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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.

[0:30] Speaker 2: Welcome to the wrong cat died in the podcast breakdown of the catastrophe. I'm your host, Mike Abrams, and today we have a special guest. She starred as Elektra in the 2016 Broadway revival of cats, welcome Lily frolic and thanks for joining us.

[0:43] Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me starred. That is that's saying a lot. Yeah,

[0:52] Speaker 2: let's let's jump in. The first thing I like to hear is, before you signed on to play Elektra, what was your history with the musical Cats. Had you seen it? Had you acted in it as a kid? What was your, you know, your back story with the musical?

[1:07] Speaker 3: Um, not much. I would say I saw it as a kid. I saw the VHS, you know, but I had, and maybe I saw a live production when I was a child at some point. Other than that, I mean, one time when I was young, probably seven ish, my dance studio did the Jellicle like an excerpt from the opening. Maybe the Jellicle Ball like a weird mash up, and I was a random cat in that. But other than that, I hadn't seen it as an adult. I actually, before auditioning, like really struggled watching the movie again, like I could not get through the whole thing so and Oh, I saw a high school production, one that's been a

[1:54] Speaker 2: common theme with your cat, really, okay. When did you see it? How old were you the first time when you said you were a kid, I

[2:01] Speaker 3: bet you I was like five or something, maybe six.

[2:09] Speaker 3: I'm having trouble remembering, honestly, it must have been like a low budget community kind of production. So I don't know if I was that scared. I think, I think I liked the dancing, you know, I think I saw

[2:23] Speaker 2: your production. What did you think I was terrified, absolutely terrified of the whole thing. That's amazing. Yeah, it was. I saw kids everywhere, and it kind of blew my mind that that it was, you know, that it starts with the whole green eyes, and they're coming out, and they jumped out from behind me. And I was not prepared for that. And I just wasn't ready for the whole thing from start to finish.

[2:45] Speaker 3: Oh god. I mean, we weren't ready either every day, just not ready. Honestly, it was hard. But, um, I guess it would be scary as a kid our production, yes, would would have been very scary, especially even Macavity was, like, really scary in our production. I feel like so. But I, yeah, I just didn't have much of I didn't have much of a history with the show. Honestly, when I started it, I didn't know much at all.

[3:10] Speaker 2: Okay, so that that really leads me to, that leads me to, I think, my first question, which is, what were you told about Elektra? And how did you, you know you saw you roughly, saw the movie. I guess the 98 movie, you had to watch it in multiple sittings to get through it. But, but what was, what was the backstory you were supposed to follow? What were you, what were you given about the character? Okay, well,

[3:33] Speaker 3: from the beginning, I was basically told that Elektra is typically not in the show, like she's typically cut from the show. She's an extra cat. And like, they weren't even sure if they were gonna have her until, I guess they made room for me or something. It was what it kind of felt like. I don't know. I was not in the casting process, but so from the beginning, it was like, let's just add this extra cat, basically. And I was just told that I was like one of the youngest kittens. And the way we framed it was that, like the three young kittens, pouncable, Electra and syllabub, that you know, the rest of the cats were trying to kind of show us, lead us through the Jellicle Ball, because we had never been before, because we were so young, and they were showing they were kind of performing for us, and obviously for Old Deuteronomy and to go to the heavy side layer. But, you know, our kind of interpretation was that the kittens were always in the, you know, the audience for these cats I feel like to to perform for, and to to show us the way, to show us how to how to be a Jellicle cat, you know.

[4:51] Speaker 2: So I've done a little bit of, somewhat of a research to try to figure out the backstory. And it seems like Elektra is one of the three sisters with. Cetera and Jemima, and that you're the most mature of those three sisters, but you're all the kittens. And so what I've been trying to figure out is just, how do you interact like what was told? Did you come up with an entire back story for Elektra? Did you just have, you know, some bits and pieces to figure out how to generally handle yourself on stage? Oh,

[5:20] Speaker 3: my God, we all had the most intense backstories, I think because, I mean, and I think anyone who's ever done cats before, they knew they didn't really, it seemed like they didn't enjoy our production much, because we weren't. We didn't have time to focus on the traditional story, or any of the kind of more traditional rituals that people that do the show have experienced, like, typically, people practice what, you know, felinity for like a week, or something like, they like, literally at the beginning of rehearsals, you know, crawl around and, like, pretend to be cats and like, get into that character for like, a week. We did it for three hours. Wow, one day. That was the only time we had. Because, I mean, I know time is money on Broadway and we had, Andy was really trying to recreate this show. We just didn't have a lot of time. So from the beginning, we didn't have a lot of backstory given to us. So we then took, yeah, like, the tidbits of information and ran with it. I was basically only told that I was a kitten, like, that's kind of all I knew. What you just said to me, I was never told that's

[6:33] Speaker 2: kind of scary, that I that I know more than told ahead of time, yes,

[6:38] Speaker 3: yes. I mean it. It wasn't ideal, that's for sure. I think people were doing their best. It was a very interesting circumstance with a lot of cooks in the kitchen. But yeah, so we created that Jenny any dots was my mother, and that skimmed Shanks was my dad, and that's kind of what we ran with, you know, and I was always such a kitten. I was too young, you know, for like, love, I would say. But I think if I had to pick a partner, it would have been pouncable, you know, we were always together. He was literally my dance partner a lot of the time. So, and then, yes, still above slash, we called her syllabus, but Jemima is what she's called in England. She was probably my best, my best friend, but I didn't know she was my sister. So that's cool. So

[7:31] Speaker 2: what else? That's great, because I do want to get to the family tree here in a little bit. But what else did you like? Did you, you have you said you had a wild back story. What else was part of that like? What did you What did you think for what everyone should know about Elektra to help you portray it on stage,

[7:47] Speaker 3: I always said that I was the youngest kitten, like I was going with that. I was the youngest cat on stage, and I just had this very wide eyed innocence. I tried to go with that like I had. I always said I'd been born, like, two weeks ago. You know what? I mean, like, fresh kitten, wow. Super young. Yeah, super young. I went with, yeah, that I was the youngest, and that gave me a lot to play with. I had so much fun. I mean, I got to really try and experience the show with fresh eyes every night, because it was my first time at the ball, whereas other cats have been to the ball before. I mean, it is a special ball, and it's a specific, you know, Jellicle evening. But I was always like, No, this is my first time I get to, I get to have this, you know, this fresh take on everything. And I was just always amazed at everything I was seeing. So I had a lot of fun with that narrative, with playing with that, you know, and just being amazed at the because I didn't get to be in a lot of the more sensual and sexy, quote, unquote sexy cat numbers. I mean, I wasn't in the cavity I wasn't in, like any romantic part of the ball. So because I was so young, and I just had to sit on the side and watch so, but I really did watch like I really and there are always adults protecting me and things like that, and shielding me from the violence and from the scariness and things like that. So that's what I got to experience every night. That's what we made happen every night. Wow.

[9:23] Speaker 2: Okay, so that's that's really cool to hear, because it's fun to hear how you portrayed the character, especially since there's so many different versions of how electric could be portrayed on stage. So you already answered a little bit of what I wanted to ask next, which is, I've been trying to figure out the cat's family tree, and it doesn't seem like there's any real source of truth. So you said kind of your family. Was there any other that you remember where you knew, like, Okay, this is Macavity and demeanor for sure. Or these two, or this is their parents. Like, what do you remember from your from your back stories, from your cast that you could say, Okay, this is. We played it

[10:00] Speaker 3: okay and yes, keep in mind, like anyone else who's ever done cats would wholeheartedly disagree with everything that I am gonna say. You know, we made this up, like I said, because we weren't told much because of the lack of time. I'm trying to think so yes, Kimball was my dad and Jenny was my mom. So they had a little they were together in ours, like bomb Valley arena. You know, she had had her thing with Macavity, but she was over it. She was on the other side of this abusive relationship. And she was now, you know, at least by the Jellicle Ball in our story. She was with Rum Tum Tugger. She was with Tugger monkey strap is with Demeter and ours like she gets tempted by mcavity, but monkey strap and Demeter are

[10:47] Speaker 2: a thing. Um, so that one I want to ask you about, it's okay is, is that why? I think that's why monkeys trap fights Macavity is because monkeys trap for snow and his girl, not because of Old Deuteronomy. Okay,

[11:02] Speaker 3: I think it's a mixture, definitely a solid mixture. But I think that because monkey strap and Demeter have been have become intimate in our production at that point, and then McCabe is like, the bad ex boyfriend that comes back. And like, you know that, like, drug person you're addicted to that, you know you shouldn't be like, Macavity comes back and, like, hypnotizes her and physically takes her away. And so yes, monkey strap has to come in and fight him for her, and to get old dude back and, like, save the entire tribe. But yes, for his lady, he does fight Macavity, absolutely.

[11:40] Speaker 2: What about busser for Jones and Gus, kind of the old the older guys, the play, like, who are they? Who are they with?

[11:48] Speaker 3: I would say that, well, Gus, Gus is, you know, that sweet older man that I feel like jelly Loram is he's, she's his caretaker. And I feel like she probably, they're not romantic or anything, but I think that, like they're, she's his companion, and I think she's like, you know she's she's probably not with anyone she, she did not obtain a partner, so she feels good taking care of this Older man whom she really admires, is what I would say about that. And maybe I don't know, I think Gus probably, like, had his time. You know, he was a theater he's the theater cat. So, I mean, who knows what? What you know, Gus got into, and he probably had some love us in his day, but now, yeah, he's alone, and he's got this nice companion. And then as for Buster, for Jones, I mean, I think he just wants to eat like I don't think, I don't think he's with anybody, not anyone in our tribe, that's for sure. Well,

[12:58] Speaker 2: his song is about him going to strip clubs. So I think there's that that play into it, right? That's

[13:04] Speaker 3: true. I just think he's, he's a rich, I would say he's a rich, Fat Cat, um, maybe he, yeah. He pays for, this is, yeah, he probably pays for Lady cat strippers to Yeah, but he probably just doesn't. I know

[13:25] Speaker 2: you're gonna say yeah, but I'll tell you, this is not any more ridiculous than the plot line of the actual musical.

[13:32] Speaker 3: I know you're right. Like, oh my god, it's just been, like, years. Like, I'm years removed from it, and I tell you, when we were in it, I probably could have had a very serious conversation about all this. I just haven't in a couple years. So I am it is just funny to be saying this stuff. Honestly, it's gotta

[13:50] Speaker 2: be, it's gotta be fun to bring, to bring that back, that memory. It

[13:53] Speaker 3: is fun. It's so fun. It was such a special time. So it is really fun. Um yeah. Buzz. Fred Jones, getting that pussy. Dare I say, you know?

[14:06] Speaker 2: Okay, so let's, let's, let's switch topics. Is this PG? No, it's not PG. It doesn't have to be PG. But let's switch topics. Okay, who was your if ignoring cast members, so just about cats, who would is your favorite and least favorite cat in the show? Ignoring

[14:23] Speaker 3: cast members, just cats, yes, favorite and least favorite? Um, okay, oh, this is hard. I mean, I think maybe I would go with Demeter is probably my favorite, probably because I would have enjoyed a chance to play her like, but I don't think that I was because I understudied three other cats, but I didn't understudy her. And I think I because I had such, maybe, like, a youthful look about me. I wasn't, quote, unquote, like, mature enough, you know, for that. But, um, I always, I like her trajectory. I like. Like, because she's got depth to her, like she she's connected to Grizabella. I think she feels for Grizabella the whole time, but she's always being told to not, to not go there, and to shut down all of those thoughts she's having, and to just stay with the tribe, you know? And so I think she's got empathy that a lot of the other cats don't have early on. Yeah, I think she's really a cool cat. And my least favorite cat, I mean, oh, my least favorite number, thus, also my least favorite cat was Buster for Jones. I'm sorry to anyone out there who loves Buster Jones, but I, I mean, I think it's like, very, you know, it's, yes, this is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. So obviously it's very, a very British show, and it takes place in London and all of those things. But so I think the bus server is one of the most, you know, proper British characters, which we don't really have in our society. So I just didn't, I don't connect with bust fur very much, and that music, that whole song, it's just, I mean, it's fluffy and it can be fun, I guess. But yeah, I just, oh, I don't know. Don't like that whole number, honestly. So

[16:17] Speaker 2: what would be, would that's your least favorite song? What's your favorite song? I've been asked

[16:20] Speaker 3: this so many times recently, of Hamilton, and I haven't thought of cats in so long. Um, so brain is gonna think about I almost said Skylar sisters. You can answer with Hamilton too. Oh, wow. I almost said Skylar sisters, because I've said that so many times recently, because it's my fave. But okay, cats, I mean, Tugger is so fun. And in an R version, it was quite different, because Andy really got to play and do what he wanted to with that number, at least from what I could tell. So it was more rock and roll, it was more hip hop. It was really, I had a blast doing, doing Tugger, and I mean, the ball, honestly, the ball is a magical thing, maybe not eight times a week for a year and a half like it definitely starts to wear on you. But there's no other feeling like when, like opening night or first preview, or when something really when it's like a very momentous day for some reason, you know, like my last show, doing the ball on your last show, and everyone yells, go for it, right before the big day. It is the most breathtaking experience. Honestly, like I have tears in my eyes just thinking about it, because it's not often, as a dancer that you get to dance like that on stage anywhere.

[17:48] Speaker 2: I so I will tell you when I saw the musical the first time, the only thing stuck in my head when I left was Mungo Jerry and Rumpel teaser, oh yeah. And the more I've watched it, the more I get really stuck on Macavity song. Oh yeah, worst character in terms of, like, such a bad cat. But what an amazing song. I know

[18:07] Speaker 3: it's a great song. I just wasn't in it. Like I said, I, I was, um, not. I didn't get to be in that number. I came out at the very end and, like, posed with everyone, literally, and so I but I understudied. I understudy rumble teaser, and she got to be in it, so I did get to do it sometimes, but I it's such a great song, but I think I resented it, because I was like, Well, I don't get to be a part of this thing, so I'm going to, like, disconnect from it a little bit. So I'm not jealous of everybody,

[18:36] Speaker 2: exactly. So we're recording this during, obviously, during the quarantine of the COVID virus. So if you had to pick a cat to be quarantined with, which character would you pick? I have an answer for what I think is the correct answer, by the way, oh, I Oh, I want

[18:54] Speaker 3: to hear it. I'm going to say one thing, and then you're going to tell me yours, and then I'll change my answer, I'm sure. But I mean, on a personal level, my best friend Christine Cornish Smith, who I think you've chatted with already, I have. She's my best friend. We've been best friends for forever. She was bomb ballerina and, I mean, if I had to corn I think bomb ballerinas a cool cat. And she was also like, Oh, I forgot this in the family tree. Bomb ballerina was my big sister in our family tree, the one we made up. So yes, and I think that's also because she's my best friend. We just made that a thing. So I think I would choose to quarantine with bomb ballerina only if played by Christine Cornish Smith, just kidding, actually, because I have a gajillion friends that understudied her. So

[19:45] Speaker 2: I I think the correct answer is Mr. Mrs. Okay, why he's magical. He would do magic all day, the whole time, and keep you entertained.

[19:56] Speaker 3: Oh, okay, that's a great answer. I know I was thinking, Bombay, you're gonna. Because in that big sister, she's like, so over it, but she'd be like, Hey bitch. Like, let's paint our nails. Hey, bitch, let's have a martini. You know, that kind of thing. But in the grand scheme of things, in the grand scheme of things, you are correct, that would be cool to have. Mr. Mustafa is here keeping us entertained. I definitely

[20:21] Speaker 2: put more thought into this than I wanted to, like, you know, with bus for Jones with he'd have the biggest house, because he's rich, but he'd eat all your food. So that wouldn't be fine. It doesn't seem super fun. No. Gus could tell you stories all day, which would be great, yes, but I just feel like Tugger would be super interesting, but, but I feel like the magic would be, you couldn't pass that up. That's

[20:41] Speaker 3: true. And maybe he could just like, you know, magically present us a vaccine and make this all go away too.

[20:50] Speaker 2: Now, did you get to see the movie when it came out? Oh, yeah. And what'd you think

[20:55] Speaker 3: I did. I saw it on Christmas Eve day with my parents, I think that I probably felt the way about the movie, the way anyone who's ever done cats in their lives thought about our revival. I finally understood I had a lot of pride for the musical, and I felt sad that things were so different. I yeah, I just felt like I what I never understand about any musical that has turned into a movie when it has changed so drastically. I never understand because you're following your audience is gonna be for the most part, for the most part, the avid fans and followers of the show. So you're gonna piss them off, you know? So I was sad a little bit. I didn't understand the need for some of those changes, and I also thought a lot of what Andy was trying to do in the film. Like he couldn't even see it because the shots were kind of strange. Like it wasn't shot for dance, but it's a dance musical. It's like the most quintessential dance musical, and yeah, and it's like the added song was weird, and, like, I just don't understand why we must change things at all. Like, I understand if you can change something for the better, which then it's, like, that's an opinion, but, but changing something so dramatically that is so beloved by so many, like, that's what I don't understand, for

[22:37] Speaker 2: sure. It's you know, you when you've got 40 plus years of the show succeeding in, for the most part, a similar fashion. Yeah, there was a lot of liberties taken in the movie, yeah,

[22:49] Speaker 3: and I wasn't there, and I don't know why they made those changes. I know that things, you know, under pressure, things have to change or, you know, but I do feel like maybe the person at the helm of that, like the director, like, maybe he didn't have any sort of prior love for the show, and maybe he didn't feel the need to, like, uphold any of the of the defining factors of the show. And I think that's sad a little bit, you know, I think it's a loss.

[23:26] Speaker 3: Oh, wow. And they spent so much money on it, like it didn't get make much money, obviously, right? So it, it didn't do well.

[23:34] Speaker 2: It's, it's having a little bit of a life after with, like, the occult, classic type of crowd with a lot of people doing potentially illegal things and then watching it.

[23:48] Speaker 2: drugs. So, okay,

[23:56] Speaker 2: why I felt sometimes about the musical production too. I thought I needed a few more drinks before I walked in and the lights went out. Yeah, but I do want to ask you my final question.

[24:09] Speaker 3: I told my friends, I go ahead, go ahead, tell your story. Oh, no, I just I told my friends, whenever they would come, I'd say, Please drink something or smoke something like whatever you need to do. Okay, that's what I would always tell them. No

[24:22] Speaker 2: One gave me that advice when I saw and I saw matinee on Saturday and I walked in completely sober, oh no, with no not not prepared. I'm so

[24:35] Speaker 2: now I've got, you know, multiple episodes explaining the story. So it's, you know, it's, it's turned, it's taken a complete right turn for me. This musical. Good, good, good. So I want to ask my final question, but before I do that, I usually like to hear what you're up to. I think you mentioned it, but before obviously stuff started to shut down, you were in Hamilton, correct?

[24:55] Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, I am. I've been in one of the tours. Yes for over two years, no ever I left cats and went straight into Hamilton, and so I'm a swing and one of the dance captains. Wow,

[25:08] Speaker 2: that's awesome. Thank you. And you said your favorite song was the scholar sisters. Yes, it's so fun. Okay, now I want to ask my final question, because this has been kind of the thesis for my podcast, which is, I have said that Grizabella was the wrong choice to die at the end of the show and to ascend to the heavy side layer. And so what I want to ask you is, do you agree with me that she was wrong, or do you want to defend her? And if you don't want to defend her, who would you pick to ascend to the heavy side layer? Now, can

[25:35] Speaker 3: I get a reason I for, for your thoughts, a brief reason?

[25:40] Speaker 2: I just think there are more worthy and better characters. I think we're rewarding a potentially drugged out former prostitute that is trying to work her way back to this, you know, to the story, and yes, she sings the one of the best songs, but we're rewarding someone who who had a very, very rough past. So there's a little redemption story. But I also think, like there are a lot of other people that put up some really convincing performances to to have their shot at being ascending to the episode. Yes,

[26:10] Speaker 3: okay, I agree with you. I think we learn a really good lesson from Grizabella, and I think we are assholes to Grizabella, and just because someone is a potential druggie that you know, a person that is addicted to drugs and maybe is a prostitute, doesn't mean we should obviously shun them or be mean to them, like they need love and they need support, and we learn that throughout the show. Now, if we could, I don't, I'd agree with you, and I don't think she should be sent to the heavy side layer. I think we should let her live. And like, you know, we should help nurse her to health, and, like, bring her into our tribe. And like, she's got some good years left. I think it's really depressing that poor Gus, the theater cat, is like, on death's doorstep, and we make him wait like he's not gonna make it to the next Jellicle Ball. You know what? I mean, he's old. So yes, I think, I think it's wrong. I think we should listen to Grizabella, let her belt out that tune, and we love Him, we forgive her, and then we somehow get Gus back in there, and we let that old, old ass cat go to heaven, the heavy side layer.

[27:21] Speaker 2: So that is the consensus with the majority of the fans, is that there's a big team, Gus. I did ask Christopher Gerr this question. He said that he did not think in your performance, Gus had a life left to live. So it was if he would have ascended the heavy side later, he might not have returned and been reborn. It was his last life. And so that's why he wasn't picked. But I think he was just was just justifying the reason that he wasn't picked,

[27:45] Speaker 3: yeah, but leave it to Chris forger to find the most beautiful answer for that. I mean, honestly, that's great. Exactly. He's incredible. God, that's good. Yeah,

[27:57] Speaker 2: it almost, it almost bothers me how poetic that is because most people are team Gus, and it's probably the right answer. But at that point of like, it's hard to argue against that, I still think it should be rum tuck Tucker and Mr. Mustafa is ascending together. Oh, why? I just think they are a clear romantic situation that is ignored throughout the play. And there's a lot of very interesting pictures that you can find on the internet of the two of them, deep, dark cats, web, yeah. And so I just, I do think that that would be, it's like Bert and Ernie, and I think the they're ready to go together. Oh, and that's, that's who deserves to ascend together at the end. I mean, that's two of the best performances, if we're judging it like a competition show, which is the way the movie actually even made it out to be, yeah, but the way I interpret it, I think those were the two most worthy performances.

[28:53] Speaker 3: Okay, that's a very valid argument. I guess then I would just, you know, say to that, that maybe, I mean, is age ultimately a part of this? Because I feel like they're a little young, you know, but as you're saying, it's about ascending and dying and being reborn. So does age even matter? Like, I don't know.

[29:18] Speaker 2: I look at this like a America's Got Talent or X Factor, because I saw the production with Leona Lewis, yeah. And so that's kind of how I, that was the first time I saw, is I really just, it was like, Oh, this is, this is the X Factor live on stage. And so that's kind of how I, I've been, been thinking about this, this movie. And so from that standpoint, if I'm a Simon Cowell type of old dude, Old Deuteronomy, I'm picking those two together. Okay,

[29:46] Speaker 3: I appreciate that. I really do. I mean, if it's a talent, if it's a search for talent, you're so right. You're so right. I mean, although Jenny the dots can can tap her face off, okay, that's a really. Impressive

[30:01] Speaker 2: tap moment that that dance number weirds me out.

[30:05] Speaker 3: Okay, I mean, yeah, like the the taking off of your outer shell, your outer skin, is always frightening, I would say, especially in the movie that was uncomfortable. The

[30:16] Speaker 2: movie version was an experience to say the least. Yeah, yeah. Well, thank you so much for spending the time with us, and I want to know how we can find you on social media.

[30:29] Speaker 3: Yes, I am on Instagram. It's at Lily fro that's at L, I, L, i, f, R, O, and then I am on the Facebook, and it's just my name Lily frolic.

[30:41] Speaker 2: Awesome, awesome. Well, thank you again, and thanks for listening to this bonus episode with Lily frolic on the wrong cat died, the podcast breakdown of the catastrophe. To follow along. You can subscribe on Apple podcast, Spotify Stitcher, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at the wrong cat died, or check out our website, the roncatdide.com, you.