Ep271 - Jaydon Vijn, Rum Tum Tugger in 2026 Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

“We have this system that every cat in the show is on a different life out of the nine lives which is a really interesting way of thinking about it.” This episode features Jaydon Vijn who is currently performing as Rum Tum Tugger in Drew McOnie’s reimagined production of CATS at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in London. Jaydon shares his CATS fandom from dance college, why Tugger was always his dream role, and what the audition process revealed about the production’s choreography. He discusses how the revival feels like a fresh show while honoring the original, including storytelling focus, character “nine lives” backstories, and relationships onstage. Jaydon details Tugger’s dynamics with Bombalurina, Munkustrap, Old Deuteronomy, and a mentorship-style bond with Mistoffelees, plus his darker, more adult take on Tugger. An episode not to miss. 02:11 Rum Tum Tugger Dream Role 04:18 Reimagining a Classic 10:10 Building a Darker Tugger 11:44 Outdoor Theater Experiences 15:33 Costumes Makeup and New Look 17:44 Tugger’s Relationship Web 25:50 Favorite Show Moments 38:31 Rapid Fire Check out Jaydon on Instagram: @jay.vijn Check out CATS @ Regent's Park Open Air Theatre: openairtheatre.com/production/cats Check out the CATS UK Tour: uktour.catsthemusical.com Produced by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alan Seales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Broadway Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Social Media: @⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWrongCatDied Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The Haus of Dots has the best table at the Ball.” This episode features Xavier Reyes who played Jennyanydots in the Broadway production of Cats: The Jellicle Ball. Hear Xavier discuss his CATS history, from watching the DVD in Puerto Rico to auditioning for Skimbleshanks and ultimately booking Jennyanydots as a drag mother role. Xavier explains how he blended the original “Gumbie Cat” with extensive ballroom research, vogue classes, and collaboration with castmates, directors, and dramaturgy to marry ballroom and theater while honoring Cats lore. He describes shaping the Haus of Dots as a trophy-winning “empire,” building relationships and developing tension with Macavity via shared house backstory. Xavier reflects on audience reception at the PAC, the transfer to Broadway, improvisational audience interaction, celebrity judges, performing for Andrew Lloyd Webber, and favorite memories from the run. 03:11 Auditioning for Skimbleshanks & Jennyanydots 05:08 Building Jennyanydots 06:49 Researching Ballroom Motherhood 17:29 Haus of Dots 29:08 Broadway Debut 31:19 Audience Improv 40:42 Rapid Fire Check out Xavier on Instagram: @xavireyesactor Check out CATS: The Jellicle Ball on Social Media: @catsjellicleball Check out CATS: The Jellicle Ball: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠catsthejellicleball.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Produced by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alan Seales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Broadway Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Social Media: @⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWrongCatDied Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“We’re Bombalonzo.” This episode features the cast and creative team (Faith Stansfield and Matty Franklin from the cast and Kirsten Edwards and Marc Taylor from the creative team) from the Boom Theatre in Cornwall, who are performing a Young Actors Edition of CATS inspired by a “Cornish twist.” They discuss their first introductions to Cats, why Boom chose the dance-led show, and how the production reimagines the junkyard as a derelict Cornish harbor with immersive elements like fog and sea scent. Marc outlines three character “tribes” (village cats, mystical moor/legend cats, and pirate/wrecker outsiders), plus costume ideas including Cornish tartan and a tartan-clad Beetle Tattoo. Maddie and Faith explain character-development exercises, relationship choices (including their “Bombalonzo” dynamic), and how they’re adjusting adult themes for a youth cast. 01:21 First Encounters With CATS 06:37 Cornwall Reimagining 11:00 Three Tribes Concept 13:27 Building Characters in Rehearsal 31:02 Designing a Cornish Cats 36:46 Rapid Fire Check out Boom Theatre Instagram: @boom_theatre Check out the Boom Theatre's website: boomtheatre.uk Produced by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alan Seales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Broadway Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Social Media: @⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWrongCatDied Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“That organ sound was iconic. I felt like I was transported to a certain time in history.” This episode features Linedy Genao who is currently playing on Broadway as Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby and hosting her new podcast Entre Acts, which is part of the Broadway Podcast Network. Linedy recalls seeing the 2016 revival of CATS while performing in On Your Feet, loving the dancing and music but leaving confused, then later seeing the downtown Jellicle Ball and finally understanding the show. She shares what it was like leading Bad Cinderella, collaborating with Andrew Lloyd Webber, and everything involved with that show including the viral spray-paint moment. Now playing Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby, she explains her approach to making Myrtle sympathetic and critiques the double standard in how characters are judged. Linedy also discusses her Broadway Podcast Network show Entre Acts, focusing on the “in-between” periods for artists. 00:59 First Time Seeing CATS 03:11 CATS Revival Vibes 04:06 Broadway Origins Stories 07:46 Working With Andrew Lloyd Webber 09:58 Bad Cinderella 21:53 Playing Myrtle In Gatsby 25:10 Entre Acts Podcast 28:34 Rapid Fire Check out Linedy on Social Media: @linedygenao Check out Entre Acts on Social Media: @entreacts Check out The Great Gatsby on Social Media: @bwaygatsby Check out The Great Gatsby's website: broadwaygatsby.com Produced by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alan Seales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Broadway Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Social Media: @⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWrongCatDied *Episode powered by WelcomeToTimesSquare.com, the billboard where you can be the star for the day Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“If you show it in your face, people don’t look at your feet.” This episode features Denise Jastraunig who was a swing in CATS on the German Tent Tour and then in the Vienna revival. Denise shares her CATS journey, from first seeing the DVD in school while training as a competitive tennis player to pivoting into musical theater at the age of 16. Denise recounts being unexpectedly invited to audition for the German Tent Tour, moving from a dancer call to the “movers call,” landing her first major job as a swing, and learning tracks with a detailed swing bible. She compares the tent tour’s deeper character workshops with a more time-pressed 2019 Vienna revival, notes production differences like an expanded tap number, and describes going on as Grizabella. She shares onstage mishaps, makeup challenges, and being featured in an Andrew Lloyd Webber Instagram post. 02:07 From Tennis To Theater 08:22 Audition Movers Call 20:45 Swing Life Prep 26:09 First Night Grizabella 31:46 Wild Onstage Stories 34:02 Webber Instagram Shoutout 38:16 Rapid Fire Check out Denise on Instagram: @denise__jastraunig Produced by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alan Seales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Broadway Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Social Media: @⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWrongCatDied Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We were honored to be invited to the reunion brunch for the Jellicle Tribe, a group of members from the US National Tour 4 of Cats. They got together before opening night of CATS: The Jellicle Ball to catch up and discuss all things CATS. Hear us discuss the excitement for the opening night, changes from their tour, and who is their Jellicle choice. Featuring (in order): Natasha Davison, Holly Cruz, Nancy Melius, Eddie Buffum & Elizabeth Mills, Helen, Lauren, & Steve Watkins, Linda Leonard, General McArthur Hambrick, Daniel Wright, Joyce Chittick, Rosemary Loar, Jacob Brent About the Production: Cats: “The Jellicle Ball” is a radical reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic musical based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, inspired by the Ballroom culture that roared out of New York City over 50 years ago and still rages around the world. Staged as a spectacularly immersive competition by Zhailon Levingston and Artistic Director Bill Rauch. Unfortunately, this production closed way too soon. Check out CATS: The Jellicle Ball on Social Media: @catsjellicleball Check out CATS: The Jellicle Ball: ⁠⁠⁠⁠catsthejellicleball.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ Produced by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alan Seales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Broadway Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Social Media: @⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWrongCatDied Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“In ballroom, femininity in particular is embraced. It really shifted my perspective on things.” This episode features Bebe Nicole Simpson who is performing as Demeter in Cats: The Jellicle Ball. Bebe discusses the show’s early closing, her late introduction to CATS, and how she researched Demeter’s traditionally darker Macavity backstory before adapting it to this production’s “House mother” Macavity. Bebe compares lore variations across CATS productions, including shifting relationships and new theories in The Jellicle Ball, and talks about the move from The PAC to the Broadhurst, where staging and audience sightlines changed performance choices. Bebe shares a unique perspective on how ballroom helped her embrace femininity and body image. An episode you won’t want to miss. 02:46 Demeter and Macavity Lore 13:09 PAC to Broadway Transition 19:33 Learning Ballroom Culture 26:09 Walking Categories and Body 27:43 Costume Confidence 30:37 Ballroom Body Positivity 31:26 Onstage Lore And Relationships 37:47 Improvised Comedy Bits 43:57 Rapid Fire Check out Bebe on Instagram: @bebeeee_nicole Check out CATS: The Jellicle Ball on Social Media: @catsjellicleball Check out CATS: The Jellicle Ball: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠catsthejellicleball.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Produced by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alan Seales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Broadway Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Social Media: @⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWrongCatDied Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“All of them took concepts here and turned it into just this massive expression of queer joy in the time we are living in right now. It doesn’t deserve to be seen. It demands to be seen.” This episode features Jordan Stefanski, a devoted Cats: The Jellicle Ball fan who has seen the show over 50 times. Jordan comes on the show to discuss how his CATS journey began with the 2019 movie and later shifted after hearing about the ballroom concept through a friend involved in early workshops. Jordan explains why he repeats shows like A Strange Loop and Oh, Mary and his philosophy of bringing friends by buying tickets. Jordan then dives into how The Jellicle Ball’s queer joy, audience immersion, and evolving details reward repeat visits. He shares favorite places to sit (especially boxes), highlights DJ Griddlebone and Junior LaBeija’s presence, and praises swings and dance captains. An episode of true fandom and patron of the arts. 02:06 Surviving the 2019 Movie 04:34 Discovering Cats: The Jellicle Ball 08:50 Why He Keeps Returning 19:07 Hidden Details and Character Choices 21:10 Best Seats 28:35 Swings and Standout Moments 38:40 Rapid Fire Check out CATS: The Jellicle Ball on Social Media: @catsjellicleball Check out CATS: The Jellicle Ball: ⁠⁠⁠catsthejellicleball.com⁠⁠⁠ Produced by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Alan Seales⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠Broadway Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠⁠ Social Media: @⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWrongCatDied Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“You know when you walk into a conversation and two friends are laughing so hard you start to laugh? You have no idea what they are laughing about but the energy is infectious. I think that the fact this show is utter nonsense, it allows a freedom so then the joy on stage invites the audience in.” This episode features Ryan Jackson who played Mr. Mistoffelees during the early years of the US National Tour 5 of CATS. Hear Ryan discuss his first exposure to the show, rehearsals filled with unwritten lore, and Gillian Lynne’s surprising insights into the choreography. Ryan describes the ensemble-driven fun of touring, including onstage games, the influence of superfans and fan art, and how constant cast changes kept performances fresh. He reflects on the pre-show ritual of applying Cats makeup which helped launch his later career as a makeup supervisor on Broadway. An episode you won’t want to miss. 03:23 Rehearsal Lore 11:14 Keeping It Fresh on Tour 21:15 CATS Makeup to Makeup Career 26:01 Mistoffelees Entrance 29:32 Makeup Career Origins 34:34 Cats: The Jellicle Ball 38:06 Rapid Fire Check out Ryan on Instagram: @thisguysmakeup, @its_ryan_jackson & @thisguysbeauty Check out Death Becomes Her on Social Media: @deathbecomesher Check out Death Becomes Her's website: ⁠⁠deathbecomesher.com⁠ Produced by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alan Seales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Broadway Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Social Media: @⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWrongCatDied Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“If you’d asked me if I’d be in CATS again, I would have absolutely laughed and said don’t be ridiculous.” This episode features Leigh Archer who played Demeter in Australia in 1994 and recently returned as Jennyanydots on the Australian tour. Leigh recounts first encountering CATS music while dancing in a Sydney football grand final show at age 14, later auditioning and joining an already-running Melbourne cast, where a rehearsal exercise helped her embody Demeter’s fear of Macavity. She describes touring Asia in the ’90s, especially Korea’s rock-concert-level audience reactions, and contrasts them with varied Australian crowds on the recent tour. Leigh shares what it was like re-entering the show many years later, relying on muscle memory, adapting to re-choreographed tap, navigating modern backstage social media fun, and defining character relationships. An episode you won’t want to miss. 04:28 Auditioning for Demeter 11:31 Returning After 30 Years 15:35 Backstage Culture Shift 20:05 Character Relationships 28:17 Tour Memories Then Now 32:14 Modern CATS Fandom 35:20 Rapid Fire Check out Leigh on Instagram: @⁠archer5196 Produced by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alan Seales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Broadway Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Social Media: @⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheWrongCatDied Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices