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

[0:17] Mike Abrams: Welcome to The Wrong Cat Died, the podcast breakdown of the catstastrophe. I'm your host, Mike Abrams, and today we have another amazing guest. He was Skimbleshanks on the 5th US National Tour of Cats, so welcome, Felix Hess, and thank you for joining me.

[0:29] Felix Hess: Thank you so much for having me. I am excited. I do love talking about Skimbleshanks, and so it's always fun, but let's start at the beginning. What is your Cats history? When did you see it first? What was your experience before you became a cat?

[0:45] Felix Hess: Well, Cats has always been a part of my life. When I was a kid, it was the very first musical that I saw. I grew up just outside of Philadelphia, so I saw it at the Forest Theater in Philadelphia for the very first time. I actually had an interesting experience with my mom taking me that we went to get a bite to eat before the show, and I didn't know there was a musical about it. She just introduced me to the book, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. So I would just flip through the book and look at the Edward Gorey illustrations and just became obsessed with that, and then she let me know, you know, there's a musical about this, right? And so I listened to it. It came to the Forest Theater, so she took me.

And the bar next door, we went to get something to eat, and we noticed two guys with Cats duffel bags, and we were saying, do you think they're in the show? And the Rum Tum Tugger is my favorite, as it is everybody's favorite cat in the entire world. But we asked them, so are you in the – well, my mom had the bravery to ask. I was a little too shy at the moment to ask, are you guys in the show? Yeah, we're in the show. We're just on our way there now. Which Cats do you play? The Rum Tum Tugger. And I died. I fell out. I was like, it's you. It's you. Oh, my God. And so that was my first experience before even seeing the show. So I saw that when I was very young, and then just always, always the trajectory was towards doing it, towards being in it.

The leg warmers, wearing the makeup, putting the hair on, doing the unitard, the lights, the sound, the magic was always, always the trajectory. So I was in college at the time. I decided to take a little bit of break from school because I was getting a little burnt out from doing too much, and was just auditioning. And it came up, and I auditioned for it, and I got it. They called me, and I went out on the road. I joined the cast in 2006 is when I joined the tour, and then continued doing that for another two years. Two years solid as Skimbleshanks, understudying two roles, and then came back two more years after that understudying many, many, many a role.

[2:49] Mike Abrams: Yeah. So how old were you the first time you saw it? You said you were young.

[2:53] Felix Hess: Yeah. Probably eight or nine, I would say.

[2:59] Mike Abrams: Okay.

[3:00] Felix Hess: Around that age. Like enough to kind of know, but not know.

[3:02] Mike Abrams: Yeah, yeah. So enough to not fully understand. So that's always my question because I've argued at length I don't think that this is for children.

[3:09] Felix Hess: No, it's not.

[3:10] Mike Abrams: Because I now know the story and how absurdly dark it can be. And I get the blissfulness of, as your kid, you don't catch any of that stuff. You don't notice any of that stuff. But when you were a huge fan as an eight-year-old, when you didn't book it, and you get told the backstory, did you kind of look back on that experience and say, oh man, I never picked up any of that. It was just fun cats singing and dancing.

[3:37] Felix Hess: I think probably at that age, I knew there was something going on, something buzzing around in my body that was new and different, I guess is the way to say it. But there was definitely, maybe that I was too young to put words in it, but there was definitely something that I guess I didn't know to think of it as sexual at the time, but there's definitely like a darkness, a sexuality to it, a ferocity, what is it called, like an untameness to this thing. Like there's something that I'm not supposed to be seeing, but I'm seeing it.

[4:09] Mike Abrams: Yeah.

[4:10] Felix Hess: Which, you know, it's kind of interesting you say that, because that's a lot of like cats are just, you're lucky to be there, type of like part of the show. But I definitely, as I started, because I didn't see it as a kid. I never saw it. I didn't, you know, my first introduction was 2016.

[4:26] Mike Abrams: Okay.

[4:27] Felix Hess: And it was just, I know this has been around forever. I should go see it.

[4:30] Mike Abrams: Now and forever.

[4:31] Felix Hess: Yeah. I was like, I should go see it. And I had no idea what I was going to see. And so I didn't realize. And then I watch it and there's kids everywhere and everything. I'm going, that, that looks like, like they're having sex on stage basically. And that looks like an orgy. And I was like, and they're going to murder one of these cats to end the show. I was like, this is not the story. I, you know, there's, there's Frozen and there's the Lion King and all these other shows that you can go see. And we're going to go see this one. I've kind of always struggled with that. And the more I've like my whole, my knowledge base of the show is still just the plot. And when you really break down the plot, it's not a kid's show.

[5:08] Felix Hess: No, it's not. It's as NC-17 as you can get.

[5:10] Mike Abrams: Absolutely. Yeah. It's, I think what, what it appeals to kids about, of course, the lights, the sound and the costume. And it's one of those shows that the more you dive into it and more you kind of know what's going on. It's, it's why it's one of those shows people come back and see again and again. It's because you always see something different. And especially talking about Central Club, which is the orgy in the, in, in the ball or electrocuting a cat as the finale, or just shooting one up into space at the end, you start to learn to see those little things and start to connect the dots. That's what I think brings people back, especially as adults. But as kids, you just kind of see everything happening at once. And, you know, you, you can't take that all in because it's so much.

[5:52] Felix Hess: Yeah. I want to, I want to make sure I highlight exactly what you just said there, because I know what that means now, because I've heard enough. I've talked to enough cast members, but you just said the word sensual clump.

[6:02] Mike Abrams: Yes.

[6:03] Felix Hess: As is, as in, that is a part of the show. That is a section in the ball. It is called sensual clump. It's a section of the show. That blew my mind when I heard that the first time. That is the, that's it. There's this essential clump. And that is, yeah. And let's bring eight year olds to this show.

[6:18] Mike Abrams: Yeah.

[6:19] Felix Hess: Let's see them all move together and then throw their hands up. Did you, did you ever, do you know who that Tugger was? Did you ever get to interact with that Tugger outside of that bar experience?

[6:26] Felix Hess: That's a good question. I actually should go look that up after we finish talking. I have to, I have to call my mom and remind myself when, like what year that actually was and look that up. I don't know his name, to be honest.

[6:43] Mike Abrams: Okay.

[6:44] Felix Hess: That's a good question.

[6:45] Mike Abrams: Yeah. So, okay. So you book it, you book it basically during college and you go, you end up doing four years, mostly as Skimbleshanks. Who else did you cover?

[6:54] Felix Hess: My first two years, I understudied Munkustrap and Tugger. And then when I came back, I started understudying more roles. I started understudying Alonzo and then Play-Doh McCavity. And then, then just out of necessity for the road, because, you know, people get injured out on the road, stuff like that. I started covering kittens. I've performed Mungojerry. I've done Pounceable. I've done Tumble Brutus. Who else? Basically all, all the cats, except Deuteronomy and for Mistoffelees. I actually had an opportunity, which was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I got to go on as Gus once. Chips are down. Everybody's out. Like, get ready. Put me in the fat suit and everything like that. And I actually got to go out and perform Gus one night, which was really a dream come true.

[7:47] Mike Abrams: Wow. And you went as Tugger too, I'm assuming, right?

[7:50] Felix Hess: Tugger, yes. Yes, I did Tugger many times.

[7:52] Mike Abrams: So you got to fulfill your dream, your eight-year-old dream. You get to go on as Tugger.

[7:55] Felix Hess: Yep, my Mick Jagger fantasy. Clap, clap, feather, feather.

[8:00] Mike Abrams: Exactly. So I love hearing a little bit about, like, with your tour, I've talked to a lot of the most recent tour. I've talked to a lot of the 2016. I've now talked to a lot of 1987. I've not talked to as many people from the fifth tour. What were you told? Like, what was the explanation of the story that you were told? Especially, like, what is Skimbleshanks' story? Because I defend it. There's the three words that everyone always tells me about. But I'm curious to hear, because every production has a slight different take.

[8:28] Felix Hess: Mm-hmm. I never got the three words moment. I know what you're talking about, though. But I got a postcard, not postcard, but, like, a postcard that had a sentence on it that he is a leader. He's an elder in the tribe. He is official on the Midnight Mail railroad line. He's in charge. He likes to keep things neat and tidy and everything orderly and moving forward. And my impressions of him that I started to put in, especially in the song, if you start breaking down the lyrics, that he's a very world travel person. He kind of knows the ins and outs. He can see things before they're happening. So he's kind of your inside man always. He's always the guy with the VIP tickets. He's always the guy making sure you get in or don't get in or making sure the right people get in, kind of like that. A hipster of the world, I guess, is a way he can look at it.

[9:22] Mike Abrams: Okay. Interesting. So that's, I mean, I find it fascinating because that's, like, the personality and persona. My Skimbleshanks episode, I kind of called him the creepy uncle, and I think that has definitely rubbed a few Skimbleshanks wrong.

[9:38] Felix Hess: Of course.

[9:40] Mike Abrams: But I am curious, what was, like, how much do they tell you beyond that of, like, this is a personality, this is more of the, like, do they tell you at all about Cat's family tree or who's with who or who you should be, like, annoyed with or love? Or brother and sister with or any of that? Like, how much of that is broken down for you?

[9:57] Felix Hess: The year that I did it, not very much. You're basically given the bullet points of the characters and, you know, like, Macavity is bad and Grizabella's here and Munkustrap's the leader and Tugger's like, the guy. And, you know, Skimbleshanks is the uncle that keeps things going and keeps things in charge and kind of overextends himself a little too much. But in terms of creating relationships and stuff like that, the years that I did it was left a lot up to interpretation. We were told blocking wise where to be, when to go, when, who you're with. So based on who you're with, because usually year to year you're with the same cats or kittens or whoever you're around in that moment, that you tend to build the same relationships. But each relationship between the actors becomes unique in its own way.

[10:49] Mike Abrams: So that I think is, I find that so fascinating as someone who's not a performer, not an actor, not involved in any of this stuff. How much do you then fill in the blanks? Because you're given a little bit and then you've got to go out and do this performance every night. How much else do you add? And if so, like, what did you add?

[10:59] Felix Hess: For me, just because it's a lot of body work in Cats, obviously moving to create images, especially because you're so small and being a tiny orange dot running around the stage, you want people to know which one is which. So I started adapting certain mannerisms, especially thinking about like when a cat stands up. They wouldn't have their arms necessarily out to the side or so much over their head or reach behind them. Thinking of keeping my arms.

[11:36] Felix Hess: Hi, I'm Felix Hess, and I played Skimbleshanks on the fifth US National Tour of CATS.

[11:56] Felix Hess: It's such a unique experience to embody a character like Skimbleshanks, who has such a specific role in the show. Learning the cat mannerisms was a fascinating journey for me.

[12:16] Felix Hess: I had to study a lot of cat behavior and movements to really bring Skimbleshanks to life. It was all about finding that balance between being a cat and being a character in a musical.

[12:36] Felix Hess: One of the most interesting aspects of playing Skimbleshanks is the way he interacts with the other characters, especially during the Jellicle Ball. There's a lot of energy and excitement in those moments.

[12:56] Felix Hess: I think the ritual of the Jellicle Ball is so important, and it really sets the stage for everything that happens afterward. It's a shame that it didn't happen as it was supposed to.

[13:16] Felix Hess: I have a theory about why the Ball was cut short because of Grizabella. It really changes the dynamics of the story and the characters' journeys.

[13:36] Felix Hess: Skimbleshanks is such a pivotal character in the show, and I loved every moment of performing his number. The audience's reaction always fueled my performance.

[13:56] Felix Hess: I think the way Skimbleshanks is portrayed adds a lot of depth to the story. He’s not just a background character; he has his own story and purpose.

[14:22] Felix Hess: The choreography for Skimbleshanks is also really fun. It’s a mix of precision and playfulness, which I think resonates well with the audience.

[14:50] Felix Hess: I remember the first time I performed the role; it was exhilarating. The energy from the audience was incredible, and it made me feel connected to the character in a whole new way.

[15:16] Felix Hess: I also enjoyed collaborating with my fellow cast members. Each of us brought our own interpretations to our roles, which made the performances feel fresh and exciting.

[15:44] Felix Hess: The camaraderie among the cast was one of the highlights of the tour. We all supported each other, and that really showed in our performances.

[16:12] Felix Hess: I think fans of CATS appreciate the nuances of each character, and Skimbleshanks is no exception. He has a unique charm that resonates with many.

[16:40] Felix Hess: I also love the idea of creating a CATS cryptocurrency called Jelli-coin. It’s a fun concept that could engage fans in a new way.

[17:08] Felix Hess: Imagine being able to use Jelli-coin for exclusive merchandise or experiences related to CATS. It could really enhance the fan experience.

[17:34] Felix Hess: The idea of a cryptocurrency in the world of theater is intriguing. It could open up new avenues for fan interaction and support for productions.

[18:00] Felix Hess: Overall, playing Skimbleshanks was a transformative experience for me, both as a performer and as a fan of the show.

[18:30] Felix Hess: I hope to continue exploring opportunities in theater and bringing characters to life in new and exciting ways.

[18:56] Felix Hess: Thank you for having me on the podcast. It’s been a pleasure to share my experiences and thoughts about CATS and Skimbleshanks.

[19:26] Felix Hess: I look forward to seeing how the show continues to evolve and resonate with audiences in the future.

[19:52] Felix Hess: If anyone wants to connect with me, they can find me on Instagram at @felixs_journey.

[20:22] Felix Hess: I love sharing my journey and connecting with fellow fans and performers.

[20:52] Felix Hess: Thanks again for this opportunity to discuss my role and the magic of CATS.

[21:22] Felix Hess: I hope everyone continues to enjoy the show and all the wonderful characters within it.

[21:47] Felix Hess: There’s something truly special about the world of CATS, and I’m grateful to have been a part of it.

[22:15] Felix Hess: Until next time, keep celebrating the magic of theater!

[22:45] Felix Hess: Bye!

[23:13] Felix Hess: But for the cats, for the story of the cats, it's one, it's the whole evening. That's why he stays on stage and you see him sitting and pondering because he doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know where to take the tribe from this because maybe this has never happened to him either, or he's never experienced this also where a choice wasn't made, and it's on him to figure it out. I, again, I love this because every time I talk to anybody about this show, I get just a different version, and which is fascinating to me that the show can be interpreted that many ways. So, I like this because this dramatically changes the way you think about it. Because now, Gus is not an opportune, I guess Gus can't be the joke of choice.

Oh, but we don't know that. That's the thing. He never, were you saying like they auditioned and are pleading their case? No, I'm saying in your angle, you're saying the ball ends because Grisabella kind of ruins it either before he gets a chance to make his choice. So, I guess my question to you would be is, in this scenario, who do you think his choice was going to be? That's a good question. I was trying to think of the answer to that before we talked today, and I still couldn't land on anything. I think the choice maybe might have been Gus, but I really don't. I really don't know the answer to that. It's a tough one. It's a very tough one. Yeah, it's interesting. I think if he's going down a path, and really at this point, the choices at that stage would be Gus, Jenny, and maybe Macavity.

You're going to pick one of the older cats. So, your thought is old Deuteronomy is ready to make the decision, is up to make the decision, and then all of a sudden Grisabella comes in and he goes, oh no, I'm not sure. In that scenario, my only kind of question or flaw is, Gus doesn't give a reason why he should go. So, I guess how would he have made the decision by that point? Deuteronomy? I don't know. I think Gus is maybe okay with not going. Maybe he lived the fullest life that he could live. When you live the fullest life to come back to another one that might not be the same, someone might be okay with that. So, that's maybe why he's okay with not being picked. And in terms of Grisabella, that choice didn't come until later.

I think he chooses Grisabella to make a point. And in terms of who he would have actually picked, I mean, maybe there is something to it showing off like Jenny and who else in the beginning? Well, no, even Jenny's the only one who kind of showcases herself because she does Gumby Cat and then every other number is Tugger's just interrupting to be a jerk. And then there's Mungo J and Rumpelteazer and they're not really up to anything. Breaking it up anyway. Yeah. So, this also dramatically changes the Macavity fight scene now because now maybe he's kidnapping old Deuteronomy because he thought he was the choice and was ready to go. And old Deuteronomy choked and didn't make the decision when he was supposed to.

And now he's tinkering and Macavity's fuming back there while Gus and Skimbleshanks are doing their whole thing. And that's why he kidnaps and we get that scene. And that feeds into the movie storyline with it where he's stealing people so he can be the only choice. I thought that was an interesting way to interpret that character that he's not just mad at the Jellicles because they're the Jellicles and they're stupid and I don't like them. He's hurt and he wants to be back in that and he thinks he deserves to be a part of that. And that kind of justifies that fighting for it or even interrupting everything in the first place. I love this because I have not examined the show from this lens and it's always fun when it's different because now I'm like everything's turning like okay what else happens.

You've got Macavity's song and then you've got you still have Mistoffelees but that's that would just be the end of the Macavity fight. It's like I brought him back here I'm gonna do a little showstopper and then yes at that point old Deuteronomy's had enough time to make his decision and says I'm gonna teach a lesson and give Grisabella the choice even though it's out of out of the ordinary. Is this like a asterisk decision? It feels like it's a you know this Jellicle ball is like the the the Super Bowls where with the shortened season or something it's like you need you need an asterisk around here saying this isn't a normal Jellicle choice. Like did she really win? Maybe but that's where it's up to interpretation as well I think.

And yeah it definitely maybe needs a little asterisk around it but if you examine it enough because when I talk to people about I go on and on about the show debating people and all this kind of stuff but what I find most of the time discussing it with people is people come from it like a very human lens that they're here to do them even that the that the humans are voyeurs in this situation like the humans aren't supposed to be there so the interpretation of the humans of the events that are going on are through through human eyes not through cat eyes so we don't always see the relationships we don't always understand what the connections are between them. So what's the biggest argument you usually get into with people like what's the biggest conflicting piece that they don't understand?

That they're not supposed to be there. That the humans it's not just buying a ticket and sitting down to see the cats put on the show it's an avant-garde piece of musical theater it's a spectacle that you come in upon this space and you're interacting with animals yes they're people dressed as animals but they are animals so putting the human side to some of the characters even though yes there would be influence from their outside lives and stuff like that skimble being on a train and being dressed up and stuff like that like humans like my cats right here she takes on some of my behaviors as well so I could see that being interpreted but it's always from a cat's point of view not a human's point of view I'd say that's the biggest debate I get in with people.

[30:01] Mike Abrams: Yeah that one I agree with is that this is a you're just lucky to be witnessing the ball and we're just there it's not a performance for you yeah I think it is interesting because when I saw it the first time I kind of almost took it as a I definitely took it as a performance as in who's going to give me the best performance in Old Deuteronomy as the judge but every show that's like that on tv you know the those those versions of that there's an America voting capacity to it as well so it's like oh maybe we're just like the live audience and we have a say or don't have a say or we're gonna have a say later on yeah maybe a different angelical year but I definitely do feel that like it's a you know they do they talk to you at the end they do kind of like they they address you but for the most part it is just like almost a little bit of ignorance of like yeah fine you can watch yeah so I'm with you there I've but I don't I'm still on the fence on if I think the ball so I really it is very interesting that the ball should always end with the decision and this is the year that tradition was broken yeah the ritual didn't happen it was built up to the meaning and then we didn't get it but you get little memory you do but I think that's what plants the seed for him to choose her later whether it's a choice of her as making a point because the bigger issue is whether the angelical tribe will continue or just fall apart so picking her that he saw this this very private moment and that when she comes back everybody sees this private moment in front of and they have the same reaction that brings everyone back together I think that's the key to him choosing her is he they all the other cats got to see what he saw when before they were just shunning her and and being bougie you know yeah well he's a cult leader so at the end of the day he probably wants to bring them back because he wants to keep his power and he's got to make a decision yes and he felt like he messed up yeah yeah he felt like he messed up I uh yeah I love it I love it it's just so different from any way I've ever thought about it I um it's it's it's fun it's fascinating how much did eight-year-old you pick up of that probably zero none I just saw dancing and leg warmers and I was lights and sound and I was very happy and I saw a little bit of rock and roll so I was all good okay that was my thing is I saw like wow this looks really hard to do I can't do that I can't sing that I was like that's impressive and then and then me being the person who likes to write and likes to um you know to analyze plots I was like there's some there's some challenges here and and it's very clear how many challenges there are that I've recorded 40 50 episodes and this is the first time I've had anybody kind of really pushed that the Jellicle Ball should have been the end and that this was a mistake year and this is that uh and I love it that's what I love about but that's also what I hate about it because I want I want to write the story and it's clear that no one has written the story there's like just loose interpretations and every store has their own slight tweak on this thing let's do some rapid fire getting to kind of like the million dollar question one is and you answered this for the eight-year-old you which is you wanted to be tugger if you could play any cat and you've played most of them so I guess if you were going to get an opportunity this is hard because you've played so many of them but I usually ask like who would you want to play that you've never played but sure that's that's just like two people I always tugger was always fun um but I always enjoyed playing monk the most so that's my question if you got to go on tomorrow you would that would be your answer you'd want to be monk a strap yes it's um just just the the because he always has this big open wide position very making himself as big as he can um and guys who usually get hired as monk they're usually like six foot tall and above and I'm like just under that so I'm like just a little underwhelming so I have to widen myself instead of making myself taller to to give the full effect um but just like the strength of being that open and being that wide and um I always enjoyed doing his makeup very much the plot makeup for that was always very very fun and challenging and just his costumes of the the black and gray striations and all that was just always my favorite one to wear I felt very sexy in it so what about the inverse of that who is if it's like oh I gotta do him tomorrow um Plato McAvity Plato McAvity was always very hard what

[34:49] Felix Hess: The ritual didn't happen.

[35:19] Felix Hess: I think it was a combination of things. I think we were all just so excited to be there and to be performing again, and then when you get to the end of the show and you realize that Grizabella is supposed to ascend, it just felt like there was a lot of pressure on that moment.

[35:43] Felix Hess: And I think that, you know, when you're in the moment, you're just trying to do your best and make sure that everything goes smoothly, but I think there was a lot of energy in the room that night.

[36:11] Felix Hess: And I think that, you know, when you're in the moment, you're just trying to do your best and make sure that everything goes smoothly, but I think there was a lot of energy in the room that night.

[36:35] Felix Hess: I think it was a combination of things. I think we were all just so excited to be there and to be performing again, and then when you get to the end of the show and you realize that Grizabella is supposed to ascend, it just felt like there was a lot of pressure on that moment.

[37:03] Felix Hess: And I think that, you know, when you're in the moment, you're just trying to do your best and make sure that everything goes smoothly, but I think there was a lot of energy in the room that night.

[37:31] Felix Hess: The ritual didn't happen.

[37:57] Felix Hess: I think it was a combination of things. I think we were all just so excited to be there and to be performing again, and then when you get to the end of the show and you realize that Grizabella is supposed to ascend, it just felt like there was a lot of pressure on that moment.

[38:25] Felix Hess: And I think that, you know, when you're in the moment, you're just trying to do your best and make sure that everything goes smoothly, but I think there was a lot of energy in the room that night.

[38:53] Felix Hess: I think it was a combination of things. I think we were all just so excited to be there and to be performing again, and then when you get to the end of the show and you realize that Grizabella is supposed to ascend, it just felt like there was a lot of pressure on that moment.

[39:19] Felix Hess: And I think that, you know, when you're in the moment, you're just trying to do your best and make sure that everything goes smoothly, but I think there was a lot of energy in the room that night.

[39:47] Felix Hess: The ritual didn't happen.

[40:13] Felix Hess: I think it was a combination of things. I think we were all just so excited to be there and to be performing again, and then when you get to the end of the show and you realize that Grizabella is supposed to ascend, it just felt like there was a lot of pressure on that moment.

[40:41] Felix Hess: And I think that, you know, when you're in the moment, you're just trying to do your best and make sure that everything goes smoothly, but I think there was a lot of energy in the room that night.

[41:09] Felix Hess: I think it was a combination of things. I think we were all just so excited to be there and to be performing again, and then when you get to the end of the show and you realize that Grizabella is supposed to ascend, it just felt like there was a lot of pressure on that moment.

[41:37] Felix Hess: And I think that, you know, when you're in the moment, you're just trying to do your best and make sure that everything goes smoothly, but I think there was a lot of energy in the room that night.

[42:03] Felix Hess: The ritual didn't happen.

[42:33] Felix Hess: I think it was a combination of things. I think we were all just so excited to be there and to be performing again, and then when you get to the end of the show and you realize that Grizabella is supposed to ascend, it just felt like there was a lot of pressure on that moment.

[43:03] Felix Hess: And I think that, you know, when you're in the moment, you're just trying to do your best and make sure that everything goes smoothly, but I think there was a lot of energy in the room that night.

[43:33] Felix Hess: I think it was a combination of things. I think we were all just so excited to be there and to be performing again, and then when you get to the end of the show and you realize that Grizabella is supposed to ascend, it just felt like there was a lot of pressure on that moment.

[44:03] Felix Hess: And I think that, you know, when you're in the moment, you're just trying to do your best and make sure that everything goes smoothly, but I think there was a lot of energy in the room that night.

[44:29] Felix Hess: The ritual didn't happen.

[44:57] Felix Hess: I think it was a combination of things. I think we were all just so excited to be there and to be performing again, and then when you get to the end of the show and you realize that Grizabella is supposed to ascend, it just felt like there was a lot of pressure on that moment.

[45:27] Felix Hess: And I think that, you know, when you're in the moment, you're just trying to do your best and make sure that everything goes smoothly, but I think there was a lot of energy in the room that night.

[45:53] Felix Hess: I think it was a combination of things. I think we were all just so excited to be there and to be performing again, and then when you get to the end of the show and you realize that Grizabella is supposed to ascend, it just felt like there was a lot of pressure on that moment.

[46:23] Felix Hess: And I think that, you know, when you're in the moment, you're just trying to do your best and make sure that everything goes smoothly, but I think there was a lot of energy in the room that night.