This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:01] Mike Abrams: There's a cat over here. There's a cat over there. And the wrong one died. And the wrong one died.

[0:16] Mike Abrams: Welcome to The Wrong Cat Died, the podcast breakdown of the cat's atrophy. I'm your host, Mike Abrams, and today we have another amazing guest. You can currently see her in Death Becomes Her as a standby for both Madeline and Helen, but before that, she was Grizabella on the US National Tour 5 of Cats. So welcome, Dee Roscioli, and thank you for joining me.

[0:34] Dee Roscioli: Thank you for having me. I'm happy to be here.

[0:36] Mike Abrams: I'm excited. I have interviewed so many of your fifth tour, and everyone's like, you have to have Dion. You have to have Dion. So I'm glad we're doing it. And I love Death Becomes Her. I've seen it, I think three or four times. I bring a lot of out-of-towners to your show. I love it. Absolutely love it.

[0:54] Dee Roscioli: That's great. I think our show, even before I was in it, I thought that, but I think this is a great show to bring out-of-towners. I feel like people that are in town, mostly everybody in town has seen it. They should come again. But yeah, it's a great show. It's a good time. You're going to have fun. It's ridiculously funny.

[1:13] Dee Roscioli: I'm not saying that just because I'm in it. I'm saying when I saw this show in previews, I was like, this is one of the funniest shows I've ever seen on Broadway. Truly.

[1:25] Mike Abrams: Could not agree more. It's so fun, so funny. So we'll get to Death Becomes Her. I want to devote some time to it. But we got to talk Cats first.

[1:33] Dee Roscioli: Okay.

[1:34] Mike Abrams: And you did the US tour as Grizabella. But I want to know, when did you first see Cats? Because this tour was in the early 2000s. It's been around for 20 years at that point. What was your first introduction to the show?

[1:48] Dee Roscioli: Well, first of all, I have to say, I didn't even know that I was on the fifth national tour. I didn't know that.

[1:54] Mike Abrams: Yep, that was the number.

[1:56] Dee Roscioli: I've already learned something by being here. So thank you. Yeah, so this is actually—Cats runs deep for me. It was my first Broadway show that I ever saw. And I saw it when I was 16. And I was so excited because I listened to all the music. I mean, I knew some of the music anyway, but then I really, when I knew I was going to go to see the show, I listened to it like ad nauseum. Because I just, I loved it so much.

[2:25] Mike Abrams: At 16, how much did you—that's a formative age to see that show. Because I saw it as an adult and I was like, there's a lot going on here. And I know there are a lot of children that see it. But 16 is quite the time. Did you pick up on a lot of this when you were seeing it the first time?

[2:43] Dee Roscioli: I mean, I don't know. I don't think I really read into anything. I was just so enamored with Broadway and, you know, a show on a stage and what, you know, I had been told Broadway meant. And not to mention, I grew up not that far outside of the city, like probably like an hour and 45 minutes from east in Pennsylvania. And growing up, the commercials for Cats With Eyes, it always came on. So I was, I was, there was always this mystery behind Cats and like what it was. Cats, no, on Broadway. I was like, what's Cats? And so to get for that to be my first Broadway show and kind of put all the pieces together. And I remember my best friend at the time, Kelly Piperana, she went to see the show. And she was like, yeah. And in the beginning of the show, they come in the aisles and they had these glowing eyes and they scare you. And I was like, really? And she's like, so I was just like, I was ready for it. I was so excited to see this show.

[3:46] Mike Abrams: At this point in your life, did you know that this was a career you were going to like want to pursue? And this is like why you're going to see the show? Or was this a, hey, I'm considering it and now I'm going to go to the city to see something?

[3:58] Dee Roscioli: No, I was 100%. I had not even been to a Broadway show. And I was already like, I'm going to be a Broadway actor.

[4:03] Mike Abrams: Okay.

[4:04] Dee Roscioli: 100%.

[4:06] Mike Abrams: And did you walk out of Cats with like a, I want to be in this show? Or was it more of the like, okay, I'm ready for this career?

[4:14] Dee Roscioli: Um, it was both. I mean, I, I didn't, you know, I was so young, and I knew that Grizabella was, you know, supposed to be, you know, on the older side. So I didn't imagine that I would get to play Grizabella for some time. Little did I know that, like, it would only be 10 years later that I would be playing it. But, um, yeah, I, I, I was very, I remember when I, when I saw it after I, like, my mom and her friends, they would be like walking on the street to go to the restaurant after. And I would purposefully walk behind, because I wanted to walk on the street and act like I was by myself. And I was living in New York, and that that was my home. And I was just so enamored with that idea. And like seeing the actors on stage, I was like, they were all great.

But I was like, wow, they're gonna go home and like, they their houses are here, like they live here and they eat dinner and then they come back and do the show again. And I just was like, I thought that was like the coolest thing ever.

[5:16] Dee Roscioli: I love that, especially like, I did not grow up in the city or near here. I grew up in Indiana. And now I live here. And so I have these kind of moments where I'm like walking around. It's like, yes, this is living in New York. But I'm also like, I got my headphones in and trying to just get from point A to point B, like a true New Yorker now.

[5:33] Mike Abrams: Oh, yeah, yeah. Now it's like, now I'm like, Oh, yeah.

[5:36] Dee Roscioli: But I love that mindset of for like, you're 16. And you're like, it's like dreaming of the big city and the living and the you know, you're if you're at the Winter Garden, you're walking by like Ellen Stardust and all these other things that are like, very New York scene.

[5:50] Mike Abrams: Yeah, yeah. I feel like the only thing I remember that was there was I think Mars 2020 was there. I think that's what it was. It was this really weird alien concept restaurant. Now the there's that's it's where the Equinox is on 50th.

[6:07] Dee Roscioli: Okay, do you know what I'm talking about? Yeah. Yeah, there used to be this like weird concept restaurant, like gimmicky, like alien restaurant. I think it was called Mars 2020 or 2021 or something like that.

[6:20] Mike Abrams: Yeah, I now I struggle because I every time I walk by the Winter Garden, I draw cats on for Instagram, whatever show that's there. But I'm there more frequently because I love Ding Tai Fung, which is now across the street. It's like my favorite restaurants. It's like right down the street from what you're talking about.

[6:36] Dee Roscioli: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Amazing. Oh, okay. Well, that is that's its own. That's its own podcast. So now you said 10 years later. So when you are auditioning for this show, and you're in cast, like, did you have like the thought you even just said it, it was only 10 years later. And Grizabella is this, you know, supposed to be an older character. And it's like, you're not older at this point. You're not old to do this. Like you're not like this is. So like, what was that audition process like of, I'm going in for this incredible role, this thing, you know, power ballad to sing, but also at 26?

[7:14] Dee Roscioli: Well, yeah, and I actually misspoke. It was only nine years later, because I played it when I was 25. Yeah. Okay. And, you know, I hadn't, I hadn't joined the union yet. So it was it was a non-equity tour. But like, I, that I had been singing memory since forever. It was always my go-to song. It was like my recital song. It was my senior solo song. I would use it in auditions whenever I could. It was just it meant so much to me. So I got this audition. Actually, from a casting director. Her name is Rachel Hoffman. She works at one of the bigger casting agencies here in the city. But at the time, she was working for this casting director, Dave Clemens. And she called me. And she was like, we are usually at that time, you would kind of go into like, they call them the big cattle calls, and you would just wait in line for your turn to sing the 16 bars.

But this was one of the first auditions. This was one of the first auditions that she gave me an appointment for. So it already was very special, very special. I was so excited to go in for this show, for this part, even though I was completely not the appropriate age for it. I, you know, it already meant so much to me. So I was like, God, to book this would be a dream. And, yeah, Kristen Blodgett was there. And she is like Andrew Lloyd Webber's, like right hand lady, like she's always does his stuff. And, you know, it's funny, I remember in the audition, she kept saying, she had me sing the big part of the touch me a bunch of times. And I remember she got kind of close to me, she's like, I want to hear where you're placing this.

And I think they just wanted somebody to be able to sustain on the road. But I, I feel like I have a pretty healthy belt. So I think that's probably one of the reasons why I got the job because I was going to be able to sustain that, especially at 25.

[9:11] Mike Abrams: Yeah, well, and it's it is I don't know where the moment of the pivot is in time where it went from they were really, really extremely strict on casting age and height and all those things to where it's a little bit more open, because a lot of my thesis, which we will get to the Jellicle choice, really stems from the fact that I saw a lot of younger Grizabellas. And that was a part of where I'm like, this this guy's not ready to die. Like this person's not ready to go because they're super young. And so there's like that that whole piece to it. And so there is like on the tour. Yeah, it's a non-equity tour there. They're probably not going to get someone that can play that role at the at the age of looking for to do the grueling tour schedule that you all did.

[9:58] Dee Roscioli: Yeah, at the price point.

[10:28] Mike Abrams: being given Grizabella story, because you're still again, like this is now not new. Like it's been on for 20 years. But you're doing your early on in this kind of new US tour. So what did they tell you? And what do you remember about the story arc of Grizabella? And in general, like why she's the Jellicle choice? Where she went when she left? Like, what were those moments that you remember from that? Like that rehearsal process?

[10:59] Dee Roscioli: You know, I'm going to be very disappointing, because I don't think much was said. I, I think our director really, if they did, I don't really remember. But I remember myself feeling the responsibility to and this is the wrong word to use as an actor, but show that I was hurting. And, you know, not, I felt like I was like, Oh, I better show that I'm old, because I'm not old. This is my you know, my 25 year old brain just trying to, to figure out how to make it work when I am not hurt. My body is not hurting. I am not aging. I mean, I'm aging, but I'm not. I'm 25. So yeah, I'm pretty fresh. Um, yeah, I just I don't really remember given I wasn't, I don't remember being given anything, per se. I just remember trying, I was really thinking about the physicality of her walking and how to make that believable. And not cartoony.

[12:06] Mike Abrams: Okay, that makes I guess I see what you're saying. And, and that's the, I don't want to call it imposter syndrome, but more of the like, you're not the the age of the character. So how do you portray it authentically, when it's not?

[12:22] Dee Roscioli: I remember auditioning for Grizabella and just being so nervous. I had been a fan of CATS since I was a kid, and to be in the room where it all happens was surreal. I think I was 25 at the time, and I had to really dig deep to find that emotional connection to the character.

[12:52] Dee Roscioli: The physicality of Grizabella was something that I had to work on a lot. I remember focusing on how to embody the cat-like movements, like how to use my hands and how to walk. It was all about finding that balance between being human and being a cat.

[13:12] Dee Roscioli: There was a lot of emphasis on "felinity" during rehearsals. We had to think about how cats behave, how they interact with each other, and how they express themselves. It was fascinating to explore that side of the character.

[13:22] Dee Roscioli: One of the most memorable moments for me was performing "Memory." It’s such a powerful song, and I felt a deep connection to it. It was like I was sharing my own story through Grizabella's journey.

[13:32] Dee Roscioli: I remember one time on tour, I had a mishap with my costume. I was running to get on stage, and my dress got caught on something. I had to quickly free myself while still trying to maintain my character. It was a bit chaotic, but those moments make for great stories later on.

[13:42] Dee Roscioli: Touring can be challenging, especially when you're in a different city every week. But it also allows you to connect with audiences in unique ways. Each performance feels fresh because the energy is different every night.

[13:52] Dee Roscioli: Being a standby for two leads in Death Becomes Her is a whole different ballgame. You have to stay prepared and ready to jump in at a moment's notice. It’s a balancing act, especially with the gaps between performances.

[14:02] Dee Roscioli: There’s a lot of pressure as a standby, especially with the expectations from the audience. They come in with their own ideas of what the characters should be like, and you have to find a way to make it your own while still honoring the original vision.

[14:12] Dee Roscioli: I’ve had some viral moments in my career that have taken off on social media. It’s interesting how those moments can change your perspective on performance. You start to think about how to engage with the audience beyond just the stage.

[14:22] Dee Roscioli: I love the idea of casting the cats into Death Becomes Her. It’s a fun exercise to think about how those characters would fit into that world. Each cat has such a distinct personality that it’s easy to imagine them in different roles.

[14:32] Dee Roscioli: I have some exciting performances coming up that I’m really looking forward to. It’s always a thrill to share the stage with such talented people and to bring these characters to life.

[14:42] Dee Roscioli: I think the connection to CATS and Grizabella will always be a part of me. It was my first Broadway show, and it shaped my career in so many ways. I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve had and the lessons I’ve learned along the way.

[14:52] Dee Roscioli: I’m excited to see where my journey takes me next, whether it’s in CATS or in new projects. The world of theater is always evolving, and I’m here for it.

[15:02] Dee Roscioli: Thank you for having me on the podcast. It’s been a pleasure to share my experiences and talk about the magic of theater.

[15:12] Dee Roscioli: If anyone wants to follow my journey, they can find me on Instagram @deeroscioli or check out my Linktree for updates on upcoming performances.

[15:22] Dee Roscioli: I appreciate all the support from the fans and the community. It means the world to me to be able to do what I love and share it with others.

[15:32] Dee Roscioli: Let’s keep the conversation going about CATS and the impact it has had on so many lives. It’s a timeless story that continues to resonate with audiences everywhere.

[15:42] Dee Roscioli: I look forward to connecting with everyone and sharing more stories from my time in the theater. Thank you again for this opportunity!

[15:52] Dee Roscioli: Until next time, keep celebrating the magic of theater and the stories we tell.

[24:44] Dee Roscioli: When I joined the company, I already had my first date set. So when I was rehearsing, I was rehearsing knowing that I was rehearsing for this date, which was actually helpful because I knew that the band-aid was going to get ripped off. It's part of, like, you know, when you rehearse and then you're ready and you're in front of an audience and then you're really, really nervous and you do it and then you're fine and then you just keep doing it and then you get more and more comfortable as it goes. My journey is a little bit different because I did have that band-aid that got ripped off. I had two performances, and then I went, I think, like a few weeks without going on. That is where things get a little bit tricky because you find comfortability, you know, and you find like a pattern or like a habit.

You start to understand how the costumes work, how the lights feel, how your voice sounds amplified, and then when you're away from it for so long, it can be really jarring when you go back on. That's actually, I think, my biggest pet peeve about being a standby. It's really hard because you never get muscle memory; you never get to sit into something and get comfortable and settled and start to genuinely play. Even to this day, I'm still thinking when I go on. I'm not as free as I'd like to be and able just to be in the moments. I'm always like, oh, you know, my dress is caught or this feels weird or I didn't hit this pose right or, you know, whatever it is, or what's that line again? Especially because I cover both of them, it's like, wait, is that Madeline's line or Helen's line?

If there's too much space, I'm like, oh, that's me, that's me, that's me, I'm supposed to say that. Everyone, I mean, Betsy and Jen are both so gracious and so wonderful, and as was Megan. If I forget something or I sing a harmony that, you know, their part or whatever, they're totally cool. They're like, you know, a little wink and we keep going, but yeah, it's pretty wild actually.

[27:43] Dee Roscioli: The concept of doing multiple performances, especially in a show like this where you're covering the two leads that have opposite of each other so frequently, is fascinating. I always refer to it as Bombay and Demeter. People do those; it's very similar roles but extremely different. You're singing Macavity split on one side or the other, and my brain doesn't function that way, so I'm always fascinated by the talent and the ability to do this. I'm curious a little bit about what this show in particular, you know, they had some viral TikTok sounds come out of this show. How is that knowing that there's a couple moments that the audience is waiting for? Does that heighten these moments? Because I saw it before those went viral, and those were funny beats to begin with, but then I saw it after they went viral, and I was like, oh, the crowd's waiting for this.

[28:40] Dee Roscioli: Are you talking about the "that was rude" moment and then the straight jacket section where Madeline... yeah, those two went viral. "That was rude" went really viral. I didn't know the other one went viral too. Maybe I'm on too much theater social media. That went mini-viral in my world, but listen, "that was rude" went everywhere crazy. It is funny because I do think about that when I go on for Helen. Every actor is unique, and Jen especially is so unique. I have found, especially with these two roles, that the bits and the choices that work for each actress will probably not work for you because they're so personal. In the beginning of doing Helen, I had that thought like, oh, the fans are going to want it said like this.

I purposefully would try to sound and do what Jen did, and then I realized that that really isn't the way. It really wasn't authentic to me; it wasn't authentic to my Helen. So I just had to find another way. I don't think it's wildly different; I don't take a completely different choice. It's just a little bit different than Jen's choice, and I hope that they still enjoy my choice even though it's not the viral version.

[30:30] Dee Roscioli: Even when Jen's going to do it, it's slightly different every night. That's part of what makes it fun. I was aware of that, and it's funny because I really haven't dealt with that in any other show. This is the first time I've actually thought, oh, this moment is viral. I wonder, do I just have to say it like that because that's how people want it to be said? It's definitely an interesting time and space where that happens. That was the first time I heard it from somebody that is not a theater person that I know. I was like, oh, this has made it; this has definitely gone past the theater people that I have on my social media.

[31:55] Dee Roscioli: For someone who's not seen the show, what's kind of like your pitch for it? What's the sales pitch for, hey, here's why you should definitely come see this? Well, I don't know if I'll be eloquent about it, but I think that if you want to escape the heaviness of the real world and you want to come and watch pretty people be funny and have a great time and sing their faces off, then you should come see our show. It's really a romp; it's a great time. The jokes are, I can't express this enough, it's, you know, when people come and they say, oh, you should see this show; it's really funny, or when they see something funny, they go, oh, that's funny. It's like you're saying it's funny, but you're not laughing, so is it actually funny?

This show, I legitimately laughed out loud. I actually like ha ha ha instead of just saying that's funny. I think that if you want to really genuinely have a good time and just forget about your troubles, come to the show. That's my pitch for it. It is funny from start to finish with some serious moments and an arc and a story. You get the big Broadway stuff; you get the big dance numbers, you get the songs, you get all of it. I've had a lot of shows that are really great, but I walk out needing a drink, and I'm like, this is really great. I walked out with more energy than I walked in, and that's something I don't find as much as I want. That's why I love it for my out-of-town friends and family because I'm like, they will have the time of their lives, and they'll get the big theater experience too that they're looking for on Broadway.

They don't make shows like this anymore; it's a big cast, it has a full orchestra. It's a big show; we have string instruments in the pit. It just doesn't happen like this anymore. It's a big, expensive show, and I think it's paid off. It's, you know, it's a bona fide hit. It's always hard to keep something going this big on Broadway, and I hope that we can keep it going forever, but it's really just so fun. If you haven't seen it, you definitely should go, and if you have, you can always go back because it's so fun and funny, and you get a little different every night. It's live theater; you're never gonna get the same show twice.

[34:00] Dee Roscioli: Okay, we've got to cast Death Becomes Her as the cats. What I want to do is I'm going to ask you, and I've thought through all these myself, so I have who I think they are, but I'm going to give you the Death Becomes Her character, and you're going to tell me which cat would play that character. I'm going to start with the ones I think that are most difficult because I can tell the ones I struggled with most. We'll start with the wonderful Josh Layman's Stefan.

[34:19] Dee Roscioli: Griddlebone.

[34:27] Dee Roscioli: I didn't even think about Griddlebone. I love that answer. I thought Mongo Jerry, kind of fun and funny and light and has like a levity to it.

[34:34] Dee Roscioli: Yeah, but with that voice, come on, he can get up there; he could do the opera cat.

[34:41] Dee Roscioli: True, that's true. Viola Van Horn.

[34:48] Dee Roscioli: I'm going to say... oh, interesting. I want to say, well, I mean, honestly, if it's Michelle Williams' Viola, then she is like a Rumpleteazer.

[34:55] Dee Roscioli: I thought more about the character than Michelle Williams.

[35:02] Dee Roscioli: There's a character I'm going to say it's, oh, what's the Siamese cat's name?

[35:15] Dee Roscioli: Oh, Coricopat and Tantomile, is that it? You know, she's the one with the long extensions.

[35:21] Dee Roscioli: Is it Cassandra?

[35:29] Dee Roscioli: Yes, Cassandra. Okay, I went a totally different route; I went Macavity just because of the slightly shady-ish things under the table to keep the people alive. That feels like that doesn't feel legal.

[35:43] Dee Roscioli: Okay, okay, I buy that. Ernest.

[35:48] Dee Roscioli: Ernest would be... I mean, Mongo Jerry.

[35:55] Dee Roscioli: Okay, I went with Munkustrap for some reason. I just, I don't know why I got that vibe.

[36:00] Dee Roscioli: Get out of here! Kind of, he's...

[36:06] Dee Roscioli: This is why, because Ernest goes between both Helen and Madeline, and I just feel like Munkustrap kind of bounces around the tribe as like the wants to be the next leader and is trying to figure out how to get his way into that. So that was, I don't know, I start with...

[36:23] Dee Roscioli: He takes control, and he like, you know, he's almost like co-leads with, you know, around to me. He feels he has a, not a royalty, but a presence about him, like a gravitas about him.

[36:39] Dee Roscioli: That I don't feel like Ernest is a little doofy, you know, and he kind of...

[36:44] Dee Roscioli: What? I didn't know, okay.

[36:48] Dee Roscioli: You know, that's how it is. Yeah, that's true. These all don't match up perfectly.

[36:55] Dee Roscioli: You're allowed to have your opinion; your opinion is just...

[37:07] Dee Roscioli: For if I've never seen it, just being like, I want to know a little bit. Tell me as if it's like Jellicle. And it does try to give me characters. And there's some times where I'm like, that's immediately right. And other times, I'm like, they have no idea. It's like this just does not line up. And that's okay. But let's do Madeline and Helen. Okay. Oh, gosh, Madeline. And well, I think she'd want to be the white cat. But yeah, I see that, you know? Oh, gosh, who would she be? Hmm. I mean, maybe Madeline's the Grizabella. Oh, because she has that whole moment that she wants. You know what I mean? Yeah, I said Bombay Arena. Oh, yeah, she could be Bombay Arena. And that's why I have Helen as Demeter.

And I just that duo fits for me. I buy that. I buy that. I mean, Helen's kind of a cavity. She does try to kill Madeline. Yeah, it's true. She does. I mean, you know, minor also minor not well thought out as well thought out as yours. But listen, well, I mean, I put you on the spot here. I didn't. I spent a full day thinking about this. Yeah, yeah. Okay. I'm gonna stand by that, though. I'll stand by that. I can't. I can't. The other one I was like, somewhere there's some Bustopher Jones in a couple of these, but I'm like, I don't know how to fit like it's like there's like pieces of that. There's just too much money floating around these this whole group for not to not have some Bustopher Jones in there.

But okay, I have loved this Death Becomes Her. I go see it. If you haven't, we'll link how to get tickets and how to follow along. And it's so fun and funny. So I hope it runs forever, like you said. Yeah, me too.

[39:01] Dee Roscioli: Okay, let's do some rapid fire going back to Cats. So if you could go on for any cat one night, doesn't matter if it's male, female, if you can do it, sing it, dance it, who would you want to perform as? Oh, the white cat.

[39:16] Mike Abrams: The white cat. What's her name?

[39:18] Dee Roscioli: Victoria.

[39:19] Mike Abrams: Victoria. Thank you. Favorite and least favorite cat from a personality standpoint. It's like, who would you want to hang out with?

[39:25] Dee Roscioli: Skimbleshanks. Ew. Oh, hate Skimbleshanks. Oh, that's gonna be a hot take.

[39:31] Mike Abrams: And a grip. And a grip.

[39:33] Dee Roscioli: Okay. Who do you love? Who would you want to be buddies with?

[39:38] Dee Roscioli: Oh, Gus, the theater cat, 100%.

[39:43] Mike Abrams: Okay. Favorite song in the show?

[39:43] Dee Roscioli: Memory.

[39:45] Mike Abrams: Memory. I just saw it recently. It's just on Broadway. And I know you did Titanic as Celine for a little while. So if you could stick any cat in the story of Titanic, who are you putting where?

[39:54] Dee Roscioli: Well, I was gonna say, let's just put, oh, we let's put, let's put Jenny Anydots in there.

[40:10] Mike Abrams: Okay. She could be one of the mothers.

[40:14] Dee Roscioli: It needs a tap number, doesn't it? It needs a tap number and some motherly love and not the other, whatever mothering is happening.

[40:23] Mike Abrams: Oh, yeah, yeah, right. She's the cat. She'll be the cat in the corner when Rose is getting painted like one of her bridge girls.

[40:32] Dee Roscioli: Okay. Okay. The most important question, which it sounds like you're on my side here, but I've argued at length. I don't think Grizabella is the right Jellicle choice. So who, Dee, is your Jellicle choice and why?

[40:40] Dee Roscioli: Okay. I 100% agree with you. To me, it is Gus, the theater cat.

[40:51] Mike Abrams: Yeah.

[40:52] Dee Roscioli: Gus, the theater cat. He does that song in this little Paul Lee Paul. I, it's like, it's a game over. I was like, I have so much empathy for that cat. I like, love that cat. I feel like I've experienced that actual cat in life. Like, he deserves that.

[41:13] Mike Abrams: Yeah. Did you ever talk about this on your tour? Or is this just...

[41:16] Dee Roscioli: Never.

[41:17] Mike Abrams: Never, right? Like, no, not one night that you're like, we're gonna send Gus.

[41:21] Dee Roscioli: The only thing we cared about was going out to the bar and, you know, finding cheap food and, you know, doing the show. That's it.

[41:30] Mike Abrams: Yeah. I mean, I have complete respect for that as well. I think like, I said this earlier, but I, a big part of where this, my whole thesis came from is seeing younger Grizabellas. And so what is your interpretation of the Heaviside Layer? Like, was, when you were going up every night into that tire, was it to your death or was it to a new life? Like, were you coming back? Like, or did you, again, you're just thinking like, I'm done. I'm going to go get my drink.

[41:54] Dee Roscioli: Well, there was a little bit of, I'm done. I'm going to get my drink. But, you know, she's being reborn. She, I think she goes to the Heaviside Layer and gets reborn as a kitten.

[42:08] Mike Abrams: So just a totally new life though. No, like those numbers are gone.

[42:11] Dee Roscioli: A new life has begun.

[42:13] Mike Abrams: Yeah.

[42:14] Dee Roscioli: Yep. Okay. Okay. Wait, wait, wait. But you're team Gus. What is, who is yours? What's your choice?

[42:19] Mike Abrams: I'm team Gus.

[42:20] Dee Roscioli: Oh, you are?

[42:21] Mike Abrams: Oh yeah. I'm team Gus. Well, my original joke when I started this podcast is I saw Leona Lewis and I wanted an X Factor cats. And if you do X Factor, they make boy bands and, uh, women groups. And so I was like, Tugger and Misophilies together. That's going to be my boy band. But like from a thoughtful, like actual, how I would do is I would do team, I'm team Gus. I would send Grizabella. I'd let her spend the year with her family. She goes next year. She comes back. You still get your redemption. You still get your like acceptance. You still get the same message. But then when we get to the we just pause and you go get in line and Gus goes, and then you, you still sing the last song and we move on or what I'm dreaming of.

And I'm hopeful now that we have re-imagined versions of Cats on Broadway. I want an audience vote. I want an actual QR code version of where every night the audience decides like who brought it most or who deserved it. And like Grizabella will win many, many, many nights. There'll be a night where like somebody's whole dance team is in the audience or their whole family is there. And like Tumble Brutus goes up for some, you know, like that is what I want so badly because I think it's so fun and logistically, it's not that difficult to do.

[43:38] Dee Roscioli: So you could run the exact same show and everyone's got their phone. We can make a quick vote. And then you just have to, unless Old Deuteronomy is the choice because he sings the last song, any other version, you just stick the cat that like Grizabella into whatever spot that cat that went up went and you sing the final song and you go, it's doable.

[43:57] Mike Abrams: It's really funny. I would love to see that actually.

[44:00] Dee Roscioli: Yeah, it'd be fun.

[44:01] Mike Abrams: And you're like, what?

[44:03] Dee Roscioli: Yeah. She's a baby.

[44:06] Mike Abrams: That to me is the most fun because it's a little Edwin Drew and it brings a different dynamic to have like, oh, who brought their A game today? Which I think when you're doing eight times a week on a tour in a bunch of different random cities, there is some fun to that of like, this is my hometown. Like I better go tonight.

[44:24] Dee Roscioli: No, I think it's a really it's a fun take. Have you seen Cats the Jellicle Ball?

[44:29] Mike Abrams: Oh, yeah, I think it's fabulous.

[44:32] Dee Roscioli: Absolutely loved it. I've gotten a couple of times. I went multiple times down, done a ton of episodes with the cast. I think it's brilliant. It does like it's a different Heaviside Layer. So it does kind of change the concept of like, should Grizabella go? But they also have a bunch of people win. So they win. A lot of the cats win competitions. So I think it's really it's amazing. It got really great reviews. I'm very happy for them. And it's another one that I know people it's another one where you walk out with more energy, walk in. And again, that's that to me is I love when I'm staying in the theater till 10 o'clock at night to to like walk out. It's pretty ingenious, actually. The marrying of the two, the you know, the balls, the voguing balls with, you know, ball culture with cats. It's just like the way that they threaded that together is just so ingenious.

[45:25] Dee Roscioli: Yeah, it's it's amazing. It's excellent. And it's honestly, it's bringing for cats fans. It's bringing a lot of the haters around. Because yeah, some of the validity stuff that you talked about are a lot of what the like cats haters is like, come on. Yeah, I get it, though. I get it. I get why I get why people are like, what? Because it is really odd. But there was something about the music when I was younger. I don't know that I just really fell in love with. So and it's always it'll always be my heart. It's my first Broadway show. Yeah, it's I mean, it's now 250 plus conversations for me about the show. So you know more about it than I do. That's for sure.

[46:08] Mike Abrams: The plot and storylines and some character pieces. Yes, I could not. You could probably still do pieces of the dance choreography and you're sleeping. You can sing Memory. I couldn't do any of that.

[46:19] Dee Roscioli: So there's I don't know about the choreography, but I could sing Memory for you.

[46:24] Mike Abrams: I'm sure do you still you still do it in like any of the like 54 Below and all that stuff?

[46:29] Dee Roscioli: I do it sometimes I have my like, I also do a symphony concerts. Sometimes in the symphony concerts, I get to do it. And let me tell you, it's pretty thrilling. Because it's singing that song with a symphony. It's just I, I love it. I know for a while people were like, Oh, you know, it's corny. It's like, I never thought it was corny. I think it's absolutely a beautiful song. And I love it so much.

[46:56] Mike Abrams: Oh, completely. I think one thing that like gets lost in my, my like, the parody of this podcast is like, I don't hate Memory. Like, I love the song. It's beautiful. It's great. I love the story arc of it all. I just don't like the death component of it all that I want to continue.

[47:13] Dee Roscioli: Yeah. And so I don't think she does, though. I think that she gets, she gets what she wants is to be reborn into a younger, more beautiful body.

[47:25] Mike Abrams: I want her to have some like birthdays, like a birthday with her family. Like they just accepted her back. Sure. That's where it's like, we just went through this whole thing. We sang my heart out about wanting your acceptance. And we say yes, it's like, all right, cool. Then we're gonna kill you. Bye. Like, that's, that's right.

[48:00] Dee Roscioli: Yeah. Well, this is so fun. How can people stay in touch with you on social media and everything else?

[48:04] Dee Roscioli: I am pretty much just on Instagram. I have some like a little bit of Facebook thing too. But really, it's Instagram. It's just at D Rossioli. You can DM me I will respond. You know, I'm one of those.

[48:10] Mike Abrams: Okay, open the floodgates there. And then we'll link everything for Death Becomes Her too because you go get tickets, you can go see it. It is, again, so fun. So I hope a bunch of people come see and come see you. And if you have dates, I know I'm sure you post them on if you have a plan date.

[48:21] Dee Roscioli: I do I actually post them on if you join my you can join my channel that's on Instagram. But I am on this Tuesday, April 21 as Helen.

[48:35] Mike Abrams: Okay, I think this might be going out right after that. Okay, so right on. Okay, so I do have a date as Madeline. May 16 matinee.

[48:50] Dee Roscioli: Oh, okay. So that is my next Madeline date.

[48:52] Mike Abrams: Okay. And yeah, just I can't wait to I hope we will come see you get to do this show because I love it so much. But yeah, let me know if you do.

[49:01] Dee Roscioli: Amazing. Thank you for coming on and sharing your Cats experience or Death Becomes Her experience and with you about that.

[49:08] Mike Abrams: Awesome. Well, thanks again. And thanks everyone else for listening to this episode of The Wrong Cat Died, the podcast breakdown of the Cats atrophy. To follow along you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcast, follow us on social media at The Wrong Cat Died, check out the website, thewrongcatdied.com.