This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Mike Abrams: There's a cat over here. There's a cat over there. And the wrong one died. And the wrong one died.

[0:15] Mike Abrams: Welcome to The Wrong Cat Died, the podcast breakdown of the Catastrophe. I'm your host, Mike Abrams, and today we have another amazing guest. He was Alonzo on the US National Tour 4 for multiple years, and then he brought his Alonzo to Broadway in the original production. So welcome, General McArthur Hambrick, and thank you for joining me.

[0:31] General McArthur Hambrick: Thank you for the invitation.

[0:32] Mike Abrams: I'm excited to have you here because I love the tour to Broadway kind of path. You know, you get to really go around the country and do it for multiple years. And then you get to go on to the Winter Garden, you know, on the biggest stage. But let's, before we get there, before we get to the tour and all the fun and all the craziness, I always love to hear, especially for someone, I mean, you were doing this before the 1998 movie, which is what most people now always reference. So what was your introduction to Cats as a musical?

[1:02] General McArthur Hambrick: Well, mine's a funny story, because I had not seen it. I hadn't heard about it, because I went to be a concert performer. So I was a concert dancer, dancing forward ballet. Then I started dancing in a modern company in Dallas, Texas. I'm from Fort Worth, Texas. And I started dancing with a modern company. And my stage manager came up to me one day and said, "Cats is coming through town." I said, "What?" And because they used to do auditions in each city that, not each city, but some cities that were big cities that had dance, they did an audition in Dallas when they were in Dallas. And my stage manager said, "You should go." And so I missed work that day and went to the Cats audition at the State Fair Music Hall in Dallas, Texas.

And it was, I guess it was about 50 guys. It was an all-male audition. And so I went to that audition and out of 50 people, they kept two of us. Two. Two. Just two. Out of 50. And at that time, I don't know if you've heard of Stanley Lebowski. He was the musical director at the time. And not long after the audition, he passed away. And so I just thought I wasn't going to get the show, because he really liked me. The reason I know that is because there was an article in the local newspaper talking about the total black guy that auditioned for the show. And so months later, I got a call from what they got to a new fell. Yeah, I think that's what the name of the production producers. But anyway, they called and said, "Hey, can you come and audition for our new musical director?" And so they flew me out to California. It was California to audition. And it was several of us there. And after that, I got the show. And that's how I got the National Four.

[3:21] Mike Abrams: Wow. You basically went with no knowledge of what you're signing up for. Here's this audition. Yeah, Cats. You've never seen it. Barely ever heard of it. And you go in with 50 other guys.

[3:35] General McArthur Hambrick: Yeah, because I'm a musical, you know, in the summertime, I do musical theater. I've heard of this show, but I know nothing about it. And my friend said, "You should audition for Mistoffelees." And then I said, after I found out more about this show, I said, "He's a little guy." Yeah. So no, I won't be auditioning. So they saw me as like, at the beginning, they saw me like, as a MonkaStrap, Alonzo, that group of people. But when I got the show, when I got the four national, it was Alonzo. Yeah. So yeah, understudy Rum Tum Tugger. Because you're taller. So like, that is, that's a big difference in the show where there is like, you know, you can't have a six-foot Mistoffelees. Like, that's not gonna be allowed.

[4:29] General McArthur Hambrick: Exactly. So yeah, so that kind of almost limited no matter how great you could do the turns and the dance. You're too tall for Mistoffelees. Yeah, because I was very balletic. I was, that was my, I went to TCU as a dance major, ballet, strictly. And so that's why my friend said that. Yeah. You should audition for Mistoffelees. Nope, wrong character.

[4:52] Mike Abrams: Yeah. You could have been the tallest Mistoffelees ever, probably, if you ever understudied it. That's so that's okay. So that now, so they fly you out. So nothing happens in Texas, right? Like you audition, you get to the final two, but then since he passes away, there's no, they're stopping in and doing these auditions, but they're not bringing you on tour. They fly you back out. And then do you come in part way or do you start a full new year? What do you mean? For the tour four.

[5:15] General McArthur Hambrick: Oh, because it's been multiple years, right? Yeah. I was an original tour. Okay. Original two or four. Yeah. That was the third national that was in Dallas.

[5:20] Mike Abrams: Got it. Okay. Yeah. I'm sorry. It didn't make that.

[5:28] General McArthur Hambrick: No, no, that makes sense. That was the third national that was in Dallas and they were auditioning for the new, uh, fourth national.

[5:40] Mike Abrams: Okay. That makes sense. Yeah. Cause the three to four, so the tour numbers, they all, none of them make sense to me. I'm starting to figure it out, but I knew three was like the first time it really went on tour really around the United States and then four started. And then five was an equity tour that went for like 15 years. And then six now was pre-pandemic. And then currently, and it's the U.S. tours of their, their interesting numbers, but yeah. Okay. So you, now you get it and you're in this first group that's going out on tour. And, and I might add this too, because a lot of those people in national four had come from the LA company.

[6:13] General McArthur Hambrick: Okay. Cause it had, it was closing or had closed already. I don't remember exactly, but that's why I got to work with people who had done it in LA and we got to be really good friends.

[6:33] Mike Abrams: Yeah. So that was going to be my next question for you, which is, I love hearing a little bit about that initial rehearsal process and especially about the learning the story. So you're joining a group that knows the story, or at least it's kind of like, yeah, some of them have known it. And some of them have like, kind of created their own relationships and stuff from doing it. But then there's also the, like the, the sit down, I kind of always think of it like a campfire circle where you're getting to be told this like horror story. And then you have to kind of then build these pieces in, especially for you as Alonzo, you also play the Rumpus cat, you have some other stuff, you're understudying Tugger. What was that experience like? And what do you remember from it?

[7:10] General McArthur Hambrick: Well, like I said, there were only a few, it wasn't the whole LA company. It was just like a few here and there. The dance captain was actually from the LA company, Lee Webster. Okay. And, uh, when we first got the rehearsal, I think it was two of us maybe. Cause they asked, they say, who has never seen the show before? Because they were going to give us tickets to go see the Broadway company since we were rehearsing at 890 Broadway, you know, uh, the big rehearsal studio at that time. And, um, so I think it was two of us, me and a friend of really good friend of mine now. Only two of you have not seen it. Had not seen it. And, um, so they, uh, during the rehearsal process, we would crawl around, you know, and they wanted us to get used to like acting like we were cleaning ourselves or cleaning each other and that kind of, I mean, strangers, we never met each other.

We're like rubbing against each other. So it was, it was challenging at times. And me with my kind of silliness, I started to laugh a little bit. Uh, cause I had never done anything like that before. And I just remember it's T Michael said, if you think this is funny, you shouldn't be here. And I, that, that was it for the rest of the time. I took that show so seriously sometimes almost too seriously because, um, I really got into the character of Alonzo if that makes sense.

[9:00] Mike Abrams: Yeah. Yeah. And, but that first rehearsal, I had to get used to that because I'd never done any of that improvisational type work before, because I was a ballet major.

[9:07] General McArthur Hambrick: Yeah. You're told what to do every time. Yeah. It's very precise. Yeah. Cause I didn't study musical theater in college. Yeah. Yeah. So it was new.

[9:13] Mike Abrams: So the two of you go to the show, I'm surprised they didn't just send everybody. What was your, they gave everybody the opportunity, but I mean, if you wanted to go see it, you could go see it, but what was that first viewing like?

[9:27] General McArthur Hambrick: Truthfully? Yeah. I said, I looked at my friend and said, "Is this what I'm doing?" So it was, it was a shock, you know, because I never seen it before, but, um, it's one of those shows that it's more fun to do. I think then to watch, especially for your first time, because it is confusing to some people when you first see it for the first time, but I will say the dancing blew me away because I, I always think Jillian's land career, it was like a cross between modern and ballet and jazz, you know, and it was, but it was very balletic, which fit my body. So I think that's part of the reason I, you know, I got the show because I was from a ballet company.

[10:16] Mike Abrams: Yeah. Wow. So you, so you're walking out of that theater going, what did I sign myself up for? You're having, it was pretty wild. And did you like overwatch the Alonzo? Like, were you like trying to kind of hone in on what?

[10:29] General McArthur Hambrick: Yeah, I was exactly doing that. Matter of fact, when, um, we got into rehearsals really deep into rehearsals and everything. And, uh, the whole thing just began to take over your body pretty much. And, uh, I was wondering, I said, okay, there used to, I don't know if you know this, but the original Broadway company, Alonzo did a shadow dance behind Demeter and Bombalurina. Okay. It kind of like in the shadows and he did kind of mimicking them and doing extensions and stuff. I couldn't wait to learn the shadow dance, you know? So I got to rehearsal and it wasn't happening. It wasn't happening. So I finally got up enough nerves and I went up to T Michael Reed and said, "Am I going to learn the shadow dance?" And he said, "We don't do that on the tour." I mean, I wanted to do it so bad because it was all about extensions and developés. And that was, it was beautiful to watch that on Broadway. Then did you eventually get to do it on?

[11:47] General McArthur Hambrick: I did. Eventually that's, that was a full circle.

[11:54] Mike Abrams: Okay. Now, I want to go back to your rehearsal now. You've seen the show, you watched it, you're wondering with your friend, what did we sign up for? You're now serious, you're not laughing anymore. But when they start telling you the story, what did they tell you that you need to know about Alonzo? Like, what was it? You got to play these relationships. This is because he's not the most well-written character. There's not a ton like there is with the other characters.

[12:26] General McArthur Hambrick: Exactly. And that's what I don't remember exactly. I don't remember if something that I made up, if something that Richard Stafford or T. Michael Ray told me at the time, but I knew that Alonzo wanted to be Monkestrath. I wanted to follow in Monkestrath's footsteps and eventually take that space. And that's why during the fight, the big fight, where he comes to take Demeter, tries to take Demeter away. Macavity tries to take Demeter away. I'm right there helping Monkestrath, helping him fight Macavity to keep him from taking Demeter away again. And so that was my main focus during Alonzo Isaiah. I wanted to be like this Monkestrath. I wanted to take his place one day. That was my whole storyline.

And I was very good friends with, which I hadn't heard any of your other guests say, but I was very good friends with Cassandra because we danced together. It was even one part during the, I think it was during the ball when I would do a lift with her that was similar to the lift that Plato does with Victoria. So I was trying to be this macho Alonzo because I wanted to eventually, like I said, take over the tribe, hopefully, or be the leader.

[14:20] Mike Abrams: So those make sense. Was there any other relationships that you tried to lean into? So there's obviously the dance with Cassandra. There's wanting to be Monkestrath. There's probably a little bit with Demeter because of that moment of her being kidnapped. What else was it like? Did you just get to kind of play around with certain characters? Was it a certain friendships that you had offstage that turned into onstage kind of friendships?

[14:42] General McArthur Hambrick: Yeah, you hit it right on the head because Pounceable was a really good friend outside of the theater. So I always treated him like my little brother on stage. We get in trouble sometimes, actually, because I don't know if you know this, but every once in a while, the dance captain or the supervisors would come in and surprise us. So Pounceable and I had this little thing that every now and then we would do this big jeté offstage because that was the great thing about Cats. They wanted you to not do the same show every night. How you get to this space, as long as you're there at the time you're supposed to be there, how you get there didn't really matter. It wasn't like you had to do this. So I like that kind of improvisational part of it.

But Pounceable and I, we had this thing where we'd like to do a big jeté off the stage in one of our exits. And I remember Richard coming in and saying, don't do that. Not very Cat-like. So we got in trouble that night.

[16:03] General McArthur Hambrick: Yeah, they're like, you can do a different thing, but not too far. Just a little too far. Don't go too far. And then my relationship with Cassandra was pretty throughout the show. I just, I don't know, we felt a closeness that I didn't feel with the other Cats. And yeah, so that was it.

[16:26] Mike Abrams: So one thing I think that's fascinating of having you did four years of the tour is you have a little bit of the, you have change every year. It's not a full new cast, but not everybody stays for all four years. So did you notice a difference of the relationship with the next Pounceable or with the next Cassandra or with the next Monkestrath? There's that kind of thought of the cat to cat, I should have this. But when you have different people, did you notice that those stories tweaked and evolved depending on who it was each year?

[16:59] General McArthur Hambrick: It did, and you're going to get me in trouble. But sometimes that is very important though, because when you start with somebody, it's very different than trying to create that same thing with something new. However, with the Cassandra, that same feeling kept transferring from one to the other. And it was about three and a half years actually that stayed the whole four years. But some of those relationships, like you said, didn't remain because I didn't feel like some of the people that came in later took it as serious as I did. And like I said, after that first day at that laughing moment, I really took it seriously because I felt like we were a family. And that family happened off stage and on stage. And so sometimes when people didn't take it, and some people came in because it was good money. And then you start treating it like a job, like I feel some people do. And so it loses something.

[18:23] Mike Abrams: It is such an interesting part of musical theater is that it is a job. At the end of the day, it's a career and a job. And you're performing, and there's going to be some characters that you relate to and some that you don't. And some shows that are like really you're a huge fan of, and others you might not be. And at the end of the day, you're probably going to take some of those jobs if there's good money in there. So I feel like it's one of those things in Cats is so polarizing that there's got to be... I've interviewed a few. If you listen back to the catalog of people, you can hear the people who are like, they were there because it was a really great opportunity, and they had fun with it, and they made the most of it, but they don't think about this show ever at all.

And there's others who are fans, and this was a dream show, and they were so excited to do it or fell in love with it as they were doing it. And I'm like, I kind of get both sides of that because with work I do, there are definitely times where I'm like, oh my God, this is the best day ever. And there are times I'm like, I just got to get through today, depending on what you're doing.

[19:30] General McArthur Hambrick: Yeah. And I think of this show as that first group. Like I said, we're still friends to this day. We still have gatherings in New York. We still get together periodically. We just... I mean, it was a while ago. We had a big reunion in California, one of the understudies for Grisabella, her house, and all these people came from all over to come to be together again. And we still do that. Yeah, because it was nothing like that first group of cats that we... Yeah, nothing like crawling around with strangers, like rolling on top of each other and trying to become best friends. It's such a unique piece.

[20:11] General McArthur Hambrick: It is really... And then on tour, you add the travel and all. You have to almost become a family.

[20:16] General McArthur Hambrick: Right. And sometimes I would get... I think you mentioned Green Eyes one time, but that Green Eyes was really dangerous for me because I went a little crazy sometimes. Get too many people. And that was my worst injury. Yeah, my worst injury was doing Green Eyes because I, like I said, I thought I was a cat. I'm trying to be a cat. And I ran into one of the seat handle... Oh, yeah, the armrests. The armrests, thank you, with my thigh. And so my swing had to go on that night.

[21:04] General McArthur Hambrick: Wow. When I got out to the stage, it started swelling. It was terrible. Well, this is a perfect transition because I think one of the most fun things I've been able to pick up from this podcast is hearing funny memorable stories from tour. Because it seems wild. It seems like there's always a show you do eight times a week, you're in different cities all the time, you're moving around. Nothing's always going to go perfect. So what do you remember? What are some of the funny stories you remember from your years of doing the show on tour?

[21:29] General McArthur Hambrick: Oh, I guess one of my favorites was when we were... It's this one part where we turn around and look at Deuteronomy and he's singing the dressing of... Is it the dressing of cats? No, not the dressing. It's the ear and the... Oh, this is this. I think that's the addressing of cats. The beginning is the naming of cats, right?

[21:58] Mike Abrams: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So anyway, we turn around and he says, so this is this and this is that, but he couldn't remember the whole thing. So he had to keep composure. But I guess the stage manager saw a body shaking a little bit. But that was one of the funniest things. But what I was talking about earlier, I sometimes would get into being a cat a little bit too much. So I thought I could jump from one side, stage left. I thought I could jump from stage left and jump onto the tire. We were in Buffalo, New York. That was early on in the tour, actually. And so I left towards the tire and hit my knee.

[22:54] General McArthur Hambrick: Didn't make it?

[22:54] General McArthur Hambrick: Didn't make it. Didn't make it. So that was another story. And those are the things that I remember more clearly than anything else, I think.

[23:05] Mike Abrams: That is very cat. There's a lot of videos on the internet of cats attempting to jump from one part to the other and not make it.

[23:11] General McArthur Hambrick: Are you serious?

[23:13] General McArthur Hambrick: Oh, yeah.

[23:14] General McArthur Hambrick: I didn't know that.

[23:17] General McArthur Hambrick: Oh, yeah. So that is very fitting, very fitting for that.

[23:18] General McArthur Hambrick: Oh, that's funny.

[23:18] Mike Abrams: So I would love to hear a little bit now going forward to Broadway. Actually, before we get to Broadway, when did you understudy Tugger? Did you get to go on for Tugger?

[23:29] General McArthur Hambrick: I did. I understudied Tugger on the road, on the tour. And a couple, a few times, yeah, because the guy who played Tugger was so strong that he hardly ever missed.

[23:47] General McArthur Hambrick: I got to go on for Opening Night. So that was the first time I'd been on for an opening night and my voice is very high, so I didn't really understand what they meant. But they said I was a cross between Mick Jagger and Elvis Presley or something like that. I don't know, it was crazy. But that was the first review as Tugger I'd ever had. And that was a chance of a lifetime for sure. Because that's one of my favorite songs on the show, is the Rum Tum Tugger song. Because it's just poppy, you know? So I guess it's such a very different character. If you want to be MonkaS Trap and you're Alonzo, you've got to be very together and animated. It's a much more structured cat in line. And then you go on in Tugger who's just like, I don't care.

Don't care. What is that as a performer? When you were going in and doing Alonzo one night and then going on to do Tugger the next, did you do anything different to get your mind ready to go out and be Tugger and be Mick Jagger and Elvis? Or was it just another night of work? Oh, no. It's definitely had to go in a different direction because I had to put on my sexy. Yeah. You know, because I played Alonzo a little bit that way as well. But with Tugger, I had to be more of a flirt with the ladies. And so I took that a little more to a more masculine side, you know? And really concentrated on more testosterone, trying to make everybody look at me or see me, especially when you got the chance to go and dance with somebody in the audience. Yeah. Because that was like one of my favorite parts.

[25:45] Mike Abrams: Did you ever have any wild experiences with that? Like, because that's kind of a wild card of you're going out there, you don't know. You're trying to probably guess who's going to be the most open to this.

[25:56] General McArthur Hambrick: Right. I didn't. But a couple of times, our Tugger, you know, they wouldn't get up. They just wouldn't get up. And so it kind of ruins it a little bit. Yeah. You try to go to somebody else. But then it's time to go back up on stage.

[26:08] Mike Abrams: Yeah. I was always wondering, did you look around when you're going there? Like, who's going to stand?

[26:15] General McArthur Hambrick: Oh, yeah. That was one of those things. During the whole first part, I'm like trying to figure it out. Because I'm one of those kind of people that hardly ever look in the audience. But when I went on the Tugger, I had to.

[26:28] Mike Abrams: Yeah.

[26:29] General McArthur Hambrick: Because I wanted to make sure I had somebody in mind. Or every now and then, the stage manager, whether the stage manager or the dance captain, would say, I think we got somebody over here. Why don't you look at this person? They would help us out as well.

[26:48] Mike Abrams: Like they look like they're ready to go.

[26:50] General McArthur Hambrick: Yeah. Because there's definitely a group. I'm the opposite audience member. I'm like, I don't want to be in part of it. Green Eyes bothered me. I'm like, no, get away from me. I just want to watch. And there are a couple of shows. There's a show now currently on Broadway that does this, and where they pick one person. And I'm always like, man, is it the same seat every night? I got to remember never to buy that seat. And I'm like, no, it's you're looking for someone who you think will have a good time with it.

[27:15] General McArthur Hambrick: Yeah. And bringing Green Eyes back into the conversation, I do remember one more funny thing. When I was doing it on Broadway, actually, I know you're going to talk about Broadway later. But when I was doing it on Broadway, the guy, they were going around. I think it was the guy who plays Tugger. But anyway, he went up to a guy. A lot of times, it's tourists who've been walking all day. They fall asleep in the audience. And he went up into this guy's face, and the guy woke up and like, the fist went into his ear.

[27:55] Mike Abrams: Because it's just out of?

[27:57] General McArthur Hambrick: It's a reflex.

[27:58] Mike Abrams: Reflex.

[27:58] General McArthur Hambrick: Yeah. I was wondering. I know I did hear a Tugger on the revival that got hit by a kid that startled somebody, and they slapped him, basically.

[28:11] Mike Abrams: Yeah, it scared me. I wasn't on the aisle, thankfully. I wasn't ready for it. I didn't know it was coming. And yeah, it jumped. And even the second time I knew it was coming, I was in the last row of, I think, even the mazzer, maybe even orchestra. And I didn't know that they were going to climb above my head. So I was like, none of this is. And I was ready that time.

[28:31] General McArthur Hambrick: We're going to take a quick break, and then we'll be back for more of The Wrong Cat Died.

[28:36] Mike Abrams: OK, now let's talk Broadway. So I want to hear, what was that transition like? Like, how did you finish the tour and get the call? Did you audition again? What was that experience?

[28:47] General McArthur Hambrick: I moved out the tour. I moved out to LA because I wanted to do film and television. Didn't work out. I ended up doing more musical. Like, I did Chorus Line and did something else. But I thought that I was going to be set up out there. And then I get a call. You want to come do Broadway? Because Scott Taylor, I think the name was, anyway, had a knee injury. So they needed somebody quickly to come and take his place while he went to get surgery. And I said, oh, I don't know. I just wasn't sure because I just moved out there like four or five months ago or something like that. And so maybe it was longer than that, maybe six months. But I said, OK, I'm not going to get this opportunity again. So I say, yeah, I'll do it. And so I went to Broadway.

[29:46] General McArthur Hambrick: And the only thing that took me by surprise, I had forgotten because on the tour, Alonzo does Rumpus Cat. I don't know if you knew that. But on tour, Alonzo does The Great Rumpus Cat. But on Broadway, he doesn't. But that means I had to learn a new part, which is Peaks and the Polygon. Yeah. Peaks and the Polygon. And then I had to learn how to tap as well. I mean, I'm a tapper, but I'm not a great tapper. So I had to put on my tap shoes again and really learn how to tap for the Jenny Any Dots number.

[30:37] Mike Abrams: OK, so they basically added it. Because it is different. And you also got to do your shadow dance. Because I didn't notice that you're accredited in the tour for Alonzo and Rumpus Cat, but it wasn't the same on Broadway. So I actually didn't realize it. It's just because you don't do that number. You're doing a whole different one. So you had to learn. You knew most of the show, but there's still new stuff you got to pick up. And you can't just go in a night later.

[31:02] General McArthur Hambrick: Right, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sorry. I said Peaks and Polygons. I already knew Peaks and Polygons. It was Jenny Any Dots. It was the tap number. That's the one I didn't know. I had to learn the tap number.

[31:15] Mike Abrams: Yeah.

[31:16] General McArthur Hambrick: Oh, man, it's all coming back. And then the shadow, how fun was that? If that's something you remember, you asked about it, and now you get to go do it. What was that like, learning that particular part?

[31:27] General McArthur Hambrick: I just loved it. Like I said, it's the chance to, when I first, I had really nice extensions and stuff. So it was a time for me to kind of go back into that ballet body and do that. Did that kind of dance then.

[31:47] Mike Abrams: That's amazing. And being behind the girls.

[31:51] General McArthur Hambrick: That's an amazing part anyway, the whole Cavity song. That number is amazing.

[31:55] Mike Abrams: Yeah, one of the best numbers in the show.

[31:59] General McArthur Hambrick: So is this Broadway debut?

[32:02] Mike Abrams: It was.

[32:03] General McArthur Hambrick: Yeah, so first time on Broadway debut, Winter Garden.

[32:06] Mike Abrams: Yes.

[32:07] General McArthur Hambrick: What is that very first show performance like?

[32:12] General McArthur Hambrick: Amazing. It's hard to explain, because especially with Cats, because I don't know, so many people, like you get, you remind me of my cat. You make me think of my cat, your eyes and stuff. And that's like the best compliment you can ever get. But that first night, when I walked out of that stage door and saw all those people waiting at the stage door, I said, oh my goodness. This is not going to happen again. I mean, it happened on the road, on tour. But it's so different being at Winter Garden, where it started. And you're in the middle of that. Like, it's been going for a handful of years now. But people know. People know what they're going to see. It's not like a surprise anymore. Like, it's still, like it was a big production.

[33:06] General McArthur Hambrick: Oh yeah, it definitely was. Yeah, so I would say that that first night was very special to me, and something I'll never forget.

[33:19] Mike Abrams: So I want to go a little off topic here, because I saw you did Phantom then on Broadway later.

[33:26] General McArthur Hambrick: Yeah, that's what happened, because the producers, the company management, everything were so good to us and so loyal to us. I like to say that Nina Lannan, Gatlin Newfeld, they were so good to us. And so when I was there doing Cats, when I was on the road, I auditioned for, I came into the city, I auditioned for Miss Saigon, because the same producers and everything. I didn't get it. But while I was there with Cats, they said, why don't you come and audition now? So they brought me over there with two people, two guys, and I got the show after Cats. I got Miss Saigon. And then while I was in Miss Saigon, I talked to Mitchell Lemski, who was the associate director at that time of Miss Saigon.

And I went up to him, I said, Mitchell, if the part for John ever opens up anywhere, please consider me. And so after I had done Miss Saigon on Broadway, I did Phantom. They had an audition for Phantom. Because it's the same group of people, they allowed me to give my notice in Saigon and move into Phantom tour. And so I went on tour with Phantom for a while. But then while I was out on the road with Phantom, Mitchell called and said, OK, the understudy's opening up on the tour of Miss Saigon. Do you want it? And I said, yes. And so I asked Phantom if I could leave and go do Miss Saigon.

[35:20] Mike Abrams: Yeah. I think that what I'm curious about is going from Cats to Phantom, not necessarily in order, but just having experiences with both, being big, really useful group shows, it's got to be polarizingly different rehearsals. And it's such different shows, but still from the same person.

[35:41] General McArthur Hambrick: What is that like as an experience doing them both and one you're crawling around and you know in a unitard and another you're doing this big operatic kind of show? Yeah, it's very different. I mean, of course, Jillian Lynn Phantom as well. And so I don't know if she remembered me or she knew my body. I have no idea, but when I got Phantom the part of the Slave Master and Il Muto, which is a more balletic part would swap places in one sign, but Jillian Lynn decided that I was going to be Slave Master all the time. They changed the name since then. Yeah, I think the name is something different now. Yeah. Anyway, that role, she wanted me to do it all the time. Okay, so I did that and then later on as the tour went off we would start to switch back and forth.

Yeah, but learning it was still very balletic. Mm-hmm, you know double tours and you know soda basket all that kind of stuff and so that part of it was an easy transition. It was still that balletic style of movement that I'm so used to.

[37:11] Mike Abrams: All right. I want to do some rapid-fire for the show. So if you could go on to play one cat one night whether it's male female whether you could do it sing it dance it who would you want to go on us for one night?

[37:27] General McArthur Hambrick: I guess I'd have to say MonkaStrap.

[37:29] Mike Abrams: MonkaStrap, true. Alonzo, you're ready to the end. We just had the best MonkaStrap, he was so debonair and so powerful. Just, you know, it was easy to want to be that in the show.

[37:46] General McArthur Hambrick: So I love as I've recorded a hundred and forty plus of these that whenever I ask these rapid-fire questions almost without fail the character influences answer. It's like no matter what I asked it's like oh, yeah.

[37:59] Mike Abrams: Cuz my next one is gonna be your favorite and least favorite cat and a lot of times I just hated this. But as Alonzo, I hate this character. But so I want to ask that for you is but not as Alonzo you. Which forget actors and actresses forget performers which cat personality wise would be your favorite who would be your best friend and who would be the one you'd be like, oh my god I can't stand this?

[38:23] General McArthur Hambrick: Who would be my best friend? Oh, man, that's hard. I'd have to say Cassandra.

[38:29] Mike Abrams: Yeah, yeah true sticking true. Okay. Yeah, what about least favorite who would drive you crazy?

[38:36] General McArthur Hambrick: That's hard because none of them drove me crazy. No, there has to be one. It's the family, you know, it's a family tribe, you know, you've always got that one cousin or one. We're just like they're here today now or that one person that you know in the family, you still love them, you know, you've got the they're still your relative but you know, there's one that rubs you a little bit the wrong way. I really can't I started it but if I have to do I have to?

[39:05] Mike Abrams: Yeah, we gotta pick one.

[39:09] General McArthur Hambrick: Oh gosh, that's so hard. I don't know. I don't know cuz I liked all the cats. I didn't I mean even the characters. Yeah, I don't know. Okay. I really I can't say they would get on my nerves.

[39:27] Mike Abrams: Yeah.

[39:29] General McArthur Hambrick: No, no, I'm gonna check that. Okay. Okay. What's your what's your favorite song from the show?

[39:36] General McArthur Hambrick: Tugger.

[39:37] Mike Abrams: Yeah, it's a great one. It's definitely my favorite song and gotta be fun being able to do you got to do it.

[39:44] General McArthur Hambrick: Yeah.

[39:45] Mike Abrams: Experience that live, you know, not just as a spectator but to go on and do it. Do you have anybody that was the most memorable that you did got to dance with like somebody that like really leaned in when you were doing Tugger from the audience members?

[40:01] General McArthur Hambrick: From the audience? Yes, you know you got the people to kind of get up and dance with you. Did anybody like really get into it?

[40:04] General McArthur Hambrick: Oh, yeah, I don't remember.

[40:10] Mike Abrams: Okay, so nobody that memorable got no.

[40:14] General McArthur Hambrick: Okay, my fun one, I know you're a college professor I believe West Virginia, right? So who which cat do you think would be the best college professor?

[40:26] General McArthur Hambrick: Oh God I don't have to say Jellylorum.

[40:31] Mike Abrams: So I've asked I've had a lot of professors. There's a lot of teachers recently and that's been the most consensus answer.

[40:36] General McArthur Hambrick: I think it's right. She's gonna care for her students.

[40:41] General McArthur Hambrick: The way she takes care of Gus it's just yeah that those but you know what you say favorite song that was another song that really I mean sometimes I would find myself in tears watching that moment when she sings to Gus because it was just so beautiful how she took care of that old cat, you know.

[41:08] Mike Abrams: Yeah, yeah, I think that's um, the other one I've always thought about was Jenny and Skimbleshanks would be like but yeah, I think you're right though.

[41:20] General McArthur Hambrick: Okay. Million dollar question most important question this podcast.

[41:27] Mike Abrams: Oh, no, I have argued at length I don't think that Grizabella should be the right choice. So I want to know are you gonna defend her if you're putting on your old Deuteronomy hat? Are you defending her? Are you picking somebody else? Give me the rationale.

[41:40] General McArthur Hambrick: The way I think about it is is that like you said he's gonna make the ultimate decision, but I think he also respects what we feel as well, you know as the cat and I'm sorry but I have to say you're the valid the reason because when I first got this show I looked at it as cut and maybe it's the Christian thing inside of my head. But I looked at this as a redemption story. Mm-hmm, and I just felt like she wasn't much and and especially when she tries to do the ear remember she tries to do the dance. Yeah, she's just trying to remember what it was like, but she fell she fell from grace, you know that kind of thing and so that's the reason I think because she came back she came back and I don't think she came back because she knew that somebody was gonna go to the Heaviside Layer.

I think she came back just because she wanted to be a part of the family again, you know and and and the fact that she had the courage to come back and be ostracized and that kind of thing. I think she deserved it. I'm sorry to burst her.

[43:02] Mike Abrams: Well, I think I feel like the whole stories of it don't the whole show is about the redemption.

[43:08] General McArthur Hambrick: Yeah, so that kind of I agree completely but this is where we slightly veer off differently, okay is because I fundamentally agree that the whole story is built around her redemption her coming back her being reaccepted into the tribe and her singing memory around that, you know, like and that's the really the what we're building towards right? But I think it depends on what you interpret as the Heaviside Layer.

[43:35] Mike Abrams: Okay, and so this podcast called the wrong cat died because I interpret is like we're about to just murder like we're about to murder the cat and so I think the redemption arc is or even if it's re being reborn I think the redemption arc has a better ending if she gets to stay with her family. Like let's let her stay back with the tribe. Let her go next year give her a year to go to some birthday parties. Have some fun see your children that she abandoned like let me so I think that story still is there it's still there and I don't think you can get rid of it. I think it's a key part of the story I just don't think you reward her at the end with that. I think you her reward is that she's welcomed back and she gets to spend time.

[44:05] General McArthur Hambrick: Okay, I think she gets both though. She gets welcomed back and she gets immediately sent off like that's like hey, come on in we're gonna invite you to the party and then we're all gonna go back about our lives like we're so excited you came back.

[44:29] Mike Abrams: Yeah, but I never looked at it like that but I see where you're going with that.

[44:34] General McArthur Hambrick: So that's that's the reason I would send Gus. I think you do the whole story cuz he's yeah, you do your whole story exactly as if she sings memory and then you accept her back. You kind of have that line, but then it's like, okay great we're happy to have you back you Gus you need it. You're not gonna make it next year if we don't send you soon you're not gonna make it another full year.

[45:00] Mike Abrams: You don't think that would be anti-climactic though?

[45:04] General McArthur Hambrick: Well, I mean it depends on how you you might have to add a line or two in there, you know, there's there's a way I mean my true my true vision would be I would love this to be much more game show style and like let the audience vote and have it be performance based like who delivered today. Let's have it a different a different cat each night.

[45:21] Mike Abrams: Yeah, so you're thinking the voice type and it's because my very first Grizabella was Leona Lewis so I was thinking and so I know that that's where the stems from but I'm like, that's that's a show. That's all right.

[45:31] General McArthur Hambrick: Yeah, they've done it in chorus line. I know that in chorus line they've done it where they picked a different person each night. And so I get it's possible in course I believe there is a production in chorus line that did that where each night.

[45:44] Mike Abrams: I heard of that way.

[45:46] General McArthur Hambrick: Oh my goodness, that's funny. I will I will accept your Grizabella argument as much as I I don't like it and but it's fun to hear, you know the perspectives and every but I I agree with your set your choice that I mean forgot to go.

[46:02] Mike Abrams: Yeah, my goal is to just slowly well really my goal is slowly to get everyone to agree with me but now it's more of just like I don't think people like your cast never talked to this I promise that your cast never said, huh should Grizabella be the choice tonight?

[46:15] General McArthur Hambrick: Yeah, you probably never thought about that as a question and now it's a question and I'm out of that.

[46:21] General McArthur Hambrick: I mean, actually I thought about it, but who knew that somebody was gonna take it to the next level.

[46:30] Mike Abrams: No, no, I did not. I never would have thought seeing the show in 2016 that we'd be here today. No, I think it's amazing the great thing to talk about yeah, I you know here that's what I'm here for asking the hard questions about cats.

[46:46] General McArthur Hambrick: Thank you so much for coming on. I know you have an album. How can people find your music?

[46:52] General McArthur Hambrick: It's on iTunes I did it a while ago, but yeah, it's called Chosen Generation. And if you want to hear some contemporary gospel, it's there.

[47:00] Mike Abrams: Amazing. I'll try to generation description too, but thank you so much for coming on and sharing your stories and having some fun here.

[47:09] General McArthur Hambrick: Thank you for the invite. This was super fun.

[47:10] Mike Abrams: So, thank you. And thanks everyone for listening to this episode of The Wrong Cat Died the podcast break down the cash fee to follow along you can subscribe on Apple podcast Spotify or anywhere else listen podcast boss on Twitter Instagram TikTok and threads you have either check our website.