These conversations have been edited and condensed.
Vogue:Omari, you were the first one approached.
What did you think?
Chasity “Tempress” Moore as Grizabella inCats: The Jellicle Ball, at the Perelman Performing Arts Center. The show’s run continues until August 11 before taking a brief break and resuming for an additional two weeks, from August 22 to September 8.
Omari Wiles:My initial reaction was,Why?WhyCats, out of all musicals?
And then also, to me,Catswas already gay; it had some feminine-isms in there.
and Old Deuteronomy being the icon judge.
Silk as Mr. Mistoffelees inCats: The Jellicle Ball.
We are multifaceted in ballroom, and that resonated with me.
And then, of course, its the JellicleBall.
There were already two co-directors: Bill Rauch, PACs artistic director, and Zhailon Levingston.
Emma Sofia as Skimbleshanks
Why also bring in a second choreographer?
Because that was the other thing: neither Bill and Zhailon are from ballroom.
How did you hear about this production?
Tempress as Grizabella the Glamour Cat
Tempress:I was on Facebook and I was getting all these tags.
And this was, like, the last day of auditions for the workshop.
Were you concerned about theater people appropriating ballroom culture?
André De Shields as Old Deuteronomy
Tempress:I was very concerned about appropriation.
We [in ballroom] were such an underground, and now it has become mainstream.
When you have major people from ballroom in it, I no longer really had to worry about appropriation.
But the feedback has been really good in ballroom.
Thats a tough crowd, and they are loving it.
Silk:I kind of felt like it was going to work immediately.
Thats basically how cats are, as well.
Silk as Mr. Mistoffelees inCats: The Jellicle Ball.
How did you keep the cultures authenticity while working on this?
The cast is a mix of ballroom and musical theater people.
How did you get each to tap into the others world?
Yall are a cast of queer community.
That needs to feel the same.
Dont separate or disconnect that because now were saying its ballroom-meets-musical theater.
Lyons:They had homework, before and during rehearsals.
Wiles:They gave the cast a lot of information to review.
Emma Sofia as Skimbleshanks
What was the feedback from the theater kids after going to the balls?
Wiles:Wow, its late.
The biggest response was, How do yall do this?
Depending on what ball you went to, it could be really crowded.
How was the mixing of the two groups during rehearsal?
Tempress:I was scared to be around these Broadway singers.
I havent had any training, you know?
So it was love from day one in the room.
How did you find your way into your character?
For this one, I wanted to use my ballroom flair to spice it up a little bit.
Or, one thing that I love to do, is the, Who is this next to me?
I dont know, I dont even see this girl right here [move].
Thats where I grabbed Grizabella.
Shes one of those girls.
What did that mean to you?
Tempress:After I transitioned, I didnt really know where I fit in.
We werent really accepted like that, so a lot of us were living stealth lives.
Thats why Grizabella means so much to me, because shes coming back.
Being who you are onstage takes nerve.
Was there anything, during rehearsals, that you felt was gimmicky and had to say no to?
Wiles:At first they wanted trash bags for Grizabella [who is portrayed as a bag lady].
We were like, Umm, Shes a femme queen.
You dont need voguing everywhere, and we dont need to danceeverywhere, right?
We need to create those moments to make it special.
They needed to feel the way that you snap.
They needed to feel the way that you threw shade to somebody.
We choreographed those moments, but they had to connect to that feeling.
Did you get any input on the music, as choreographers?
Wiles:The first piece of music we ever did was a remixed version of the overture.
And then that got watered down a little bit, because it was a lot.
And then we also found out that we could not change the original scores orchestrations.
And then we were able to put club beats in the undertones to the score, too.
Did you know youd have the trademark first production at PAC?
Wiles:I knew we were that first production that the PAC was producing.
So I was like, Okay, wow, we got to confirm that this makes money.
And, now that it has, the question is, what will they do next?
Lyons:How do you top this?
Where do you go from there?
They better call us [if this tours or there is another production].
I dont think they could call anybody else.
Tempress:I feel like this is a start for me.
You walk a ball like its your last time.
Youre as good as your last moment.
At first I was terrified.
I could hear myself thinking about my heartbeat.
But now that Ive gotten past that, Im more in my groove.
People are coming up to me saying Ive touched them.
Because that Touch me part [in Memory] can mean so many things.
[For me, its] Touch me, Im happy.
Im happy that Ive transitioned, so you should be happyforme.
