There are an estimated 250,000 feral and community cats on the loose in Lee County on any given day. Executive Director of the Cape Coral Animal Shelter Liz McCauley explains the problem in human terms.
“We have people that walk into our shelter every single day with a box of kittens and say, hey, found these kittens,” McCauley remarked. “We don't know where mom's at. Sometimes six, seven, eight of them at a time. It is a crisis.”
The shelter is collaborating with Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre for its current production of “CATS.” It’s intended to raise awareness about the magnitude of the problem and, hopefully, inspire people to adopt some of the shelter’s cats and kittens. The shelter desperately needs more room. As a managed acceptance facility, Cape Coral Animal Shelter can only accept what they have room for.
“We are in the process of expanding though,” said McCauley optimistically. “We are getting ready within the next few months to break ground on a 19,000-square-foot additional shelter, which is going to quadruple the amount of room we have for cats, which is going to be really important. We'll be able to save a lot more.”
Shelter capacity treats the symptom, not the cause.
McCauley says there’s a pressing need to trap, spay and vaccinate to reduce the feral and community cat population.
“There's just not enough programs in the community to get that done,” she noted. “So we are trying to work with Lee County and some of the vets in the community to take care of that problem. Our shelter alone is doing at least two trap-neuter-release clinics on Sundays, at least two a month we're trying to do, to just try to get that population down.”
To get the word out, Broadway Palm invited Cape Coral Animal Shelter to attend opening night with several cats and kittens. The theater donated $5 for every ticket sold for its performances of “CATS” on March 1st. And patrons have the opportunity to purchase a paper paw during each performance for $5 that they can write on and post in the lobby.
But Broadway Palm is also delivering a high-quality show that places a premium on production value. The set and lighting are sensational. The costumes reflect each feline’s unique character. With a haunting melody and poignant lyrics, “Memory” is one of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s greatest songs. And Director Amy Marie McCleary’s choreography perfectly encapsulates cats' distinctive movements.
“We try to incorporate that in our choreography, in their grace and then also like sudden movements like that,” said McCleary. “One of the things that's so wonderful about this show as an actor is that you get to use your entire body to express how you're feeling. People who don't understand the show sometimes don't realize how powerful it is when they see those emotions expressed with a full physicality.”
Metaphorically, “CATS” recognizes the wisdom and heritage contributed to society by those of a more mature age.
The Jellicle Cats’ patriarch is the wise and revered Old Deuteronomy. The retired theater cat, Asparagus, brings a sense of nostalgia and sentimentality to the Jellicles. But it’s the aging glamour cat, Grizabella, who truly tests the Jellicles’ social structure.
“She, as an older woman, is ostracized, and sometimes we don't celebrate older women as much as we should,” McCleary observed. “So, that is the message that I'm trying to reach with this production and how she is allowed to evolve and become something new by the end of the play.”
Abigail Aldridge plays Grizabella. She brings a depth of vulnerability, grace and quiet resignation to the role.
“Kind of the essence of the show is about acceptance,” Aldridge noted. “As the show kind of goes along, we see Grizabella come back to the group and continue to be rejected until the end when she sings ‘Memory.’”
"CATS" plays on the Broadway Palm mainstage through April 4.
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"’CATS’ is based on T.S. Eliot's 1939 poetry collection, 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats,’" McCleary pointed out.
Eliot’s widow gave Andrew Lloyd Webber permission to use her late husband’s work, and the composer began collaborating with lyricist Richard Stilgoe and director Trevor Nunn in the early 1980s to bring the production to life.
Following its 1981 premiere, “CATS” went on to become one the fifth longest-running Broadway show and the eighth longest-running West End show of all time. The London production ran for 21 years and 8,949 performances, while the Broadway production ran for 18 years and 7,485 performances, making “CATS” the longest-running musical in both theater districts for a number of years. The musical has been revived twice in the West End and one time on Broadway.
The production has been translated into multiple languages and performed globally. By 2012, it had grossed over $3.5 billion worldwide.
Its success has been attributed to its unique concept, whimsical storytelling, memorable music, and the immersive experience it offers to theatergoers. The musical’s enduring popularity is a testament to its ability to capture the imagination of audiences and transport them to a world of feline fantasy.
The musical features iconic songs, including "Memory," which has become a classic in musical theater. The emotional depth of the music, combined with McCleary’s choreography, creates a visually stunning performance that captivates audiences. Incorporating elements of ballet, modern dance and jazz, the choreography replicates the graceful and sudden movements through which cats express their individual personalities.
“Even before we started the rehearsal process, I was sending the cast videos of different cat movements,” said McCleary. “I went to the Cattyshack Cat Cafe [in Gulf Coast Town Center] to watch cats and just sort of get inspired by the way that they move.”
In that, she was also aided by Webber’s complex musical score.
“There's a lot of time signatures that are very unexpected,” McCleary observed.
“Skimbleshanks is written in 13/8, which is crazy. [A 13/8 time signature in music is an odd or "crooked" meter where each measure (or bar) contains 13 eighth notes. It is considered a compound or complex time signature because it doesn't divide evenly into standard groups of two, three, or four.] So I think it's that element of how cats are always darting this way and that, and you feel that in the tempo of the music and the time signature of the music. Same with lots of the fugue elements that he incorporates, lots of classical elements.”
Another defining feature of "CATS" is its sung-through or rock opera format. The entire musical is performed without any spoken dialogue. This character-driven narrative encourages the audience to connect with each individual cat, who introduces itself through its own song and dance sequences to showcase the unique stories and character traits.
The influence of Grizabella
This is McCleary’s third time directing and choreographing “CATS,” and she’s placed greater emphasis on Grizabella’s character arc.
Grizabella was once the most glamorous of the Jellicle tribe but as she aged, her beauty faded. She returns in disgrace and is rejected multiple times by the Jellicles. Isolated and ridiculed throughout the show, she gradually reveals the depth of her sorrow and the strength of her spirit in her rendition of “Memory.”
“The message I'm trying to express with this production is how she is allowed to evolve and become something new by the end of the play,” said McCleary. “She's kind of holding on to her youth, as many women try to do, but it's okay to evolve and become something else.”
Her grace under fire and the song’s plea for acceptance ultimately earns her Deuteronomy’s blessing and the opportunity for redemption.
“Memory” has now attained show tune immortality. It has been covered by countless artists and featured in numerous films and TV shows.
Grizabella’s character arc, from outcast to hero, is one of the most moving and resonant in musical theatre history.
Grizabella’s character is based on T.S. Eliot’s poem, “Rhapsody on a Windy Night,” which tells the story of a lonely woman wandering the streets at night. She is played for Broadway Palm by Abigail Aldridge. Originally from New Orleans, the NYC-based actor’s stage credits include Miss Shields in “A Christmas Story,” Tammy in “Escape to Margaritaville” and Paulette in “Legally Blonde.”
Other Jellicles
Old Deuteronomy is the wise, benevolent elderly leader of the Jellicle tribe who has lived many lives. His projects a companionable mixture of wisdom and humility alongside warmth and good humor. It is his role to choose which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer to be reborn, so in a sense, the other Jellicles are auditioning for this honor. Deuteronomy’s dignified presence gives the show a spiritual anchor.
The character is played by Jacob Medich, who just completed his run as Tevye in Broadway Palm’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof,” which he also performed at Broadway Palm’s Dutch Apple location. Other credits include Audrey 2 in “Little Shop of Horrors and Claude Frollo in “Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Recently, Medich opened the third location of “Dolly Parton’s Pirate Voyage” dinner theater in Panama City Beach, Florida.
Old Deuteronomy’s second in command is the gray tabby tomcat Munkustrap, played by Dalton Bertolone. He’s not only the show’s narrator, but also serves as the Jellicle tribe’s protector. His numbers include “The Naming of Cats,” “Invitation to the Jellicle Ball and “The Awful Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles.” Bertolone’s stage credits include “The Addams Family National Tour,” “Madame Clicquot,” “A Chorus Line” (San Francisco Playhouse, Broadway Palm and Sierra Repertory Theatre), “Newsies” and “West Side Story” (Utah Festival of Opera), and “Footloose Elements!” for Norwegian Cruise Line.
Asparagus, the retired actor, is Grizabella’s counterpart. His focus on past roles and performances draws attention to the passage of time and impermanence of fame. But the Jellicles’ fondness for Gus and his stories underscore the vastly different way society treats aging men compared with aging women. Where Grizabella is excluded from the tribe, Gus is the center of attention, solicitously chaperoned throughout his appearance by Jellylorum.
Frank Hughes plays Gus as well as Bustopher Jones, a remarkably fat upper-class cat (a 25-pounder) who is respected by all. He is described as "the Brummell of cats" due to his immaculate pelt, which resembles a tuxedo and spats. He’s meant as a parody of an Edwardian gentleman of leisure given over to culinary indulgence.
Hughes was last seen as Lazar Wolfe in “Fiddler on the Roof.” Some of his favorite stage roles include Cal in “Waitress,” Poirot in “Murder on the Orient Express,” Chef Louis in “Little Mermaid,” Cogsworth in “Beauty and the Beast,” Valjean in “Les Miserables,” Pirelli in “Sweeney Todd” and Dave in “The Full Monty.”
Jellyorum is played by Giselle Meyer. Her character is named after T.S. Eliot’s own cat. In addition to tending to Gus, Jellyorum watches out for the kittens. In the role, Meyer has the opportunity to employ her skills as both a singer and a dancer. Among her musical numbers are “The Old Gumbie Cat,” “Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town,” “Grizabella: The Glamour Cat” and “Gus: The Theatre Cat.”
Meyer's prior professional stage credits include Margot (and Brooke’s understudy) in “Legally Blonde” and Elaine in “Crazy for You.” But the Southwest Florida native is also remembered for her performances of the Lady of the Lake in “Monty Python’s Spamalot the Musical” and Fastrada in “Pippin” at the Alliance Youth Theatre along with roles in “Legally Blonde Jr.,” “Xanadu,” “Peter Pan Jr.,” “Heathers the Musical,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie” (Naples Performing Arts Center), “James and the Giant Peach” (Alliance Youth Theatre) and Lynn Ahrens’ “Once on This Island.” A product of Oasis and North Fort Myers high schools, Meyers graduated from Florida Southern College in 2024 with her BFA.
Ava Arkin plays the part of Jennyanydots (and is also Grizabella’s understudy). Jennyanydots, also known as the “Old Gumbie Cat,” is a ginger tabby who spends her days lounging but at night becomes industrious – teaching the mice and insects to sing and dance. Her maternal character adds a humorous touch to the show. Arkin makes her Broadway Palm debut in the role. Prior credits include “Sister Act” (Onstage Swing), the Wicked Witch in “The Wizard of Oz,” Cyndi Lauper in “We Will Rock You,” Rita (and Judy understudy) in “White Christmas,” Anytime Annie in “42nd Street” and ensemble in “Chicago.”
The White Cat, Victoria, is played by Gloria Diem, who is a featured dancer in the musical, opening with a dance solo after “The Naming of the Cats” number. Naïve, shy and beautiful, Victoria is the first character to touch Grizabella. Diem teaches dance locally at Dance Bochette, where she received the majority of her training. She has been featured at Florida Dance Masters and excelled in intensives with Joffrey, BalletMet and United Ballet Theatre.
One of the more memorable characters in “CATS” is Mr. Mistoffelees, a black-and-white tuxedo tomcat played by Lucas Dickson. T.S. Eliot’s poem “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” describes Mistoffelees as a mysterious and enigmatic cat who possesses magical powers. In the musical, he wows the other cats with his impressive feats of magic and dance. Mistoffelees is featured in the number “Magical Mr. Mistoffelees,” a high-energy number that showcases Dickson’s showmanship, stagecraft and athleticism.
Caleb Summers makes his Broadway Palm debut in the role of Rum Tum Tugger, a flashy cat who insists on being the center of attention. One cool cat, his temperament ranges from clownish to serious. Summers’ songs include “The Rum Tum Tugger,” “Old Deuteronomy” and “Mister Mistoffelees.” Summers’ credits include the national tour of “Frozen,” and, regionally, “Aida,” “Xanadu” and “Elf.”
Cassandra is a snooty, glamorous, stand-offish brown queen. She’s played by Paige Majewski, who is making her Broadway Palm debut in the role. Most recently, she performed as Maggie in a revival of “A Chorus Line.” She received her BA in Theatre and Film Studies from Muhlenberg College in 2024.
Fiona Mowbray plays the part of Demeter, a skittish queen often paired with Tumblebrutus, played by Lee Twombly. Mowbray returns to Broadway Palm after appearing in “Swing!” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Select credits include the roles of Linda Mason in “Holiday Inn,” Judy Haynes in “White Christmas” and Janet Van De Graaff in “The Drowsy Chaperone.” A graduate of the Sight & Sound Conservatory, Twombly makes his Broadway Palm debut in the role of Tumblebrutus.
Olivia Georgio is Bombalurina, a confident, flirty red queen whose musical numbers include “The Old Gumbie Cat,” “The Rum Tum Tugger,” “Grizabella: The Glamor Cat” and “Macavity.” Georgio is making her Broadway Palm debut in the role. A recent Boston Conservatory graduate (with a BFA in musical theater), her prior state credits include Serena in “Legally Blonde,” Helene in “Sweet Charity” and swing in “A Christmas Carol.”
More on the Cape Coral Animal Shelter
Cape Coral Animal Shelter celebrates its sixth anniversary in March.
“We've done just over 6,000 adoptions since we opened,” stated Executive Director Liz McCauley. “We also have an affordable care clinic, veterinary clinic that serves the community, a lot of volunteers and a great community support system that keeps us going every day. We're very proud of the work we've done.”
It is privately funded, operating strictly on donations.
“Every dollar that people donate to us goes back into the care of the animals and their well-being,” McCauley added.
Focus on Lee County’s cat crisis
McCauley confessed to being a huge fan of Broadway Palm and Broadway musicals in general.
“When I saw they were doing ‘CATS,’ I reached out right away and said, we have got to do some kind of partnership. Fortunately, they were all about it, and we're very happy to put this partnership together to bring awareness about the cat crisis that we have here in our community and across the country, really.”
While the shelter places a heavy emphasis on getting its cats and kittens adopted, “at the end of the day, there's just too many cats out there,” said McCauley. “So we promote TNVR, which is trap, neuter, vaccinate, and release. We do everything we can to prevent so many unwanted kittens from coming into the community, and we're a very big part of that at the Cape Coral Animal Shelter.”
Scores of people feed strays and entire communities of feral cats. But unless they’re spayed and neutered, the feral cat population continues to grow.
“If feral and community cats are not spayed and neutered, you're going to have hundreds of cats in your neighborhood before you even know what happened because that's how quickly they breed,” McCauley observed, adding that North Port, Lehigh Acres and Bonita Springs already have large numbers of feral and community cats.
On average, a female cat can produce a litter one to three times a year. Each litter averages four to six kittens. So the increase in the unowned cat population can be exponential.
For that reason, Cape Coral Animal Shelter has several programs designed to train volunteer trappers. First, they support people who just want to trap feral cats who frequent their homes or neighborhoods.
“We loan traps to people, so if you have a cat that you want to try to trap and get it fixed, we can help you with that,” said McCauley.
There is a small fully refundable deposit on the trap.
“If they're not feral, we try to keep them and find homes for them,” McCauley added. The shelter never returns kittens. Even if they’re skittish at first, they’re easily domesticated and can be adopted out.
If you do trap an unowned cat, be sure to check its ears.
“If you see a cat that has an ear tip, that means it's already been fixed,” McCauley noted. “So you can kind of let it go.”
But there are also programs for anyone interested in trapping strays on an ongoing basis.
“We can connect them with some of the people that are expert trappers because it's not always easy to trap a cat. They are really experts at that and they can help you through that.”
While trapping may only appeal to a select few, anyone can give a loving home to a cat or kittens. Cape Coral Animal Shelter has initiated several programs to facilitate adoptions.
“We do a twofer, which is really nice because kittens like to have playtime with each other and they are often adopted in pairs. So we do a twofer - one adoption fee for two kittens. We also do discounted fees for senior cats and cats that maybe have some medical issues or whatever. So we have a cat for everybody.”
The shelter also posts pictures of prospective adoptees on its website.
“All of the animals that are up for adoption, dogs and cats, are available to view on our website,” said McCauley. “And they have some really cute little descriptions there of them. Actually right now we're naming almost all the cats that are coming in after the characters from ‘CATS’ and the bio goes along with it. So, that's been really fun for our team to do that as well.”
The Shelter does have some older cats and dogs. Since it’s a managed care facility, Cape Coral Animal Shelter never euthanizes an animal for space.
“Right now, we have a dog that has been with us for two years,” said McCauley. “It's getting adopted next week, we hope. And we have had some cats over the years that have stayed with us for six months to a year, just trying to find the right person. And then one day, that person walks in, and they go, ‘I want that cat.’ And we all just cheer, because we know that it might take a while, but we always manage to find the right family. We always say there's a lid for every pot.”
Lost and found
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, one in three pets will become lost at some point in their lives.
While Cape Coral Animal Shelter is a no-kill facility, not all shelters have that luxury and there have been instances where lost pets have been euthanized before their owner could locate them.
“There had not been a hold time on cats that were not microchipped,” McCauley noted. “They changed that not long ago to at least waiting a day.”
But overpopulation plagues many shelters in Lee County and beyond. In 2024, the Department of Animal Services reported that 751 dogs and 1,426 cats were euthanized, most because there wasn’t enough room in those facilities.
While it’s better than it was, one day still doesn’t give pet owners much time to find and reunite with a lost cat or dog. McCauley has two suggestions for anyone facing the dilemma of searching for a lost pet.
“Just don't just look at the website. Go to the facilities and say, ‘hey, I lost my cat, this is what it looks like,’ because sometimes pictures don't look the same.”
But the danger can be averted by microchipping.
A pet microchip is a tiny device—about the size grain of rice—that’s implanted just under a pet’s skin. It’s usually placed between the shoulder blades and is considered a permanent form of identification.
“We cannot stress enough: microchip your animal. A lot of the problems that you've heard lately in the media would not have happened if the animal was microchipped. It's the very first thing that we do when any animal comes through our door. It's the very first thing we do in our veterinary clinic. You scan for a microchip.”
The chip carries a unique ID number that is linked to a database that contains the contact information the pet’s owner provided, including their address and phone number. It’s imperative to keep the information on file up to date.
“That's another big problem. People get a microchip and then they move. They change their phone number. Someone brings an animal in. We scan, great, it has a microchip. And guess what? The phone number is disconnected. So it's important to keep that up to date. Animals get reunited 95% of the time if there's a microchip. So important.”
And the cost is minimal, averaging less than $50.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
