Fit for a feline

There’s more than one way to skin a cat, yet there is only one way to slip into a “Cats” skin:

You have to wriggle your way through the neck hole.

Yeeouww, as a cat might say.

This is only one of many feline-costume details we learned in talking with Maribeth Hite, costume director for the touring version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cats,” which arrives Tuesday in Spokane.

“There are no zippers on these costumes,” said Hite. “Everything is spandex. The actors have to step in through the neck opening and then they have to pull it over their hips. They have to wriggle their way in.”

Costumes are vital in any stage show, but especially so in “Cats,” in which the illusion of cat-ness is part of the magic.

This tour uses the original costume designs by John Napier. Every cat has its own distinct color, pattern and personality. And because this is such a dancing-intensive show, the costumes must be both flexible and durable.

“We use a special kind of spandex with glitter woven into it,” said Hite. “It has a four-way stretch. And because of the athletic nature of the dancing, we have to make triplicates of every costume.”

Triplicates? Isn’t that being extra-cautious?

“Well, this is different from doing any other show,” said Hite. “You can’t just go to the mall and replace it.”

Costume emergencies are not unheard of, although most of them involve the shoes.

“The actors use a jazz shoe because of the athletic dancing, and it is very thin leather,” said Hite. “They only last for about two weeks. And sometimes a shoe will blow out right in the middle of the performance.”

The most recent costume emergency occurred when a shoe blew out during a performance in Canada. The crew had to drive an hour to find the nearest dance shop.

The wigs are a key part of the overall look, with the designs running seamlessly through the costumes, the makeup and the wigs.

“The wigs are made of yak hair, which is a more substantial, stiffer hair which stands up a little straighter and provides the perkiness the cat’s face needs,” said Hite.

“The ears, in fact, are just part of the wig. The wig crew styles two tufts of hair to make them look like cat ears. They use mustache wax to keep those ears in place.”

Since its London debut in 1981, “Cats” has been one of the longest-running and most beloved of modern musicals. Based on the whimsical stories of T.S. Eliot, the characters of Mungojerrie, Rumpleteazer, Grizabella, Munkustrap, Mister Mistoffelees, Rum Tum Tugger and Old Deuteronomy have entertained millions.

The key musical number, “Memory,” has become a modern standard.

Yet according to Hite, the audience is missing one of the most entertaining aspects of the show.

“The performance backstage is as interesting as the performance onstage,” said Hite.

It’s a backstage ballet of wig changes and costume changes. Many of the actors play multiple roles and must don different costume pieces for different scenes. For instance, in one scene, a number of actors pull on black vinyl costumes in order to look like a gang of beetles.

“They’re supposed to look like black trash bags,” said Hite. “We actually use a black vinyl similar to what is used on black tablecloth covers.

“The beetles also have wings, since they can fly. It’s one of the fun numbers of the first act.”

Fortunately, these secondary costumes can be pulled on over their basic cat costumes.

Apparently the last thing an actor wants to do after wriggling into that cat-spandex is to wriggle back out of it in the middle of the show.