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[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 Cat's Astrophe. I'm your host, Mike Abrams, and today we have another amazing guest. It's been a few months since we wrapped up working with the Perlman Performing Arts Center, reimagined production of CATS called CATS: The Jellicle Ball, where we brought you a series of episodes during the run, which ended on September 8th. I don't know about you all, but I can't stop thinking about the production, so I figured it's time for another episode. So she played Jellylorum during the final few weeks of the production. So welcome, Jenny Mollet, and thank you for joining me.

[0:44] Jenny Mollet: Hi, thank you so much for having me.

[0:46] Mike Abrams: I'm excited because I've not talked to anybody from the cast that wasn't added at the very end, because there was this break where there was a couple more weeks before the third extension, I think, and you got to come in for Jellylorum. So I want to get to what that experience is like kind of coming in later, but I want to start first with your history with CATS, because this was a very different production of CATS, but what was your history with CATS before this production?

[1:14] Jenny Mollet: Um, I mean, my history to CATS was little to none. I mean, of course, I knew the top hits, and of course, you know, advertisements, and especially, you know, being in the theater community for most of my life, I've had, you know, multiple people being parts of various productions, whether it be tours on Broadway, revivals and all that stuff. So, but I never got to see a full-fledged production of it, or even the movie, the movie musical that happened a couple years ago. So when I first joined, it was all kind of relatively new. And then especially being a part of within with a new concept, it was a total whirlwind. But of course, you know, I saw I knew the imagery of the traditional cats, you know, being in the meow meow, feline looks, and the face paints and everything.

[2:06] Mike Abrams: So I want to hear a little bit about what it was like joining at that point in the production, because at this point, the show's been on, already extended, running super successful, and had kind of a lot of the same cast. So there's probably four or five of you that came in for that last run. But what is that experience like coming in when there's a lot of the rehearsals and legwork has already been done, and you get to kind of come in and join partway through versus being there at the very beginning? Because especially with cats, there's such story behind each character. And in this production, there's even more story when you have the ballroom elements. It's such a different experience. I'd love to hear a little bit about what that was like for you.

[2:49] Jenny Mollet: Yeah, so actually, my story is quite interesting because, so not many people know this, I did the workshop before cast premiered at the Promen Center downtown. And so I was playing Jellylorum there during the last iteration of the workshops. And a lot of the people who I did the show with were part of that workshop as well. So it was really cool to kind of dig deeper into, or dig deep, I should say, into the roles and mess around and see what works, what didn't work, etc., etc. And then I got the offer to do Jellylorum when it first premiered back in June. But then unfortunately, I couldn't do it because I ended up getting sick. And so you know, of course, I wish I could do both. I was like, I'm willing to do double duty.

You know, that's not possible. And of course, I'll be spreading myself too thin. And then fast forward to when they announced the third extension. That's when they asked me to come back. And somehow magically, with six, we were able to make something work. And I was able to join for the last couple weeks. But yeah, so it was a really intense, but such a fulfilling experience. Because like I said, I was with pretty much the OG crew from the workshop plus with the new people. So I got to, you know, see the fresh faces and also, you know, see everyone put their own personal spin on each role. And I think that's something so beautiful about the Jellicle Ball. Like, yes, there's the framework of each role.

And, you know, let's say staging and choreography, but it's also catered to each other with such individualism, because not everyone is the same. So, you know, my Jellylorum is different from Shireen's Jellylorum, in a sense. So, yeah, so it was a very intense process. Like, as soon as I got the word that I was going to be doing it, I jumped right into rehearsals. I technically learned the show in like, two days. And then before I knew it, we were doing the invited dress rehearsal, which was our first, you know, quote unquote, public appearance after that week off, because during that week, we're rehearsing the new people. And then, yeah, and then after the invited dress, Thursday was my opening night that following Thursday.

And then we were doing it. Off and running. So, from the workshop, I mean, this was like a four-year journey for this show. So, I know there were so many iterations. Was there any major changes that like, from the workshop to when you were rehearsing, they were like, ooh, I didn't expect that. And I'm thinking more like plot or story than the dance or the choreography. But was there anything that kind of surprised you from the workshop to going on stage to do it?

[5:49] Jenny Mollet: I think the main thing I was really intrigued by when I joined was, I think during my time during the workshop, I think we were focusing so much on the music and finding the balance between the choreography of ballroom and, you know, traditional theater or cats, quote unquote, choreography, that, at least from my side of things, we didn't really dive into too much of the plot or the scene work. And so, it was really cool once I joined to see the fully fleshed out thing and, you know, and seeing how the storyline made its way and how it kind of all connected and made sense. So, I think that was the biggest thing for me when I joined.

[6:35] Mike Abrams: Okay. That's my favorite part to talk about. So, when you got back into the show and you're now doing this, what was the explanation for Jellylorum to you? Like, how did they tell you to embrace your character, especially the relationship with Gus?

[6:51] Jenny Mollet: So, at least for my Jellylorum, I mean, again, everyone caters to their role differently, even, you know, whether you're understudying or an onstage role. But what I took from my Jellylorum is that she is a jack of many trades. Like, she can do classical dance, classical voice, you know, theater background, but then she can also vogue and she can also do runways. And, you know, she, you know, I call it the house of opulence because I don't know if you've noticed, but before Gus, the theater cat, the song that I sing, opulence is shown above the, what do you call it? Underneath the screen when they do the slideshow. And so, I kind of called it, you know, I come from the house of opulence and Gus kind of runs it and I'm the granddaughter of Gus and also, you know, the caretaker in a sense.

And so, yeah, I think with the opulence in mind, I was like, you know what? Jelly can do this. She can do that. She can walk the runway. She can work it out. She can dance her heart out, whether it be voguing or death drop in her life and, you know, ballet or musical theater type of styles. So, yeah. So, that's kind of the main thing that I mess around with for Jellylorum. And then, of course, we fine-tuned it as we went along throughout the process. But that was, I think, the main thing for me.

[8:20] Mike Abrams: What relationships did you kind of lean into most between the other cats for, I guess, characters? They're not cats in this show as much, but the other characters at Jellylorum, besides like the junior LaBeija and Gus is the main one. Like, that's the one that's well-known and you sing the song. But there's a lot of other moments, especially with the staging, you're kind of trying to think where, because I sat in front of the Jelly's main area one time. And so, you're staged with Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer at one point. You're staged with a couple other different characters. So, did you lean into certain relationships beyond the Gus one?

[9:55] Jenny Mollet: Yeah, I definitely wanted to explore that side of things more because one of the questions that I brought up during my rehearsal process is, how does Jelly fit into the ballroom world? Because, like, you know, in a sense, obviously, up to interpretation, but I imagined House of Opulence, they're kind of one of the, quote unquote, major houses in the ballroom scene. And so, she is technically ballroom royalty. But also, Jelly is young, she wants to try new things. So, how does she play a part in this gathering that's happening that night? So, yeah, one of the groups of people that I would associate myself a lot with would be the House of Macavity, which would be obviously Macavity, Bamblerina, and Demeter.

And funny enough, because, you know, this is a queer show, and we wanted to explore all sides of it, Bill and Jalen, they realized that there wasn't like a lesbian love connection. So, one of the things that me and Demeter would play around with is like flirtation with one another and kind of a love connection there. You might not have seen it, unless like you're like right there in front. But that was like something that we sometimes did. So, if me and Bibi, who played Demeter, would like wink at each other, or like hold each other a little too long, that was that. So, that was another thing that we would mess around with as well. But I think also Jelly, in a sense, even though she comes from the House of Opulence, she's a floater, I want to say.

Because like she wants, and I think that's also just me personally, I think I put a lot of myself into Jelly. And you know, I like to be friends with everyone. I want to dabble in this and dabble in that. And so, yeah. There's one part where I hang around a lot with Cillabub. And you know, like you said, I hang out sometimes with Rumpelteazer. That's for a hot second. And Bustopher. So, I'm like kind of all over the map, in a sense. But yeah. I think the main group of people that I would try to associate myself with would be like the House of Macavity.

[11:00] Mike Abrams: I love that point, because Jellylorum is generally viewed as this wholesome, bright, shining character taking care of Gus. And your whole thing is leaning in to have a relationship with Demeter and spending all the time with the House of Macavity, which is generally the House of Crime and the doing the wrong. It just kind of is a fun, it's like your alter ego almost of being able to spend time there. And I just love that. I've not heard the Jellylorum-Demeter relationship. So, I love this because anytime there's a new relationship, generally, people latch on to them, which is fun. But also, some of the artwork is amazing. So, I'm waiting for somebody to draw a Jellylorum-Demeter relationship, which hopefully will spark from this episode. I would love that. Fan art, please.

[11:49] Jenny Mollet: Fan art. So, if you draw one, send it to the two of us.

[11:53] Mike Abrams: Absolutely.

[12:01] Mike Abrams: What was your familiarity with the ballroom culture coming into this show, even before the workshops?

[12:31] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[13:01] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[13:21] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[13:41] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[14:01] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[14:21] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[14:41] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[15:01] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[15:21] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[15:41] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[16:01] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[16:21] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[16:41] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[17:01] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[17:21] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[17:41] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[18:01] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[18:21] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[18:41] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[19:11] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[19:31] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[19:51] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[20:11] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[20:31] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[20:51] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[21:11] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[21:21] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[21:31] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[21:41] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[21:51] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[22:01] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[22:11] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[22:31] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[22:51] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[23:11] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[23:31] Mike Abrams: What was your experience between the two?

[23:51] Jenny Mollet: What was your experience between the two?

[24:03] Mike Abrams: So, Jenny, you were Jellylorum in the PAC's production of CATS. Can you tell us about your experience with that role?

[24:33] Jenny Mollet: Absolutely! It was such a beautiful experience. I was always sobbing every night, a weeping mess in the back.

[25:03] Jenny Mollet: I always ask which member of SIX, like which Queen, do you think would be best in the ballroom scene at the Jellicle Ball?

[25:33] Jenny Mollet: I see either Howie Cleaves or Howie, but probably Howie. Yeah, I was thinking Katherine Howard. There's a lot of depth to the character, but also the confidence and that kind of fit there, and then also the need for community. So that's where I went to, so we're on the same page. I think she would slay, you know, doing some Vogue.

[28:04] Mike Abrams: Okay, my most important question. I've argued at length that I don't think Grizabella is the right Jellicle choice. Your production really put a very hard spin on that because I think the story does lend itself a little bit better to Grizabella's choice, but I want to hear who you, Jenny, are picking as your Jellicle choice and why?

[29:12] Jenny Mollet: Okay, so I might be biased here once again, but I think Gus should have been the Jellicle choice. My reasoning is because we also talked about it, I think in the workshop, if you're talking about the ballroom scene and especially if you're talking about Junior LaBeija, who is ballroom royalty. They have done so much and paved the way for us young cats and young folks to be where we're at today. If they want to have this brand new life or be the Jellicle choice, it should have been Gus. No arguments. I think Gus is the number two vote still behind Grizabella, and I think it's always been my choice. It's been my real choice.

[30:01] Jenny Mollet: I have a funny version, but it's a very real choice because I do think at least in the productions, like in the cat stage production I'm used to, I don't want Grizabella. She's not ready to go, and I don't think the same thing with Grizabella in the ballroom scene. It kind of roots down to where the Heaviside Layer is, like where is she going? In the Perlman production, it doesn't feel like she's dying. It feels like she's going back into the scene, which is a very different answer than just dying and being reborn to a new being, a new cat. So from that simple, I've always thought it was Gus because Gus needs it, and then send Gus back into a new life.

[30:44] Jenny Mollet: But Junior, I think Junior makes it tough because I did sit right by Junior during that whole scene, and Junior is very, very clearly not ready to go. Like Junior is ushering Grizabella in and is still taking everything in, and like, oh no, this is gonna ruin the argument for me.

[31:01] Jenny Mollet: Yeah, no, in this production, Gus is pretty active and like, I guess, you know, conjuring the story as I like to call it, especially the way that he maneuvers and articulates things, especially in the movement. So I feel like Gus was essential in terms of conjuring the storyline.

[31:25] Mike Abrams: You said that you talked through this during the workshop. Was the Jellicle choice like discussion? What did that sound like in the workshop?

[31:30] Jenny Mollet: I think in terms of cast, there wasn't too much. I mean, we briefly touched upon it when we were doing some dramaturgy work and kind of fleshing out the storyline a bit. But I think that was mainly a conversation maybe with the directors and the people behind the table. We talked about basic ideas of how the story would possibly make sense with different Jellicle choices.

[32:04] Jenny Mollet: I'm still to this day, I want a version where the audience votes. I don't think you could do that in the ballroom version, but I think you could definitely do it in like a regional production somewhere.

[32:12] Jenny Mollet: I think also with the Jellicle Ball, it can show you that you can take the show and do it in a variety of ways, but it's been really cool to hear how the ballroom scene makes things so much clearer for storytelling purposes.

[32:38] Jenny Mollet: It got rid of every CATS hater that I knew that went to see it; they felt converted because they understood it. It got rid of the stuff that I've always thought CATS had—there's a lot of depth to it. But if you're just watching it, it's confusing because the story is not cleanly laid out for you. A lot of people who go in with this like, "Oh, that's weird. This just wasn't for me," and you kind of don't really know what you're watching. This production told such a clear story that it kind of made it make sense while still staying very close to the source material.

[33:41] Mike Abrams: I agree, and it's so funny. I have quite a few friends who have been in previous productions and iterations of CATS. One of my good friends, who was in the most recent Broadway revival, said to me afterwards, "This is how CATS needs to be done. It makes so much sense."

[34:02] Jenny Mollet: To have someone who physically did the show say that to me or say that to the rest of the group was just mind-boggling. I'm happy that it was so well received by various parties.

[34:19] Mike Abrams: I'm so glad that a lot of people got to see it. I hope more people get to see it. I hope it has another Jellicle life at some point because it deserves one.

[34:31] Jenny Mollet: In the meantime, how can people stay in touch with you and what you're doing?

[34:36] Jenny Mollet: You can definitely find me on Instagram. It's just my name, Jenny Mollet, jenny.mollet, one T, not too many people mistake that. You can also find I have a website, so you can definitely stay up to date on there. Since I'm an alternate in SIX, the best way to stay up to date on my performances is I have a broadcast channel. It's right under my profile link, so just click on that. It's called updates and announcements, and you will get immediate notifications whenever I go on, especially last-minute in the show.

[35:29] Mike Abrams: Amazing! We'll link all that so people can hopefully see you as one of the Queens or in anything you're doing in the future.

[35:31] Jenny Mollet: Absolutely! Thank you so much for coming on and reliving your Perlman and workshop experience and everything that went into that production, a little bit of SIX with me.

[35:41] Mike Abrams: Thank you so much!

[35:44] Mike Abrams: And thanks everyone else for listening to this episode of The Wrong Cat Died, the podcast breaking out the CATS fee. Follow along, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or listen on Podcast Boston, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads at The Wrong Cat Died. Check out our website, thewrongcatdied.com.