This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:15] Mike Abrams: Welcome to The Wrong Cat Died, the podcast breakdown of the Cat Statistica. I'm your host, Mike Abrams, and today we have another amazing guest. In 2024, we did a series of episodes with the Perlman Performing Arts Center, a reimagined production of CATS called CATS The Jellicle Ball, and they are weeks away from the Broadway transfer. Everyone is excited, but there are some questions. And one of those is, how in the world is the set and stage going to be done? So, I thought I'd get us answers. So, I have Rachel Hauck, who's here, who is the Scenic Designer for CATS The Jellicle Ball and was involved at the PAC. So, welcome, Rachel, and thank you for joining me.

[0:47] Rachel Hauck: Thank you so much. It's great to be here. I'm excited because I've read a lot. I was curious from day one at the media day. I saw a little sneak peek of it and a little, I think, it looked like a little small dollhouse version set that I got to see because that's where they sat me next to it. So, I got a little glimpse of it, but I have a lot of questions, but we're going to talk CATS first because I got to get a little CATS history and conversation before we talk about sets and design and all that other fun stuff that people are wondering about. But what is your introduction to CATS? When was the first time you saw any production of CATS?

[1:24] Rachel Hauck: I saw the national tour of CATS that came through Southern California when I was about 14 or 15 years old. I don't know if it was the first national or the second national, but it was very early in that journey and they had an enormous, fantastic set that they were somehow touring. They sat down at the Schubert in Los Angeles and I went with my family and I was obsessed with it and I wrote John Napier a fan letter and I think I mailed it to the stage door of the Schubert Theater in LA. Not surprisingly, I did not hear back, but I loved it the minute I saw it. I've been obsessed with it.

[2:05] Mike Abrams: Okay, so LA, that was probably the first three tours were really weird naming conventions. So, the first one was like one stop and then LA was actually, I think, the second and then it was what I would actually call like the first actual tour where they went from city to city to city. So, you probably saw the second U.S. national tour production of CATS.

[2:25] Rachel Hauck: Wow. Your depth of knowledge on this is pretty intense. It's crazy. It's crazy. Okay, so you're familiar with, obviously, you know CATS. Yeah. And then I want to fast forward to then the PAC. This was a four or five year journey, I believe, from where it was a reading and an idea all the way to actually being put on stage. So, when did you join that production with your involvement?

[2:50] Rachel Hauck: Very, very early. Bill Roush called and asked me to join the team when he was just conceiving of it. And so, I was like, no, I'm sorry, what are you doing now? What's the idea? So, Bill is a very old, very dear friend of mine. We've worked together many, many times and he really felt like he wanted me on this project. And so, I feel very, very lucky to have been with it since its earliest days.

[3:17] Mike Abrams: Yeah. So, when you first heard about it, what was your reaction to the concept? You've seen the... I don't even know how to call it. I always keep saying traditional CATS, but they're all CATS. You've seen the one in CATS costume in the junkyard and then you hear about this idea. And at this point, the PAC's not even open, I don't think, right? They're not done building the center. So, you're, as a set designer and working on all this stuff, are you thinking through that? Are you thinking at all about that at the PAC? Or is it just more of we're going to work on this project and this is how we're going to bring it to life?

[3:52] Rachel Hauck: I mean, it's a very... When you first hear this idea, it takes a minute to get your head around it, right? Especially in this period when we were conceiving of it, and particularly when Bill and Omari and Josie were really conceiving of the production. It's really hard to get your head around. And so, you start thinking about it a long time, and we were in... They did a little number. I'm sure you've heard from the guys. They did a number of choreo workshops, a number of story workshops. And I was in those as much as I could be, not as much as I wanted to be. And when you start to see it come to life, then you start to imagine how it might move and how it might work in the space. But it's a long way from the time you're just having the beginnings of a huge idea like this until you've got something that you're like, okay, here's how it should look.

[4:45] Mike Abrams: Yeah. What is the iteration process of when it actually comes to the stage for you? Obviously, there's the deciding to put seats in the front and having a Bus for Drones bar on the side, and how do you put the judging table? There's all those components, but then you're also working through it in a brand new space. It was really the first thing in there. So, what was that journey like for you?

[5:07] Rachel Hauck: Well, it's very different. I mean, there were two... I'm sure you know half the family is Broadway and half the family is Ballroom, and I'm from the Broadway half of the family. And I had a lot to learn about Ballroom. A ton, ton, a ton to learn. I knew everything I could learn from RuPaul and from Pose, but I hadn't been in the culture. And so, the first thing I had to do was to really learn and study and research and re-watch Paris is Burning, which is so exquisite, and to see and to learn about the culture of it. The theater and to be in the room with all these incredible people. I mean, the minute you walk into, as you know, the minute you walk into these rehearsal rooms, there's nothing like the energy, the combination of people, the power coming out of that room that is so full of joy and love.

It's indescribable. I've never been in another room like it. And so, you know, once you get a chance to watch even the earliest of those choreography workshops, and I got to meet Omari and Arturo and watch them work and watch them, you know, size me up, decide if I was okay. It was a very, you know, those guys are all dear friends now. And so, that part of the process, you know, research, being in the room, being in the presence of it, that is a huge part of the iteration process, being in the weeds on the choices of how to tell the story, where the undeniable parallels are between these worlds, where the puns are, how many references we can match, how many things we can nod to from the original production, you know, deep cuts for all of those people.

It's all, you know, it's not, you know, it's like, I always talk about this project, it's like a moving train. It's like a wild piece of energy. It's not a thing and never has been a thing where we knew exactly what it was from the day it started. It's like, we worked on it until it opened, and we're like, well, I guess we're done because it's open.

[7:16] Rachel Hauck: In terms of the theater itself, so, PAC was brand new. It's a really interesting theater. They have three distinctly different theaters that can be combined to make, essentially, if you put all three of them together, you would get an L. And so, we knew we were going to use the two largest spaces combined to make this room. And they're very, they're fundamentally different architecturally, even though they're in the same building and they're connecting to each other. So, it was really extremely challenging to figure out how to use those rooms to get the most dynamic and the most power and the most energy and seat the number of people we needed to seat, just 625, and how to get how we needed to, it's on the World Trade Center grounds, so the fire code is extraordinary.

So, you have to work around a lot of how to keep people safe and what those guys need. Fire Marshal is your friend. If they need you to change something, you change it. And so, but to keep as much of the energy of a ball as we could, like how can you, without being able to have standing room audience members, which is what everybody wants, is a four-foot tall runway and audience members standing right against it, and then section for people to sit. You can't do that in this environment. So, it was a really interesting long process to figure out how to, what we wanted to not do in terms of the architecture of the space, how we wanted people to feel involved, how we wanted the community of the audience to both engage with each other, but engage with the action in the show, and where we could put the cast, how we could make it so that you could see everything, and if you missed something, it's because you were looking at something else, because there's so much happening at the same time.

We wanted to generate all of the kind of chaos that a ball is, and the adventure of that. So, it was extremely hard to find the space, and then once we found the design for the space, my job is to get out of the way. And that's still true. It's like, make way for the clothes, the wigs, the dance, the action, you know, find a way to give all of that stuff power, and then just...

[9:53] Mike Abrams: Yeah, it's so interesting to hear you talk about that, because I went three times to the PAC, and I sat in three very distinct places. I sat at the table the first time, I sat on the side the second time, and I sat right behind Andre the third time. And so, I got three very different shows, but still very, you know, I still saw everything, I got everything, and that was, I thought, what was so fun and immersive of the experience was, I was near, the second time on the side, I think I was mostly near Jelly Lorem and Mungojerrie Ruffle Teaser, so I got a lot of their snarky comments and fun remarks that I didn't get the other times I was there, whereas I was more with, I think, Victoria and Cassandra in the table.

And then obviously, with Andre being right behind the judges chair, you get a lot of the judging and the fun that comes with that. How much, like, when you're doing this, and you're setting everything up, are you sitting in, like, every seat and trying to figure out what that looks like, and what the sight lines look like, like, how much are you moving around to experience it from all the different angles that they, that you had at the PAC? And then I want to pivot that into how we're going to do that, the Broadway.

[11:01] Rachel Hauck: The answer is constantly, constantly checking for the sight lines from every single seat, and what do you, you know, what can you see, and what can't you see, and how do you address it? How do you, and that's a constant dialogue in every play I've ever done, but especially something like this, where it's so environmental. But I sat, you know, in the extreme seats on all the way along the runway, I sat in the third tier, I moved around all over the house all the time, sat on those banquettes down front, and then all the tables. My favorite spot to sit and do my work was, of course, at the cafe tables, which are so great. So, it's a pretty, you know, we're really, really, really aware of every member of the audience, and of course, there are some seats that are harder than others.

That's the nature of it. But we do our best to make sure, collectively, we work really, really hard to make sure that people can see absolutely as much as possible, and then it's that same thing. It's like, where are you looking is what you see.

[12:49] Rachel Hauck: It's very, very important to us that we figure out how to do this in a proscenium house because we want to bring this work to as many people as we can. We really want the community all over the country to be able to see this. And as you know, if you tour a Broadway show, there's a circuit of proscenium houses that it goes to. So it's very important to us that we figured out a solution that could work without pulling out seats, for the most part.

[13:26] Mike Abrams: Okay. So if you're a person, I want to say I've got two sets of audiences here, and I want to hear what you are going to tell them to expect from when they walk into the theater. So we've got the first audience is the group that saw it at the PAC, and the second audience that heard all the buzz but did not see it at the PAC. And whether they're a theater person, a ballroom person, or just a curious person that heard that this is going to be the best show on Broadway this year, what did you try to build from that experience walking in?

[13:57] Rachel Hauck: We wanted to break down the formality between a proscenium stage being on the stage and being in the audience as much as possible. We worked very, very hard collectively across all the design departments to make it possible to forget you're in a Broadway theater once you're looking at it. And I feel like having been in the room, I mean, as you know, but I'll tell you, the folks here, I'm actually doing this call from a dressing room in the theater because we're in the middle of load-in right now. So I snuck upstairs to come chat with you. But the set is on stage and it's warm, it's welcoming, it's absolutely clear. There's a runway, there's area around the runway, there's people everywhere. It's a huge community of people.

It feels like a club. It feels like a ball. You can have a ball anywhere. So we talked a lot about what the vibe should be when you walk in the door. If you saw it downtown, it's very different, but you'll recognize it. It's like an old friend, but it's also clearly Broadway. It's been Broadway, as we say. So the finishes are beautiful. The execution of everything on stage is incredible. But the work is to make it feel like it's got that warmth from downtown. It's got those nods to the downtown structures and temporary setups, a ballroom. Obviously, it isn't that, but it feels that way, which I feel very excited about.

[15:41] Mike Abrams: Yeah. By having maybe more space, less space, but Broadway budget, is there anything that you are excited that you were able to do this time that maybe was a little bit more difficult or not possible at the PAC?

[15:54] Rachel Hauck: There's some fun new stuff, for sure. But it's actually, the numbers of producing Broadway, it's extremely, extremely expensive. So we have worked very hard to keep the structures, the budgets are limited. We didn't want to and weren't able to spend a huge amount of money and therefore put that burden on the production, which worked very hard not to do that, to keep it as tight as we could. That said, it's still extremely expensive to do this stuff, right? So, but it's a very, you know, I'm not quite sure, I get lost in my answer a little bit here about, you know, because there's, you know, it is a joy to work with the skill set that we got to work with downtown and the skill set that we've got here that construct and build and make this stuff.

They're so good at what they do. So there's a lot of stuff that was extremely challenging to do that the audience won't think about once. And we did, and a lot of that actually has to do with the stuff that's in the air, the truss and the gear and the lights and the sound. We were, you would never think that the degree of design scenically went into the positions and the placements and all of that because we used the runway to break the formality of the proscenium and we did it on the ground and we did it in the air. So the truss in the air is bursting through all of that stuff and it lets you, that's the thing that makes you feel like, oh, I mean, I'm in it with them. We are all in one big space as opposed to, you know, there is audience seating on stage and you can never match the number of people that are sitting in the front of the house with the number of people who are sitting on stage.

So how do you give everybody a shared experience? And the community of it is essential. That's the thing that we were able to do downtown that we've been able to do here, is it's like we are all in the same party and people come to this for such different reasons and they leave friends because they've had such a joyful experience at the show, which is, you know, it's rare.

[18:11] Mike Abrams: Yeah. It was probably the most audience talking during before and after an intermission of just, like you said, as a friendliness in a party, it felt more engaged. And that is, I think, a question for a lot of people that are going there used to such a seated Broadway experience where there's a lot of audience antics conversations happening in the space right now, rightfully so. So I'm assuming that the performers are going to be somewhat around the theater still in like going about, but is there still going to be that kind of like clack your fan and like be part of the energy or like, is it going to feel that way? Or is it going to feel a little bit more separated?

[18:46] Rachel Hauck: Oh my God, there is no stopping that energy. That energy is, it is absolutely all around us. It's in the, you know, it starts in the rehearsal room and we will never be without that kind of, the audience is in it with us. Yes. Bring your fan.

[19:03] Mike Abrams: Okay. We're going to take a quick break and then we'll be back for more of The Wrong Cat Died. For the people that saw it at the PAC that loved it, like there was, I know one person went like 20 plus times. Like there were some people that were, that loved it. I mean, just absolutely loved it. What, like, I love you said that it's like a warm friend, like it's going to be what you experienced, but what are some of the things that they're going to notice as difference besides obviously just the scale? Is there anything that you're really excited for that group to experience?

[19:36] Rachel Hauck: I absolutely, I mean, I think that, you know, if you know the show, you will recognize the world. You will absolutely recognize the world and it's just fundamentally different. So I think, you know, the things that I don't want to tell you, I don't want to tell you that's what you hear me stammering around. Right. But I do think it is going to be much like your experience downtown. I think if you sit, I think people will, I hope want to return and see it from different places because it feels they're all great seats. I mean, truly there are, there are, and it's just, it's going to feel different if you're sitting in a box seat, if you're sitting up in the back of the house, if you're sitting on stage, if you're closer to this or closer to that, you know, there's, there are, it is the same, there are characters throughout.

So, and the action is throughout and it is very, it's an extremely porous space. There are so many different ways in and out of the stage that we had to come up with these crazy names for them so that they could talk about them in rehearsal and know that we're all talking about the same thing, but it's just, it's a really fluid space. And I think, you know, you'll see cats everywhere.

[20:51] Mike Abrams: Yeah. Okay. Okay. What about the, I mean, you touched a little bit on this, but the floor seats, because that is such a fun experience. And I think obviously the judges will be up there to make some of the, you know, that aspect work, but how different is that experience going to be? Or is it just a seat kind of like everywhere else where it's part of the ball and you're going to have a great time, but you're going to see it from the side?

[21:03] Rachel Hauck: Floor seats. Do you mean the seats that are on the stage?

[21:11] Mike Abrams: The ones that are on the stage.

[21:12] Rachel Hauck: Oh yeah. Those are the, those are the riser seats. They are, those are going to be great seats. They're going to be, you know, you're just in the middle of it with them. Right. I don't think, I'm very hopeful that there is, there is no seat where you feel removed and you feel like you're in a formal audience. I just think the informality and the adventure of the show itself is going to undermine any super, you know, formal seating. But of course, if you are in the middle of the runway, you're in the middle of the runway.

[21:46] Mike Abrams: Yeah.

[21:46] Rachel Hauck: So, so that's just fun. And there's, you know, there's, there's, I think there are going to be people who love that. And I think there are going to be people who are going to be happy to be in the middle of the orchestra or the middle of the mess and be like, it's cool. I'm going to watch from here. You know?

[22:00] Mike Abrams: Yeah, completely. I, um, one of the things I loved at the PAC was, and you, again, you touched on this a little bit about how there's the like Easter eggs for Cats fans. And then there's the stuff that the ballroom people are going to know, like, and feel. But this is still, this isn't a junkyard per se, but there's still some elements to the junkyard. So how did you, like, that was a big part of Cats for me the first time I saw the Broadway revival is it does feel like you're walking into a junkyard. And it was more immersive in that sense than most, at that point in time, for me, Broadway shows I've seen. What elements of that are you trying, like, do you think about or how much of the like, Cats history are you trying to think of building into the set, knowing that it's a very different experience with the ballroom kind of theme?

[23:04] Rachel Hauck: You know, we talked about that a lot. We talked about how much to nod to the junkyard, the original design, the original shape. Obviously, the jellicle moon is unmistakable. But other than that, it felt really important to us that this was a joyful, but different world. And so, we have not brought the junkyard with us quite consciously. We really were like, how, you know, when we talked, we talked a lot about, first of all, what are we doing uptown? As I always call Broadway, what are we doing here? How incredible that we're here. And how should it feel when the ballroom community and the queer community walk into this room as actors? Like, should they feel like we've snuck in? Should we feel, should it be like, you know, we're just, should we make it look like we're just here for a night?

Should we make it look like we really, and we were, it became very clear very quickly that it's like, we should look like we belong. We belong here, and we should be part of this. And so, that's how it looks. It feels strong. It feels solid. And it's, you know, it wants to feel as a little bit of, you know, those big windows I always think of as a big nod to the Meatpacking District and all of that. But I feel like the, you know, the vibe of it, the club vibe of it, it doesn't feel like a new place. It feels well-worn, well-loved, you know, and the finishes on the runway. You know, we talked about that a lot. And it's like, I don't want it to stay, you know, this is Broadway. They can do stuff to make it look brand new all the time. And we're like, don't, you know, they're gonna, by the time we get through tech and those guys have danced on this for two weeks, do not repent. Let it look like a ball, you know?

[24:41] Mike Abrams: Yeah. There's so many fun elements. I'm excited to see how you incorporate in into this new, this, you know, new, but like familiar, like you said. And I, you know, you've obviously, there's a couple things you clearly don't want to share, but is there any surprise or any cool thing that you are willing to share that you're excited for somebody to come in and see that maybe they weren't expecting if they were familiar with it or have heard great things from friends?

[25:01] Rachel Hauck: I feel like, you know, we've kept our big red windows, I will tell you that. We've kept the big red windows from downtown. And I will never forget, you know, the very first, our dress rehearsal we did downtown. And we, I went to meet one of Jalen's friends who was in the house and, and they said, God, it's incredible how you are able to incorporate the warehouse windows into your work. It's really feels like, you know, you found a way to use them. And I was like, those are, those are scenery and we made them. But they fit, they do something foundational in terms of undoing a formality of a space. And

[25:39] Rachel Hauck: which is the downstage 10 feet at center, right? Like, that is where every show you've ever seen, the energy of the audience is focused on that. And so, the nature of a straight upstage-downstage runway in a theater that is designed to not do that. So, how do you make it so everybody can see everything or as much of everything as possible, knowing that there are natural limitations within that? And how do you make the judge's position inevitable? The obvious choice, how do you give? And we've had many, many conversations about this in rehearsal, because it changes the dynamic of everything for the judge, who is Andre De Shields, one of the greatest humans ever, upstage center. That's an incredible PowerPoint.

And what does that mean? You know, in a way, when Andre was downstage, downtown, he's part of the community, right? And he's unmissable in his incredible epic mane that Nikiya, the genius, Nikiya Mathis has given us for the hair, but it's like, how do you then keep this energy? So, I would say we're still discovering how that plays, but he is center and the action happens around him all the time. And that is a joy to watch, asking Andre to fill every single one of those moments is like, please, I'll be out front. And he can do it. Oh my God, he's extraordinary. It is a flip too, though, because a lot of the ball runway competition happened coming at us. And now it's probably still going to be coming at us, but that's what the judge behind, in a sense.

But there's so much movement around that it's like, they're going back and forth anyways. And we got a taste of the Mungojerrie Rumpelteaser with Victoria and Tumble Brutus kind of piece. And you could see, I was sitting on the stage seat in the media day, which was great, because I was like, we were having a blast and cheering and clapping. And the people in the front were, I think, not used to that side. It was the more traditional Broadway media, and they're just stoically sitting there. We're like, all right, people, get into this a little bit. But you could see how the elements are working. So I'm really excited. I can't wait. I want one more question about this. I want to ask you, what didn't I ask you that I should have asked you about the design for the Broadhurst that people should know about? Is there anything I didn't bring up that you're like, oh no, everyone needs to know this element?

[30:38] Rachel Hauck: I mean, I think you have done a great job. I think, to me, the thing I feel so excited about is the way we have undermined, I just feel like I'm just repeating myself on this front, right? But the way we have undermined the formality of it, invited people to come up and move out and move through what feels like an old club somehow all of a sudden. And there's so much depth of thinking in all of that stuff, but once you finally find it, you're like, oh, sure, that's right. That's the right thing. And so, my hope is actually that people will walk in, feel great, enjoy the place they're in, and not think about it, and just see what happens, that they're not going to think about my bit, but they're going to think about what's happening on that stage, the choreo, the infectious, joyful nature.

I mean, those folks in the media day, they're not going to be able to resist once they're actually here, and they get the proper warm-up and the run-up, and it's just such a joy, this show, and it's absolutely, that's the right word, it's absolutely infectious. So, I'm hopeful that we found the right room for this, and we can bring it to a whole lot of people.

[32:07] Mike Abrams: Yeah, I'm excited, because I think it sold out, and it was one of the most accessible shows from the PAC, and I loved it. I just saw some announcements that they were recording this on some accessibility for ways that this production is going to make it more accessible for people. So, by having it on Broadway eight times a week, there is inherently more people that can come see it, and that's amazing. So, I'm so excited for more of the world to get to know about this.

[32:32] Rachel Hauck: Me too. We're excited to get absolutely as much of the community in as we can, in all of the different ways we can do that. So, I'm glad, I'm very glad that you've mentioned that. There's been a lot of work around that particular point. We're doing everything we can.

[32:46] Mike Abrams: Yeah, you all have an amazing team, so I have no doubt that it's all going to continue, and it opens soon. So, I got to do some rapid fire, though. I want to ask you my cats questions to end here.

[32:58] Rachel Hauck: Oh yeah, right. Still got to go through this part. So, if you could play any cat, whether it's in this production or in the one you saw in LA, which character would you want to perform as?

[33:09] Rachel Hauck: Oh my god. I would want to be, well, because I can't do any of these things, I would want to be Victoria. If I could dance like baby, that would be fun.

[33:16] Mike Abrams: Amen, amen. Do you have a favorite and least favorite character taking performers out of this, like just from a cat personality from the show? They're all very different styles.

[33:30] Rachel Hauck: Well, I love me some Skimbleshanks, right? That's a great character. That's a really, really great character, and I love our, well, it's hard for me to take the performers out of it because I love our Cillabub, and I love, there's just so many. Mr. Mistoffelees is just exquisite. And my least favorite? Nah, I love everybody.

[34:00] Mike Abrams: Okay, normally I press people on it, but I'm like, ah, I'll let you slide. Favorite song in the show?

[34:02] Rachel Hauck: Oh my god, I should have listened to these questions before you got me into it. Well, I think, you know, Memory, because I know how Bill conceived the show and the way that he imagined the whole show based on the idea of an older gentleman at a gay bar and watching the world go by and listening to that song in his brain as he did that. I think, well, to me, that's the show. It's an iconic song.

[34:34] Mike Abrams: Iconic. If you could be in one of the houses from the show, because there's a couple of them that are very well announced, there was announced in the play, Bill, which house would you be in?

[34:46] Rachel Hauck: Well, I mean, it's, I want to be in that house at Dots, but don't tell that house in McCavity. I love them both. That's a good fight between those two.

[34:57] Mike Abrams: Okay. And then my, the question I've asked everybody, because it's what sparked this podcast, is I didn't, and still don't think, Grizabella is the right jellicle choice. I think it's a very different question in this production, so I will cede that to, it feels different here in the jellicle ball than it does in Cats, but who is your jellicle choice and why?

[35:19] Rachel Hauck: Oh, Grizabella. Because of this performance and what it means in this world for that character to be the choice. She is the choice. I know it's controversial on this podcast.

[35:38] Mike Abrams: Well, I went up to, I recorded with Bill and Joan before I saw it, just before, like we recorded before any production ever happened on stage. They'd obviously had their years of readings and stuff. And then I saw them shortly after I saw it the first time, and I just said, I really don't like that y'all ruined my argument, because it's much harder to argue against this Grizabella, because my whole case has always been around, I don't think she should die. I want her to spend time with her family. But the way that this is crafted, and I hope I'm not spoiling stuff, this is a show that's been around, but it doesn't feel like death. It doesn't feel like this Grizabella is going to death. It feels like there is the next phase of her life, and it feels a little bit less dark than I saw the first time. And so I'm like, no, this is different. But a bunch of other Cats also win because we have the ballroom elements. I was like, they get their moment of winning too.

[36:33] Rachel Hauck: They absolutely do. I mean, that was a thing we worked on very hard, actually, that it is about many, many, many things, the ascent of Grizabella. And so I'm glad to hear you say that.

[36:45] Mike Abrams: Well, we'll keep... I know as I start recording more of these with the Joel Cabal family, I'm like, this is going to ruin my numbers again, because it's going to be more Grizabella votes than Gus and everyone else. But that's okay, because I love this production, and I want people to go see. So it starts... It opens April 7th, right? And it starts first previews March 18th.

[37:05] Rachel Hauck: Correct.

[37:06] Mike Abrams: So soon. And by the time this comes out, it'll be ready. And then I'm sure if you see an early preview, there'll be some tweaks and changes.

[37:15] Rachel Hauck: Absolutely. We will work on it until they throw us out of the building.

[37:18] Mike Abrams: Until they stop you. But I think that's fun. I can't wait. I'll be at the first preview, and we'll be thrilled to see what you all put together. And then whatever you tweak for whenever I come back in April, and many, many more times.

[37:30] Rachel Hauck: I can't wait to hear what you think when you're in the space. It'll be very fun to hear what you see when you see it, you know?

[37:36] Mike Abrams: I'm excited.

[37:37] Rachel Hauck: I'm excited for you to experience it. It's an incredible cast.

[37:42] Mike Abrams: I know, I know. They're great. Thank you for sharing, answering all the questions. I'm telling you, if you go on Reddit, there was a lot of questions, and you've answered them for us. So I'm glad that this will get out to the world before the show starts.

[37:51] Rachel Hauck: I hope so. I hope people really, really come, enjoy it, move around. It's going to be great.

[37:57] Mike Abrams: It was questions of curiosity, of like, I'm excited of how they're going to do this.

[38:02] Rachel Hauck: Yeah.

[38:03] Mike Abrams: So I can't wait. It'll be fun.

[38:05] Rachel Hauck: Yeah, right on. Come. Come one, come all.

[38:07] Mike Abrams: All right. Well, thank you for coming on the show, and thanks everyone else for listening to this episode of The Wrong Cat Died, the podcast breakdown of the cat's naturopathy. To follow along, you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or else listen to podcasts, follow us on social media, TheWrongCatDied, or check our website, thewrongcatdiet.com.