Memory

I love the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Cats' which I watched again the other evening - and, especially, the singing by Geraldine Page of "Memory". This particular piece of music always resonates with me.

When "Cats" first began a 'run' at the Queen Elizabeth Theater in Vancouver, some of the songs - and especially "Memory" - were on the hit parade. One evening my flatmate and I visited a friend and, while we were there, another friend of our host appeared. This man could play the piano and sing and the song that I remember him playing was "Memory".

As the end of the run of "Cats" approached a special performance was scheduled for a Sunday evening which was a fund raiser for the AIDS Committee of Vancouver. As my  roommate was HIV positive, he was given tickets for that performance.

It was great watching the production and recognizing the various characters as they appeared on stage. I do not recall who played the role of Ghrizzabella(?) - the elderly cat who sings "Memory" in the show - but she was great.

At the end of the performance many of us went to a dance bar some blocks from the theater for the 'After Hours Party' where we had the fun of discovering which actor/actress played which part. Only one of the cast members was easy to identify - the older (and large) black man who was 'Old Deuteronomy' in the play - he was the only black in the cast!

The pitiable job that I had at that time was as a door-to-door salesman. The day after the performance - Monday - I was sent to South Surrey. At one of the doors I met the housewife and could not help but notice the cats which were around the place. I mentioned to the lady that I had seen the production of "Cats" the previous evening and the lady responded by saying that she and her family had gone into Vancouver to see a performance a week or so before I had.

Instead of me trying to promote whatever product it was that I was supposed to be selling - all we talked about was "Cats" - both the stage performance as well as the four legged variety that she and I both had as pets!

"Memory!"