I?M back from Melbourne and, thankfully, in less pain than I initially thought. It was a very intense rehearsal period for ?Cats.?

To see all those jetés, multiple pirouettes and the choreography at such close range was extremely exciting.

Tonight, we transfer the experience to the stage at our dress rehearsal.

I didn?t want to use my column to give you a play-by-play of my week, in the fashion that I?ve done in the past. Instead, I want to pay tribute to the clowder of actors, singers and dancers that I?ve had the great pleasure of playing with in Sydney and Melbourne, and for the next four-and-a-half weeks at the CCP, in my hometown.

Our director, Jo-Anne Robinson, gave each of us three adjectives that describe our characters in the show (to mirror the three levels in which T.S. Eliot wrote, and the ways that ?Cats? can be enjoyed: spectacle, form and meaning). For this cast, allow me to use three of my own to describe this unique, gifted and wonderful group.

Beautiful

So many body types ... some are large, small, short, tall, wide, narrow, but there?s no doubt about it, these cats are all beautiful. Quite a few have eyes like saucers, riveting and hypnotic. Others have arms and legs that seem to reach to the heavens with every battement (high kick).

But deep beneath the obvious physical beauty lies hearts as expansive as the oceans. I?ve caught myself staring at a random cat, male or female, for no reason other than how incredibly gorgeous that cat is.

Committed

It?s a given that this is a very talented group of people. However, ?Cats? is a very special show that requires everyone to stretch their imagination as far as it can go in attempting to embody the feline form.

All movements, facial expressions, and even positions of stillness have to come from this basic feline place, and this group has got it down. It also helps that when any of us starts to look ?human,? there is another set of eyes (in the form of our resident director and choreographer, and her associate) to snap us back into the wild.

Just how committed they all are became most apparent during the improv sessions at the beginning of the week. Once in character, on hands and knees, these actors transform, able to communicate volumes of emotion and information without saying a word. No one breaks focus until told to, answered by a huge sigh of relief.

The first time I watched the Jellicle Ball with all the dancers in the rehearsal room, I wanted to cry. The primal grunts, screams, and heavy breathing plus the sweat and heat made it all raw. Their collective energy can be channeled far beyond the confines of any room or theater.

Humble

Allow me to single out one particular actor from ?Cats.? His name is Rarmian Newton. He?s only 16 years old, but has a resume that many adults would envy: He?s played the young Peter Allen in the arena production of ?The Boy from Oz? (working with Hugh Jackman), and was the lead in the Sydney production of ?Billy Elliot? a few years ago, winning awards in the process.

The director is hard on him, as is the musical director, and whoever else that needs to be. They pick on just about everything, from the lyrics he has to sing to staying safe on the set, to his focus and the choreography. However, what most impresses me about him is that through it all, he accepts all the criticism, knowing it?ll make him improve.

He?s picked on because he?s ridiculously gifted, and is being pushed by all corners to be at his absolute best. He gives no diva attitude, no talking back. This kid works hard, and is fantastic at what he does.

All the cats are like this: All of them, not one bad apple in the bunch. It?s something our diva-wannabes can learn from, a few of them having landed on some friends? ?never-hire-again? lists.

I?ll add one more adjective, just for myself: honored. I can?t think of any other word to describe how I feel about these cats, and just being a part of ?Cats.? One of the actors told me that doing the show is a life-changing experience. After what I?ve been through so far, I couldn?t agree more.