This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Ariana Grande, hi. I'm Cynthia Erivo, and you're listening to the Broadway Podcast Network. Visit bpm.fm, to discover more.

[0:12] Mike Abrams: Welcome to the wrong cat died the podcast breakdown of the cat's catastrophe. I'm your host, Mike Abrams, and boy, has this been a wild ride. When I agreed to create this podcast, I was only planning on doing 10 episodes. Since then, I've broken down 10 characters. I've met former cast members. I saw the cats movie. I even hosted a live debate at broadwaycon. I was not expecting a cats parody podcast to be so well received, but here we are. We've come a long way since I kicked things off, but the fans have spoken, and I've been asked to break down more characters. I have plans for this podcast to expand in the future, but until then, I want to cover a few more cast members that you need to know about. So what better way to kick things off than to start Episode 11 with our narrator, monkeys trap Cue the intro music.

[1:04] Speaker 2: There's a cat over here. There's a cat over there. Welcome to the wrong cat died.

[1:21] Mike Abrams: The wrong cat died. The podcast breakdown of the cat's catastrophe. Today, we're going to talk about monkey strap and monkeys trap is a mouthful, so I'm going to call him monk from here on out. So what do we know about monk? Well, Monk opens the show, and he's one of the first cats we get to hear speak in the entire play. More importantly, because he's our narrator for the entire show. He seems to be well liked, and I believe he's the leader of the tribe. Whenever Old Deuteronomy is not around, we're really not given a lot to work with for monk because he doesn't have a song, he doesn't have a main dance number, and we only get a few shots of him speaking and singing and dancing throughout this play. But as the narrator, he does have an important role. So here's monk's story. He opens the show. He crawls out in the front of stage and sings the very first line to the Jellicle songs for Jellicle cats. He dances around, but isn't super involved again until he breaks the fourth wall, all right, Dame Junior Dench to explain the purpose of the Jellicle tribes yearly meeting. In the song, the invitation to the Jellicle Ball. Monk has to be a decent singer, since he sings lines in Jenny, any doubts Old Deuteronomy song, and he also has to be fairly athletic, because he and alanzo fight Macavity in most productions. But there's really one part I want to discuss with monk, and it's because he does one kind of strange, random thing, which is for Old Deuteronomy entertainment, he directs the awful battle of the peaks and polls, and this is definitely one of the weirder dance numbers of the show. And I know I've said that a lot cockroaches tap dancing and many others, but this one is framed as a play done by cats for Old Deuteronomy. It's midway through the first act. And if you weren't confused enough already, you have to deduce now that humans dressed as cats are doing a cat's play, but dressed as cats, dressed as dogs performing for a cat as a cat. So yeah, that makes a ton of sense, and it's also a little meta, but what exactly is this battle? That's right, we gotta tell you more. This dance number is about cats dressed up as dogs dressed up in junk. That's right, they're telling a story about how a dog fight was saved by the great Rumpus Cat. And again, this is a fictional play within a play. So there's not a lot about the great Rumpus Cat, but it's assumed that he's fictional, and he's usually played by one of the ensembles cast members. There's not a lot to go about him, but he's portrayed as a superhero to the jellicles, and he's outfitted with red eye masks and a sleek black coat with a giant Superman style R logo across his chest. So here's the thing about this part of the whole play. At this point in the play, if you're watching it, like I was, I was thinking that we were still watching the voice or American Idol. I'm expecting everyone to come up and make their case, but then this play comes up, and it's a little bit more America's Got Talent, where there's a play and there's all kinds of creativity, and there's dress ups and costumes and dogs and so I don't have any idea how you're supposed to deduce what's actually happening here in this section, but I am glad we got to cover it, because it's a very important part for monk. It's a little meta for me, a little too meta for me, but I do think it is kind of an interesting thing to watch, and it is a very unique part of this play that's almost impossible to explain. Even reading it and trying to break it down has been super difficult. One more thing that's worth noting is that monk doesn't always lead this battle. In every versions of the play the 2016 revival, he wasn't actually involved. It was used to be part of Gus reminiscing instead of being to entertain Old Deuteronomy. But either way, I do think it's an important piece, a piece that you need to know about, and piece that is critical to most of monk's portrayals. So it's also probably a good thing for us to move on, because that's enough about this play. So how does monk's song differ from the poem? Well, Monk doesn't have a song, so I don't really know how to cover this section. So here's what I'll say when the cat's movie goes. Viral and it becomes a cult classic, which is gonna happen? Taylor Swift and I are gonna write songs for all the characters that don't have songs, and it's gonna be based on TSLA poems that no one's ever heard of. And that is gonna be the future. Let's dig into some real and fictional characters from monk is trap. Monk is our narrator. So let's dive into some of my favorite narrators. Let's kick it off with one of the best TV narrators of all time, Ron Howard in Arrested Development. The Bluth family feels a little bit like Jellicle cats, for sure. And I've already compared job to Mr. Mrs. Plus there is a Bluth family member named Buster for which is close enough for Buster Jones. So we're starting to round out our cast if we were using Bluth family members for a cat's revival. The second one is another great TV narrator, which is the adult Kevin Arnold from The Wonder Years. Honestly, I have no ties to cats in The Wonder Years. I just think Wonder Years is a great show, and Kevin was a great narrator. So let's just pretend that Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper are the love story we wish we got out of rum tug, Tugger and bomber arena, if we switch to movies, the narrator in the Fight Club is a very fitting choice. That movie is also super meta, a little bit of a play within a play type of thing, which is how I feel about monk after he conducts his dog cat play, plus the Fight Club. Narrator is shockingly funny, but not always in the way you expect it. And to be honest, that's how I feel about the cats. Movie, sometimes funny, but definitely not in the way I was expecting it. And last but not least, narrator, monk is like Morgan Freeman. Morgan Freeman is the greatest narrator of all time, so nothing more needs to be said about that, except for that. I wish Morgan Freeman was in cats. Welcome to the internet rumor mill. The rumor mill gets pretty light once we get to the lesser known characters. So I'm gonna do my best to come up with stuff or just make stuff up on my own, but I do have a very good theory for monk that I wanna cover. The first one we gotta talk about is I found a list of cats that have wealthy owners when I was researching monk, and the list is monkeys, trap Buster, skim, mesophiles, Victoria, Mongo Jerry and Rumpel teaser. So my research found that I thought Tugger should have been on this list, but he's not called out. And one thing I still really can't figure out is who they're saying has owners or not. My guess is it has to do with if they wear collars or not. But this list seems to be a little strange, and it's definitely undefined in the room realm. So if anybody knows, please let me know. Second rumor is monk's astrology sign is a Capricorn. I've learned my lesson. I'm not digging into this. However, if anybody that listens knows an astrologist who specializes in cats, I have been trying to get somebody because I really want to figure out how this lines up. So if anyone knows, please put me in touch. I would love to do a bonus episode talking about cat astrology, completely devoted to it. Okay, let's get to the cats family tree. We already know a few things from previous episodes. One is we know monk is brothers with rum tug Tugger, and he's the son of old dude, Rodney. We also know it's pretty likely that He's macavities brother, which is partly why we assume he fights monk, because he steals and kidnaps their father. The other rumor is that monk is sleeping with Cassandra. Not a lot to that rumor just listed there. But here's the one I want to break down because I have a theory and I have some thoughts, and I think this is honestly why I was born, to break this down. So monk is also rumored to be sleeping with Demeter, and that they are the parents of Victoria. So let's think about this, because I have some questions about the timeline. Let's catch up on what we know. We know monk and mccavity are brothers. We know mccavity And Demeter have an abusive relationship. We also know that Demeter and monk very likely have a child. Likely have a child together. So what does that mean? That means that we have three choices, three options of how this could break down. One is that Demeter had a kid with monk and then dumped him to be with his brother Macavity. That could be option one. Option two could be she cheats on her abusive boyfriend, Macavity with his brother monk, which, again, is another great way to spice up this relationship even more, and then accidentally gets pregnant. Or the third option can be, while her and Macavity were on a break, she gets with monk has a baby, and that's actually the genesis for their abusive relationship. That, to me, seems the most likely, but here's where I want to take it a step further. Now stick with me. Everyone thinks that monk and Macavity are fighting because Macavity kidnaps his father. Kidnaps his father, Old Deuteronomy. But what if Macavity kidnaps Old Deuteronomy as a way to get monk to fight him? Mccavity could be very angry that his brother knocked up his girlfriend, so he kidnaps their father, knowing that Tugger is too busy around humping everything that walks so monk is going to have to be the one to defend their dad. Mccavity's ruse is to just get to attack monk as a revenge for being demeters baby daddy. But it backfires, and he loses. I'm just saying. It all lines up, and that's my theory. The one that I think is true is that Macavity is actually trying to fight monk for knocking up his girlfriend. At this point, I am shocked that Andrew Lloyd Webber refuses to be with me because Andrew, I need answers, and I think I have come up with some of the best theories that you've ever seen about cats, as relates to the rumor mill. And no one has been able to tell me if they're truthful or not, former cast members and everyone else. And so if you know Andrew Lloyd Webber, and I know a few of you who listen to I would love to chat with him, so please get him in touch. But either way, I. Always thought for a long time that the jelly busted for Grizz love triangle was my favorite rumor mill. But this is not my new favorite. Here's a wild request, and I'm not sure this is more for Tyler Haynes. It is for me. But Can someone who writes the erotic cats fan fiction do a monk from a cavity Demeter love triangle story? I could not find one. Maybe one exists. But to be fair, there are just 1000s upon 1000s of Tux definitely stories. So if anyone has one, I am curious, because that is my theory. Now, let's dig into some monkeys trap YouTube comments. He doesn't have a song, so I went with the Jellicle song, and that's because it's mostly sings in so here my favorite junior, Avi, cats, 1981 people that look like cats. Cats, 2019 cats that look like people. Junior Avi, very, very true. The movie needs a little bit more editing. All right. Next, Sonia V I still don't know what a Jellicle cat is. Sonia, no one does, and that's what I'm here for. Talia Parker, this song is annoyingly catchy. Talia, I'm not sure I agree with you here. I do think that this is an interesting song, but Macavity is annoyingly catchy. And last but not least, tea time. When I first saw the musical, I thought they were saying genitals, all right, tea time, that is confusing, jellicles and genitals. But have you seen the movie? Because I'm pretty sure I saw Jason Jewells Jellicle cats. So why does moncus Trap deserve to die over Grizabella? I might be reaching a little but stick with me. If monk doesn't fight Macavity and Old Deuteronomy ends up kidnapped, then he's likely dead, and that means that there's no winner. Or you would say Old Deuteronomy wins, because Macavity kills him, but he's not there to make the decision, and he's ultimately the one that makes the decision. So if monk fighting off mccavity is the only reason anyone even gets the chance to win, then that victory should be rewarded with a death quick counter. As amazing as monkey's trap is he doesn't really do a lot. He only has a few lines as a narrator, and he conducts that weird dog play. So if I'm really thinking about it, Grizabella is probably a little bit more deserving. So how do I rate moncus trap on a scale of one to nine cat lives? I give monk a solid three cats. Honestly, at this point, he gets the same score as Jenny. Any dots since the dog play is as weird as the cockroach tap dance, it's now an unwritten rule of mine. If you bring any species that's not a cat to this play, you're gonna get a three cat rating. You thanks

[12:20] Speaker 2: for

[12:25] Mike Abrams: listening to Episode 11 about monkeys trap on the wrong cat died. The podcast breakdown of the cat, sastrophy. To follow along. You can subscribe on Apple podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at the wrong cat died. Or check out our website, the wrong cat died. Calm. You.