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[0:16] Mike Abrams: Welcome to The Wrong Cat Died, the podcast breakdown of Cats Ashby. I'm your host Mike Abrams and today we have another amazing guest. You can currently see him as the Phantom in Masquerade, but I knew him from his performance as Old Deuteronomy in 2016 in the Broadway Revival of Cats. So welcome, Quentin Earl Darrington. Thank you for joining me.

[0:34] Quentin Earl Darrington: It is my pleasure. Thank you. Thank you for having me, brother.

[0:38] Mike Abrams: I'm excited to have you because I've seen you in a few things and I've always wanted to have you on the show. I know I saw you in MJ and I saw you in Damn Yankees recently and I love Masquerade, so I'm glad that this is actually the one because Masquerade and Phantom and Cats are really fun to explore. So we will get to that, but we got to talk Cats first. You were actually the original decision maker that ruined my life here. My whole thing of Grizabella not being the wrong choice started from the 2016 Revival and you made that decision every single night.

[1:04] Quentin Earl Darrington: Wow, wow, wow. Now how do we come upon that?

[1:15] Mike Abrams: This is really you. The first question is yours now. We're going to get there. We'll have a full debate on the Jellicle choice, but I want to start with your history of Cats before being in the Revival. So when was the first time you saw it?

[1:27] Quentin Earl Darrington: Oh my goodness, I'd never seen it.

[1:30] Mike Abrams: Never?

[1:31] Quentin Earl Darrington: Never.

[1:32] Mike Abrams: So just audition, get the role and there we go.

[1:35] Quentin Earl Darrington: Yeah, pretty much. I mean, Cats, of course, in the ether we know what Cats is and historically, you know, it's a place on Broadway and Broadway history, knowing of the show just in the canon of musical theater history and Andrew Lloyd Webber's great works. But I'd never seen it. I've seen, you know, small clips or some audio, but I'd never studied Cats, watched it, watched the old school versions up until it was time for me to go in for the show. And that's when I started researching Harley.

[2:09] Mike Abrams: And what were your, what was your first thought? Like, it's a weird show. It's a very jarring, probably first watch.

[2:16] Quentin Earl Darrington: It is. It is. I'm a huge storyteller first, actor first. And I dive deep, you know, into my characters and shows and plots. And man, I was trying to find it with Cats as I approached the work. And but that's that's our work. That's what we have to do. Even if there doesn't seemingly isn't one that jumps off the page actually right away. We have to tie the pieces together and make a story that's palatable for audiences and for our heart, too. And so that's that's what I did before auditions.

[2:55] Mike Abrams: OK, so this is before auditions. You're doing all the research with the 1998 movie and what you could read or because there wasn't a production to go see at that point, right?

[3:04] Quentin Earl Darrington: No, no, there wasn't. It was absolutely the old video. And Page, my dear brother, also of other versions that had been done. I wanted to see kind of other directorial approaches to the show and also reading any kind of literature about the reviews of Cat versus a view of what the show was doing. Yeah. Yeah, that's. And and then when you get the role and you're given your three words and this kind of like story, what was kind of the surprising moments or what was the part that you remember of like this? I remember from the research, this is kind of I knew and this was the part that I just wasn't prepared for.

[3:46] Quentin Earl Darrington: I wasn't prepared for how heavy that suit was. Oh, you know, he's a big fur ball. But it was so much fun. It was so much fun to play Old Deuteronomy and build the character. But it's definitely one that hit me because it's very, very hot. It was big and it was hot. And we had to wear like an almost an undervest made of ice. It was ice packed all in it that I wore every single show. You had to keep my temperature down so that I could wear it. You, of course, through the whole show with only probably one little break that I had to rush out to use the restroom and get back on stage during some of the other action of the story. But that was that was an adjustment. But other than that, as far as with the story itself, the story just continued to grow and flourish and take on many more dimensions and avenues and channels.

[4:43] Mike Abrams: The more and more and more I kept doing the show, which was a little over a year and a half. Yeah. So to walk me through your Old Deuteronomy story and decision like this, this show is heavily based on the idea that Old Deuteronomy is making this decision every night. And I've heard many different variations of how that thought process comes across. So what do you remember from learning? Hey, here's what he does. Here's his decision making process. Here's his character and how you ended up with this Grizabella choice every night.

[5:14] Quentin Earl Darrington: Absolutely. I mean, to be honest, there's so many details that are forgotten. It's been quite a while. It's been quite a while ago since kind of ending up the old costume. But I do. I did start right away from the scriptures, from the Bible. It just jumped off the page to me. He's Old Deuteronomy. And so I started with Deuteronomy and growing up a Christian brother my whole life. I've known the story of Moses very, very closely my whole life and him leading the children of Israel out of Egypt into the promised land. And so to me, that was kind of the entry point to develop this character and the narrative of all of Cats, the entire story of this leading a group of people receiving messages from God to help them get to the place where it tended for them to always be, which was the promised land, which, of course, in our show was the Heaviside Lair. And so by chapter, book by book, not just Deuteronomy, but also Numbers, Leviticus, Exodus, all of those books were a part of my creation of Old Deuteronomy and of my narrative of Cats.

[6:35] Mike Abrams: Yeah. I kind of love that there is a religious undertone in this in general. Like you said, it's named Old Deuteronomy and it does feel very ritualistic in a way, which I think is there. I am curious how you thought about the idea of the decision for the Heaviside Lair. How does Old Deuteronomy in your world or in your mind make that decision every year? Is it a different choice every year? Is it the same choice every year? Did you not think about this at all when you were doing it? And it's just the super fans asking these questions. Like, what was your thought there?

[7:09] Quentin Earl Darrington: From what I remember, the decision was based on whose time had arrived. And it was a collective—I never thought of it as just Old Deuteronomy deciding on his own. It was not only, as I just said, a decision made from God above that was given to Deuteronomy, but also collectively of all the cats, because I believe that they were all linked and in sync, all of the cats. Because there's so many parts in the play where it's so evident within the storytelling that they are all in tune with one another immediately, and they're connected. And there are so many other times where those cats break away from that connection to do their own thing, just like human beings. I mean, we all have our individuality, but we are all tied together in deep threads that make us all one, whether people acknowledge them or not.

It's part of our humanity, part of our spirit in our humanity. And it's through those two, and the tying of that, and a weaving of that throughout the narrative, that that choice is made for the story of Cats.

[8:26] Mike Abrams: I love that. I think it's fairly poetic, too. There's this beautiful—I like the word humanity, even though we're talking about cats. The idea that we're all interconnected, and it's a family, but they're not all related. And there's this thing that unifies them, this moment that does. So, like you said, it's a mutual choice. Everyone's making a decision together. How does that moment come? Is there a moment at the end of memory before where that's happening? Or there's a ton of theories about this, of that Gus was the choice, but then Grizabella comes back, or that Old Deuteronomy knew from day one, from the beginning, because he's all knowing that Grizabella is coming back, and he's already made up his mind, and he already knew this. How much of that did you even think about?

[9:16] Quentin Earl Darrington: No. No. For me, the decision of the story of Cats that evolved throughout that actual night, it wasn't that Deuteronomy had already made a decision, or he had already known. If he did, there would be no reason to tell the story. There would be no reason to go on the journey of the story. All of it was based on, of course, this happens every single year, but every single year, it's different. Different things happen, different things come. Old Deuteronomy is a servant of the people, and he's a servant of God above, and he listens and leads and guides, and he also follows.

[10:04] Mike Abrams: Did you ever have a day where you're like, it's my turn to go? It's like, Old Deuteronomy's time.

[10:09] Quentin Earl Darrington: No. No.

[10:11] Mike Abrams: Oh.

[10:12] Quentin Earl Darrington: No.

[10:13] Mike Abrams: Never thought it was your turn. You never thought there was one night where you're like, it's finally time. I'm ready to go.

[10:18] Quentin Earl Darrington: No, because, again, I built this show off of Deuteronomy, off of Moses, and Moses lost his opportunity to go to the promised land. And my narrative included Old Deuteronomy. He knew that he would never go. But again, being a servant to the people, to the cats, and to God above, he was the vehicle by which he would lead them there. Then the right would be allowed to go on.

[10:48] Mike Abrams: Okay. I want to hear, taking back to the memories, it's been, like you said, it's been 10 years. It's been a lot of time. What are some of the things that you'll never forget from your time doing Cats?

[10:58] Quentin Earl Darrington: I'll never forget that I had to dance in an Andy Blankenbuehler musical. Listen, brother, I am not a dancer. But I can move a little bit if I have to. But at that point in my career as well, I had to do a full ensemble dancing in years and a long time. Andy, I remember even at my audition, which was specifically for the Trevor Nunn, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and the team, it was just kind of like a one-day, two-day thing in and out. I came in, got the role. There was no dancing. There was no movement, nothing. It was to sing and speak the material of Old Deuteronomy. Praise God, I got the role. And then I showed up at rehearsals.

[11:52] Quentin Earl Darrington: And on like day two or three, I was in the room with all of these brilliant dancers. I mean, we had the best of the best of the best in our show. All of those dancers were sick. And Andy put me right in the group, in a group with about seven of them, eight of them at this one section. Because cats, there was this one part that I had to do with these sections. And he said, all right, Q, the step is one and a two and a three and a four. And I said, and then he just said, got it. Okay. And then he just moved on. And I had never told him I could dance. I'd never danced before for him. I'd never met him. I said, how does this man know that? What? So there you go. That's one of the first things that I will never forget. Wow. But we did it. We did it. And there's a video out there too. It's crazy.

[12:51] Mike Abrams: Of the rehearsal?

[12:53] Quentin Earl Darrington: Or of the... No, no, no, no.

[12:54] Mike Abrams: Yeah. Okay.

[12:54] Quentin Earl Darrington: Of the show, of the show. Yeah. I love that. You're like, I'm not a dancer. We're putting you in with, like you said, some of the most talented dancers in the world. And by the way, we're going to put you in this humongous heavy suit. So not only are you not a dancer, we're going to dance with a weighted vest on, essentially.

[13:13] Quentin Earl Darrington: There you go. And you're going to throw it. Well, here's the crazy part. No, it's not just that, because yes, and the character of Old Deuteronomy, you play another cat at the beginning of the show.

[13:26] Mike Abrams: The opening number?

[13:27] Quentin Earl Darrington: And the opening number. So that's what I'm talking about. I played this other cat before I was Old Deuteronomy. And this cat, which I completely forgot his name. It might have been Victor? Vic? I'm not sure.

[13:39] Mike Abrams: It's probably Victor, because I think Gus plays Peter. They're just, because there are their names from, yeah, their ensemble names to dance through.

[13:48] Quentin Earl Darrington: I think it was Victor. And as Victor, this black and white cat that I was dressed up as, black, white, and gray, was a cat filling with the ball and all the other dancers. So myself and Gus, Christopher Gurr, a dear brother, a friend of mine, man, we were thrown right into the depths of the highest level of dance. It was insane.

[14:12] Mike Abrams: That is.

[14:13] Quentin Earl Darrington: And we were the only two, I won't speak for Christopher, I was definitely a non-dancer amongst giants.

[14:21] Mike Abrams: Yeah. I can only imagine that first, that moment. It almost reminds me of, there's a Friends episode where they put, Joey gets in a dance rehearsal that he's not qualified for, and they're like, oh yeah, you could do this, and have him do his thing. And it's exactly that, which is like, okay, they assume, since you're a dancer, you know these numbers and steps, and you can just pick it up really fast, because those dancers can do that. It's like, they can pick it up so fast.

[14:46] Quentin Earl Darrington: Oh yes. Easy.

[14:47] Mike Abrams: That is fantastic. And like you said, you got proof now. So now when you get asked to do all these dance numbers, they're going to be like, well, you did cats. You did the peak of dance here.

[14:57] Quentin Earl Darrington: Listen, listen, that was a long time ago.

[15:01] Mike Abrams: Okay. Any other kind of memorable moments from cats?

[15:07] Quentin Earl Darrington: Okay. Honestly, there's so many that are just kind of flooding my mind now that you asked the question. There's the costume and makeup, which I just adored. So much of the process of learning how to become a cat and do the makeup ourselves. I mean, we were taught how to do it, and I never thought that I would be able to duplicate that look. But of course, all of us, all of the cats, we learned it and imbued our own take on it. So that was a beautiful part of the character process. So I love that. Also, I loved the darkness of the theater. I love edgy theater. I love revolutionary theater. I love theater that pushes boundaries. Our revival of cats, I just remember so much darkness, like from Green Eyes and the lighting of our show and how you came into this new world.

They had literally painted the inside of the theater black. And my dressing room was a kind of pétanque. And then it was this really dark, dark, dark, dark navy blue, really dark. I mean, from the ceiling, the floor and the wall. So it looked like you went into a cave. And that just helped me to get into the spirit of this junkyard and of this entire story. So I appreciated that. And I'll say the last thing that really jumps out to me is the audience being on stage every night during intermission. That was probably one of my dopest memories about it all, is being able to connect with them one-on-one, tangibly. That was perfect for me.

[16:42] Mike Abrams: Yeah. I remember the first time I saw it, it probably was you, just knowing the timing. And it was early previews and I didn't know anything about the show. And I just remember seeing the ball and then you staying up there. And then everyone, people coming up and I'm like, you don't get a break? You don't get an intermission? And just kind of a wild experience. And I love that they do that because it does have you still... From a storytelling perspective, it's kind of beautiful. You're still there proceeding over the ball, even though they're getting their break. But as a performer, I kept thinking like, you don't need some water here? You don't want to rest?

[17:20] Quentin Earl Darrington: It's funny you bring that up, because I used to get that a lot. I used to get that from my own cast members, from other actors in the business. Many looked at it as it should have a grudge or a problem or why in the world would you do that? I would never do that. Listen, we're all cut from different cloth, and we're all different types of performers, and we're all different types of people. For me, it was exceptional. It allowed them to show. It was an opportunity to give audience members something so uniquely powerful and beautiful that you can receive at any other show. God gave me this gift for people, and that's why I do it. I don't do it for myself. We're looking at it for myself. Yeah, give me what I want, do what I want to do in a certain kind of way.

But it's about the people and serving the people in such a way and doing it excellently. It afforded me an opportunity to do that and extend the story right to people's faces, to their hearts, where they could literally touch me. I could touch them and talk. I stayed in character the entire time. Very much similar to what we're going to get into with what's happening in Masquerade. Doing that in Cats was, to me, artistically brilliant and extremely fulfilling and a part of my calling as an actor.

[18:44] Mike Abrams: We're going to take a quick break, and then we'll be back for more of The Wrong Cat Died. What a perfect pivot because you, like you said, of having that opportunity of getting to stay in character and doing this. And like you mentioned, edgy and dark theater. Masquerade is both of those things. It is definitely an iconic character, and you're playing the Phantom. So let's talk about Masquerade. I have had the pleasure of going through it twice, and I hope everyone gets a chance. It's a very tough ticket to get because it's an incredibly put-together production. So what was, for you, I assume you probably knew, just like with at least with Cats, you at least know Phantom. You know a little bit of it from the lore of it's an iconic show.

But Masquerade is, it is Phantom and an experience. And so I guess for people who haven't seen it or don't know much about it, it's immersive. You are experiencing the story as you go through. So what's the reverse side of that? As an audience member, we're being curated through this exceptional story. But for you, you're delivering it from a slightly different lens than a proscenium theater. How was the learning the show and not just where you need to be, but also where you decide who you're going to interact with and who you're going to have those moments with?

[20:05] Quentin Earl Darrington: Oh, great question. I'm still learning the show. And I don't think I'll ever end. I don't think I'll stop learning the show. It changes every single day, every single performance. It's so uniquely brilliant. The narrative, of course, the source material is Phantom of the Opera. But the way that Masquerade is told through this immersive, very exposed approach, there is no way to completely have the same exact things happen from night to night. There's so many unknowns, there's so many. And so it does require a certain type of artist to be able to be in this environment and to make this show work. For me, it's perfection. For me, it is the type of theater that I have prayed for for a very long time.

It's the type of theater that I studied growing up in high school and college and the master's program. When I used to learn about the living theater and the open theater and the theater back from the 60s and the 70s, this immersive and exposed and raw hoops that would take theater beyond the proscenium march and experiment with new conventions and creating things that had never been done. And here I'm getting a chance to live that still in the corporate commercial world of Broadway, which you know, I have my issues with. But with that said, being able to reach into the depths of something that's raw and visceral and has never been done before. What we're doing in Masquerade has never been done anywhere on the globe in the history of theater. And so I feel so proud, man, and privileged to be a part of this unique experience and the first of its kind to ever be done. It's awesome.

[22:11] Mike Abrams: Yeah. There's nothing like it. I know when I went the first time, I didn't know what to expect and everyone said, oh, it's like Sleep No More. And I went to Sleep No More, but it's not. There's elements of visits like that, but it is so unique. So the last time I saw it, I saw Nick Walker as the Phantom. And I was wondering how he held it together because he gets in my face and I'm kind of smiling and laughing at, not laughing, but I'm enjoying the moment so much that I'm really enjoying it. The guy standing next to me has got on a Batman mask. And I know there's been a couple of those, but how does the audience, being so close and so with you, do you have any of those moments where it's just like I turn and all of a sudden there's this thing happening that does not happen when you're on stage as much?

[23:03] Quentin Earl Darrington: You know, I personally, I welcome it and invite it all. Nothing deters me or really throws me off. I'm so deep in character. Just as you said, Brother Nick may have been in that scenario. I use everything to my advantage to tell my story and to further it from night to night. If there was someone in a Batman costume, I'm using it. I'm using everything. It's to what someone smells like. I'm that close to what someone's hand feels like as I touch them. It's highly tactile. It's highly connected, you know what I mean? And for me,

[23:43] Quentin Earl Darrington: The type of artist that I am and the specificity and the discipline and the details that I search for and I need and I use to create my phantom and the world of Masquerade. I'd say the more, the merrier. I'll take it all and I will use it in everything. The more that comes, the greater the performance and the greater the effect. So I do have a very, very disciplined approach that thrives in simplicity, but where there's an abundance of information around me, that way I can do even less. It's powerful. It makes the performance that much more powerful, the more that people bring to the table because he's the phantom. He doesn't have to do much at all. And it's awesome.

[24:36] Mike Abrams: Do you seek out certain people that it's like, oh, they're bringing an energy? Cause you say you're, you immerse yourself so much into the character. And as I look around the room, I'm a very observant person. Otherwise I wouldn't have called out Grizabella and had 250 episodes about this topic. If I didn't have that kind of thing. And I'm looking around going like the one of the friends I went with did not want to be super engaged with. And the other friend was like, talk to me all you want. And so do you notice that? Do you seek that out? Or are you just so engaged in the character that it's just happening?

[25:07] Quentin Earl Darrington: No, I'm not seeking out who wants to be engaged and who doesn't. No, the fact that you accepted my invitation and you showed up, that means you're a part of it. So it doesn't matter to me if someone is fearful or not, or I mean, granted, I've never dealt with anyone who was afraid, but if you're in the building and you're in earshot or eye shot or hand shot of me, you're part of the story. Yeah. And, and thank God that there has never been any kind of tragic, you know, things that happened, but even if they did, you know, I would respectfully roll with it and we'd make it work.

[25:48] Yeah. And there's nothing to be fearful of. It is an incredibly immersive and fun and unique experience. And I mean, kudos to it is extremely accessible and, you know, they've done an amazing job getting everyone to who wants to experience it, the opportunity to experience it. And so I, I can't, I cannot recommend it more. I, everybody I talked to, I've recommended this show to, and love that they have a live lottery and lots of ways to see extended, I think again, hopefully keep going. Cause it's just so, so well done.

[26:22] Quentin Earl Darrington: Is there a room that you love most, like that you like to do most in the show? Is there one that really you're like, ah, I can't, I'm so excited about this part?

[26:26] Mike Abrams: You know, uh, no, I don't have a favorite of yet the show because all of the rooms are still yet a work in progress for me. And so when I do my homework in the days, not at the theater at night, I'm working on various parts of the show, constantly refining, refining, refining detail of notes, thoughts, I think more character arc of the more depth so that I can go in and put it in. And that the next night, um, I enjoy all of that and everything. You know what I mean?

[27:05] Quentin Earl Darrington: Um, sometimes it's very, very exhausting. It's been, we have that, you know, that much of work in detail, but eventually love to approach the work that way because eventually it becomes a living, breathing organism on its own. And then there's so much freedom, you know, in that, but this is just the beginning stages as I'm, um, continuing to still build. And I'll say it's a blessing that, uh, much progress we've made already. Um, I love every single scene.

[27:46] Mike Abrams: Yeah. I mean, it's beautiful from start to finish. Like it's engaging from start to finish. I'm assuming the answer to this is probably no, but I'm going to ask it anyways, but it's not more or less difficult or challenging or physically demanding by being going through room to room to room. Like you're kind of constantly on the move versus being on stage. Is that just part of the deal or more or less challenging than wearing an Old Deuteronomy suit? Like how have you noticed the difference of that in a production like this, where, I mean, you're cycling around just as much as we are, but behind scenes, sometimes not behind scenes, I walked with the Phantom for like a stretch down the hallway during one of the times.

[28:26] Quentin Earl Darrington: Um, but is that a, you know, it's different, but is it harder, easier, the same than a proscenium show?

[28:32] Quentin Earl Darrington: Yeah. Oh, it's far more difficult, far more difficult. It's, it's, it's, it's the challenges of what we're doing at Masquerade for, for the actor, for the performer. Oh my God. Listen, it is sin on the body. It's taxing because we're going from floor to floor. It's a seven story building. I believe, yeah, six or seven stories. And we're on almost every floor. And of course we're guiding the audience through, but when we're not on stage, we're navigating, you know, backstage traffic up and down the stairs, up and down and around corners and ducking and hiding and rolling and getting down underneath the ground to come up, pop up in another area, you know, just so that we can continue to keep that magic alive as if it's completely seamless, which it is, right?

[29:20] Mike Abrams: Yeah.

[29:20] Quentin Earl Darrington: Yeah. There's a moment that you see me like right in front of you. And then a second later, you don't see me, but I'm there, but you just see parts of me and it's, and it's not magic, you know, it's effort, it's timing, it's, it's, it's disciplined traffic and it's, um, practice, you know, it's a lot of hard work.

[29:44] Mike Abrams: Yeah. You don't see happening behind the scenes.

[29:44] Quentin Earl Darrington: And that's just my part. And I have one of the easiest tracks in the whole show, but my brothers and sisters, um, who play the other parts and within the ensemble and the covers, it's 10 times more difficult than what I have to do. So it's far more difficult than a proscenium show.

[30:02] Mike Abrams: It is one of those things that as an audience member, I, again, my brain works very logistics and structure and trying to go through. I was dying to interview at some point the person that put it all together. Cause I wanted, I want to see like just the floor plan of like, where was I when I was next to this? And was I next door to the room that's happening over there? Cause like we're all going at the same time. It's a, it's so well orchestrated. And that was kind of where my question came from is that I took some escalators up and down. And while I'm taking my leisure stroll to the next room, you gotta be sprinting from, you know, one part of the room to the other, to just to get to your next spot.

[30:45] Quentin Earl Darrington: Indeed. Indeed. Indeed. And all the whole time, of course, people approach it differently. But for me, who's in character, most of the show using that offstage traffic to further where my character is going to make the next entrance. Right. So, so all of that has to be navigated as well, which is another whole layer that I've, I've never had the beauty to experience in any show that I've been a part of with this much offstage life, which again, I love, I love. It's just, I can literally be the phantom from the time I arrived to the time I leave the stage. There's no dressing room sitting down time. There is no going to the water cooler, just sit and just shoot the breeze for me particularly, you know, so much. And I just really love that approach to, to the work.

[31:32] Mike Abrams: Yeah. What would you say to someone who hasn't seen it? Who's considering like, what's your pitch to them? As an audience member?

[31:36] Quentin Earl Darrington: Oh my goodness. You should come see Masquerade because it is eternally brilliant, beautiful, bold, and an experience you have never been felt touch tasted before in your entire life. I don't care what show you've seen anywhere in the world. You haven't gotten, you haven't had a taste of this ever or that. I think all people should come and get this at least one time in their life. I'm so grateful that as an actor, I can say that, you know, for I, as an audience member and now as an actor being in it, what a privilege, what a privilege. If the show ended for me right now today, it's made me a better artist. It's made me a better audience member just for being a part of this journey of Masquerade and nothing can take this away from me. I'm fulfilled completely with this show.

[32:54] Mike Abrams: I would also echo that, which is whether Phantom's your favorite show, whether it's something you've never seen, whether it's something that you've always wanted to see, this is a different version like you'd never seen. And I always felt that the, like my answer to your question, and I think the whole thing's really brilliant, but the, the beginning, the intro and the ending are two of the most powerful rooms that you'll have as in a theater experience. And it's a very, very cool way from start to finish to experience in a, in a different show every time you see it. So I got us, you know, I was in a different spot of the room the second time I went and I got a, I had interactions with other characters I didn't even know were in the room the first time I went. And so that's a very unique part to the show. And I hope more people get to see it.

[33:38] Quentin Earl Darrington: May I add to that too, brother, you just mentioned something that hit me. I wasn't a fan of Phantom coming into the show. Of course, I'd known about what it was. Of course, I'd, I'd never really sung the music before, but I knew the show. I knew of the history of this kind of just like cat's approach. And I had seen it once years ago, years ago when I was a probably first or two, third year of college, undergrad, came up to New York during some audition times and sat and watched Phantom. It was not my cup of tea at all. Like I said, my version of my, what I love in theater is, is raw, edgy, bold. I wasn't really a fan of the classics of theater and I wasn't really a fan of, of what we call legit singing back in the day at all.

And, but Masquerade, this is a whole nother thing. And not only have I gone from that place in my perspective of Phantom of the opera, but what we're now doing in Masquerade, it's one of the greatest pieces and productions I've ever been a part of. And I can say that confidently, you know what I mean? It's, it's, it's not the old Phantom at all. So whether you're a fan of Phantom or not, this is an experience you have to have.

[35:01] Mike Abrams: I'm glad you said that. I was, I was not getting to it, but I was maybe alluding to it. Phantom was also not my favorite. And I only saw it because when it was closing on Broadway, I did a ton of episodes with, they had five or six people who had done Cats and we did a series together and I'd never seen it. So I had to finally go and, and went and saw it. And it was, you know, again, it's incredible performances and it's a spectacle and the music is great, but it was similar. I was like,

[35:35] Quentin Earl Darrington: I'm not, I haven't put on this. That was the first time I put on a suit in a long time. It was to come to your show. That was, I thought about that. I was like, I hadn't, I had to dust off my suit to go to come to your show.

[36:15] Mike Abrams: Oh yes. Oh yes. Isn't, isn't that the beautiful part about what you were just explaining about reinvention and, and revival, true revival of, of a piece of work and theater and art that you can take something that, you know, for you and myself, it wasn't really our cup of tea. Same story, told in a whole new way, presented in a whole new way through the brilliance of the visionary creative team that built the show and the architects that designed the show and the craftsmen that built the lighting and the sound engineering for this show, particularly for Masquerade to work in this way. It's, it floors me. I'm just, just in awe, just mouth, I mean, literally jaw dropped walking through as an audience member. And now even as a performer being in it, just fulfilled and thrilled and expanded in such a way that no other show can give me like this. That's powerful to me. And I love that about it.

[37:20] Quentin Earl Darrington: Yeah. And I, I mean, I think a huge shout out to Andrew Weber for doing that. Cause he's doing this too, with the gel cabals, the same thing for a lot of the cats haters are experiencing it in a way that they've never experienced before. And now you love it. I give him a lot of credit that he is allowed, you know, this art to evolve that way. And I mean, in, in such a unique and different way. And these aren't things that were flops that, you know, you're, you're bringing back. These are extremely successful pieces of theater history that are being reinvented in a way that's modernized and really unique. So, I mean, kudos to everyone involved. And I think it's good for the art form and good for it for people.

And it just helps the brands more too. Like it helps. I now want to see another stage production of Phantom, like, cause I felt like I learned a little bit more the same way. I love seeing different productions of cats after seeing the Junko ball and can't wait to go see their performances soon.

[38:20] Mike Abrams: Right. I cannot wait to go see the Jellicle ball. I haven't seen it yet. I had tickets back at the Perlman, I believe it was, but that was during the time that I believe a lot of the, the, the beautiful performers there got COVID or were sick and they, you know, they have kind of cancers on performances. So me and my son were going together. I was taking my son who was, who was staying with me here in New York from college. He's a up and coming musical theater, young man trying to get into the business. And we wanted to go enjoy the show together, but we will definitely go see it on Broadway. I'm excited.

[38:53] Quentin Earl Darrington: You have to, you have to y'all really, especially as you know, as someone who knows the story and the lore, like you will be floored with how they, they went about it. So.

[39:04] Mike Abrams: I can't wait.

[39:05] Quentin Earl Darrington: Okay. Let's do some real quick, rapid fire to get to the million dollar question. And this is all cats related. So if you could go on for one cat, one night, whether you could sing it, dance, it doesn't matter, male, female, any cat, who would you want to perform as?

[39:20] Quentin Earl Darrington: Oh, I could dance. Yeah. It just, I mean, I can do any of them. So I say, you know, just, who would you want to, if you could go out there and perform it, like the best version you've ever seen, perform that character, who would you want to be?

[39:32] Quentin Earl Darrington: Oh man. I have, I have two answers to this. Number one, it would be old Deuteronomy.

[39:39] Mike Abrams: Okay. Stay true.

[39:42] Quentin Earl Darrington: Old Deuteronomy. I mean, it's, it's, it's, it's me and, and powerful then. And, uh, yeah, it'd be old Deuteronomy. They do exactly what I did. If there was a second to that, it would be Mr. Mistoffelees.

[39:55] Mike Abrams: Do those turns. I love it. Um, who are your favorite and least favorite cats from a character perspective? Like which one would bug you? Which one would you love? Like, who would you want to hang out with? And, and I'm asking this is you Quentin, not, not necessarily as old Deuteronomy.

[40:10] Quentin Earl Darrington: Cat would I love to hang out with? Probably just a theater cat.

[40:15] Mike Abrams: Okay. And who's going to bug you?

[40:17] Quentin Earl Darrington: Who's going to bug me? Which cat were irritating? I don't remember. Oh, bug me. Maybe you can, you know, this better. Any, any of the cats would be, let's sing a little too high, strong. Um, shanks, maybe he's always just fidgety and just all over the plate. I mean, I mean, I love skim ball, but I can't take too much of that. Okay. Okay. You got to pipe down and chill. You got to chill out. What's your favorite song in the show and cats?

[40:54] Quentin Earl Darrington: Um, I think I saw one of the Mistoffelees. Okay. If you could invite one cat to the masquerade, who are, who's your first invitation going to as a phantom?

[41:08] Quentin Earl Darrington: Uh, Rum Tum Tugger. He's fun. Tugger. Okay. I thought my, I thought the, um, I think the one that would be there first though would be Bustopher Jones.

[41:18] Mike Abrams: He's already there. He's already got, he's already got the, he's got the money. He's got the box.

[41:24] Quentin Earl Darrington: He's got the, um, okay. So my final question and I, um, I, you know, the show is based on the idea that I don't think Grisbel is the right Jellicle choice. So it's always fun to ask all Deuteronomy's this question, but I want to hear who is your Jellicle choice. If you're picking, who is your Jellicle choice and why?

[41:39] Quentin Earl Darrington: Oh, it's going to be Grisabella every time.

[41:44] Mike Abrams: Oh, it's going to be Grisabella every time. You're picking Gris every time. Okay. What's your rationale for why?

[41:48] Quentin Earl Darrington: Because it's about the, the, the cats. It's about the people. Um, Grisabella, Grisabella's ascension to the heavy side layer wasn't, it wasn't about Grisabella. It's about them. They never could evolve if she didn't go the way that they treated her, the way that they shunned her, the way that they ousted her. It's only by their collective understanding or you move forward in love or you find forgiveness or you repent of your sins or you take a step forward in excellence and elevation that you can ever change. And if Grisabella didn't go, they don't get the arc of that within themselves. So they can look at themselves in the mirror and make a change though. It has to be Grisabella every time so that they can then see themselves and say, Oh Lord, have mercy on me.

Woe is me. Who am I to, you know what? There's more for me to do change. I have to change. And that's, that's the reflective in everybody's life. It's the, to the least of these, to those who are on the fringes of society who are left outcasts or outsiders, or that's the scripture all over again that Jesus teaches me to do. And so many of us to do. I love our neighbors and those who are considered lost and forgotten. We so easily look over them and we so easily treat them wrong. And we so easily rest our foot on top of when it should be just the other way around. And so that's why it has to be Grisabella every time. And Deuteronomy knew that and he wanted that for the cats, but like I said, it had to be a collective decision and make them make that, to find it for themselves.

[43:48] Mike Abrams: Yeah. So I agree with everything you said, except where I lose the, for me, the story is where, what does it mean to go to the heavyside layer? Because I think that everything you said is exactly right. This is someone we've got to accept. But then I struggle with then it's like, all right, we've made this great collective agreement that we want you back with us. And we need you to be like, we're going to finally say yes to you. And then by the way, we're now we're going to kill you. Like now we're going to send you off. Like, like spend a year, like I want her to be next year's choice. Like we just welcomed her back. So let's spend a year, have a birthday party, go to, you know, go to, go to some other things together with the, with your family.

That's finally reignited or rejoined with you. So that's where I lose it is I'm like, let's, let's have that exact message you said, but then we'll send Gus because he needs to go and we'll let Grisabella hang with us now. Cause we've collective, we finally said, Hey, you're part of, you're one of us now.

[44:42] Quentin Earl Darrington: Well, that's if you believe that death is the end of life, it isn't, it's just the beginning of something new. And, um, and it's the beginning of eternity. What greater place is there to be? What greater pursuit is there to have an eternal life in paradise, eternal life in the promised land, eternal life in heaven. So it is the greatest reward. It is greatest prize ever achieved. That's my greatest prize, even as I live here on this earth. So my story of cats is doing the same and Grisabella has ascended to that. And hopefully the other cats do their own repentance and their own journeys. They'll get to have that same prize or reward as well.

[45:27] Mike Abrams: Yeah. I think that's the, that's the crux of the story. And that's where my debate, you know, always stems from, which is like, I don't disagree with that at all. Um, and I think that's actually where, when you see the Jellicle ball, when you see it, you'll, I think you'll see, it feels a little bit less like the end and more like the beginning, uh, and so I think that's, I told them when I saw it, that I was like, you kind of joked with them. I'm like, you ruined my show, you know, like you ruined my podcast. Cause like this does feel like that for them. So I, again, I'm, uh, if it's kudos to them, well, that's, that's, that's powerful, right? Yeah. Death, death, death is not the ending.

[46:11] Quentin Earl Darrington: Yeah. Well, this has been very fun. How can people stay in touch with you on social media? And we'll obviously link to how to get tickets to masquerade so people can come see you.

[46:20] Quentin Earl Darrington: Oh, they can't, I don't have no social media.

[46:26] Mike Abrams: Okay. We'll link the masquerade stuff then. Absolutely. Yes, absolutely. Go to masquerade link, the masquerade, uh, information, please come see the show. It's, it's phenomenal, phenomenal, phenomenal. It is worth every penny. It is. I can't, I can't express how much fun it is and how unique it is. And, uh, hopefully this gave you a taste of it just, uh, to, to get you excited. And it's going through, I think July I saw and probably hopefully extended many, many, many more times.

[46:51] Quentin Earl Darrington: Yeah. I wish I could say more about that.

[46:55] Quentin Earl Darrington: I wish I could say more about that, man. It's, it's an eternal piece. That's going to have an eternal life, man. It's, it's awesome. It's awesome. Money talks. So buy more tickets and they'll keep extending. I'm sure.

[46:59] Mike Abrams: There you go. Well, thank you for coming on the show is absolute blast.

[47:05] Quentin Earl Darrington: Absolutely. My pleasure. My pleasure.

[47:09] Mike Abrams: Well, thank you. And thanks everyone else for listening to this episode of The Wrong Cat Died. The podcast breakdown, the cast, Ashby to follow along. You can subscribe on Apple podcast, Spotify, or any other podcast. Also social media, The Wrong Cat Died or check our website, The Wrong Cat.