's supposed to make us go E or yay, or whatever. That's what art's supposed to do. So we've got to do it,

[16:42] Speaker 2: Okay, so my final question, which is the premise of my podcast, yes, which is that I think grizabell is the wrong choice to die at the end of the movie, right? Okay, do you agree with me? And if not, who do you think should have died?

[16:55] Speaker 3: Oh, I mean, Old Deuteronomy is like, basically on his last leg, so we could probably,

[17:01] Speaker 2: can he die, though? Because he seems like the judge. I feel like he's making the decision, he's dying.

[17:06] Speaker 3: Yeah, no, he's he's dying. I think that was one of the things that we decided on, that he was dying. And because monkey strap is the prince, he's sort of the king and and then rum tone Tugger and monkey strap are our brothers, and I feel like you need

[17:23] Speaker 2: to tell us more of the story that you, that you wrote here with your I

[17:27] Speaker 3: don't know if I know that much of it this. I'll tell you what I know their brothers and and they're like, Yeah, that's sort of their father, and he's definitely dying, and monkey strap is definitely waiting to step into the next position. Is like, sort of like, the the Gandhi, you know, of the group, I think he's definitely like, he's like, the the higher power, the Buddha, the he's

[17:53] Speaker 3: takes those pictures with those kids, and oh, Q is the best person to do that. Ah, man. And he loved it. He loved every second of it. I was

[18:04] Speaker 2: so confused the first time I saw it, because no one went up there. Oh yeah, I know. So everyone was just staring. Well,

[18:10] Speaker 3: we didn't open that up for a while, and the cast fought that tooth and nail. We were like, This is not Disneyland, folks. This is a Broadway show, if you're gonna, like, make this happen, do it. But you know, whatever. Okay,

[18:25] Speaker 2: so brothers waiting to take over, waiting to take over. Where does Mongo Jerry and rumpelteezer fit in? Mongo Jerry

[18:34] Speaker 3: and rumpelteezer are? They're sort of like the bad cats that are, like, you know, like they are part of society, but they're for them, but they're just the troublemakers in the society that we sort of have. They're, they're the thieves. Andy blanket Bueller actually had this, like, I'm supposed to say this, but he had this brilliant idea to, like, to like, make them thieve Buster for Jones, and like, in a scene and, like, have them sort of like, thieve him and and the and he was, he had an idea theory that maybe they also worked for from cavity. Macavity, yeah, yeah,

[19:12] Speaker 2: that's, that's a very big rumor. Okay. Mccavity is, gets his powers from Mr. Mesophiles. Oh, yeah, okay. Like, and runs the cat gang. I don't know what you want to call it, yeah, but that's mostly Mungo Jerry and rubble teaser, right? And he's in an abusive relationship with Demeter. Yes, yeah, yes. Okay, so I'm piecing some of this together, yeah, yeah. Okay. And then where's Gus fit in for this?

[19:38] Speaker 3: Well, Tyler and I sort of decided that we, like, we all sort of like, grew up going to the theater, like, hanging out with him at the theater. I think, I think there was something about us being cats together, like we were cats together family and. And that we've like, seen him since he was like a young like, we've all seen him like the the three of us, I think at least Grizabella and and, and from Tugger and jelly. What are our names? And then

[20:15] Speaker 2: there's a rumor that RAM Tom Tucker and skimbo Shanks, the two actors in your revival, yes, had some interesting relationship off stage. Really, no one's been able to confirm it or deny it.

[20:29] Speaker 3: Am I supposed to be secretive about this? Why isn't it? No one,

[20:33] Speaker 2: yeah, everyone said it's not a big deal. But there's a rumor on a fan page that says they had some they had some trouble, or maybe it was a positive. It was just saying rum tuck Tugger and skimble shakes, no, nothing. That's hilarious to me, right? So, okay, so I'll, I'll submit the feedback to the rumor mill. Well, I mean,

[20:53] Speaker 3: no rumor mill, that's hilarious. There is a cast rumor mill. Oh, but I'm sure it's like one person said it, probably

[21:00] Speaker 2: it's just me writing it all at this point, right?

[21:03] Speaker 3: Well, it's like all the like, you know, girl fans of like, Sex and the City were like, aren't all of them, like, in a fight right now, like all the actors, like in a fight, you know, that's like

[21:13] Speaker 2: a rumor. I hope that people look at cats the same way they look at Sex in the City. Of course, I do,

[21:18] Speaker 3: um, no, but no, there's no no, okay, there's no beef I know of there. And if I if I was like, going to be silent, then I think, then,

[21:26] Speaker 2: yeah, you just wouldn't have said anything. Yeah, I'm gonna speak. No comment. I'm gonna speak for them. Well, thank you so much for being here. Sure, I'm so happy to be how can we find you on social

[21:37] Speaker 3: media? Oh gosh, my Instagram is at Sweet Ford. That's good enough. I don't really tweeter, perfect. Yeah.

[21:53] Speaker 2: Thanks for listening to this bonus episode with Sarah Jean Ford on the wrong cat died, the podcast breakdown of the cat's atrophy. Thank you for being