The Broadway return of the record-breaking musical 'Cats' officially opened at the Neil Simon Theatre on Sunday night and let's just say the critic were underwhelmed by Leona's acting.
Vulture’s Jesse Green wrote: “Leona Lewis brings to the underwritten role only a few unsubtle top notes, which she offers ritually, as if they were dead mice.
The Wrap’s Jason Clark wrote: “Although Brit songstress Leona Lewis is blessed with a divine pop belt perfect for the classic 11 o’clock number Memory, sadly she does not have the acting chops to put across Grizabella’s tragic arc. Her Griz really needs a lot more… well, grizzle.”
Dominic Cavendish wrote in The Daily Telegraph: “Leona Lewis’s star-wattage is strong – but she needs to lose some of her sheen. Even in tear-stained mascara and smudged lipstick, dressed in decaying, ghost-grey furs, she could almost pass for a blemish-free prom queen.”
He added: “Her singing voice is loud and clear, but a touch too serene, needing more of a hint of the gutter.
“Elaine Paige’s originating performance has yet to be eclipsed…Lewis, appearing coached in her moves, looks (far more than Scherzinger did) like she’s going through the motions.”
The Guardian’s Emma Brockes wrote: “Lewis has a beautiful voice, but when she performed Memory, she was not Grizabella the mangy old cat, but Leona Lewis, pop star and seller of 20 million records…
“A song sung on these terms can still be highly enjoyable, although in this case I found the performance of Memory rather stressful, particularly the crescendo at the end and the bits when Lewis listed dangerously to one side while doing some Acting. It was a relief when the story moved on.”
The New York Times’ Charles Isherwood wrote of Lewis: “Ms Lewis has a rich, powerful voice, and invests her rendition of the show’s most famous song, the much-recorded, indisputably gorgeous Memory, with a fervent intensity.
“But when Grizabella ascends to that kitty-cat heaven, reincarnation centre or whatever it is, I couldn’t help thinking that she was really going to hijack the tyre and fly to Las Vegas to open for Britney Spears.
“The lonely pathos of reminiscing about a life gone by is hard to put across when you look and sound as Ms Lewis does.”
Variety’s Marilyn Stasio wrote: “Memories could be fatal to this revival of Cats – specifically, the memory of Betty Buckley as Grizabella, singing Memory… Leona Lewis, the British pop star anointed by Andrew Lloyd Webber himself, isn’t in her league.”
It seems the majority believe that although Leona's voice is amazing and could bring any grown man /woman to taers her acting needs work especially after Nicole Scherzinger knowcked it out of the park.Very big shoes to fill but maybe Leona just needs some warming up on stage.
