The Broadway Musical CATS, Mark 1:41, and Why I Became a Strength Coach
What do all of these things
have in common?
More than meets the eye.
Part 1: CATS
I've been working and thinking through all of these topics this week and they all came to a head at a community bible discussion.
(Authors note: You read that correctly. I’m considering writing about my journey of joining a bible study group after being an adamant atheist for a dozen or so years... but it won’t be today. It’s insanely personal, which makes me want to consider keeping the details to myself, but it’s also insanely important which makes me want to write about it.)
So let’s jump back in time to the utter abomination that is the movie CATS (2019). I’ve never even seen the movie, but I’ve watched videos on why the movie is terrible - which makes me an intellectual and an expert on the subject.
The time I spent watching synopsis’ and reviews is longer than the movie itself.
Anyway, two of my favorite YouTubers, Lindsay Ellis, and Sideways, made insanely excellent and thorough videos about CATS (2019), Why is Cats, and Why the Music in Cats is Worse than You Thought. Both are enjoyable if you want a deep dive into musical theater. But if you don’t have two hours to devote to these videos, do me a solid and just watch Music is Worse Than You Thought for the first 9:30 to get the gist of CATS. It’s a great quick synopsis and it explains “I am” songs, “I want” songs and other basic elements of musical theater. Here are the takeaways you need to know:
I Want Songs - Songs sung by the protagonist, explain what they want, and how they need to go on an adventure to find it
Best examples: Belle (Beauty and the Beast), I Just Can’t Wait To Be King (Lion King), I Have Confidence (Sound of Music)
I Am Songs - songs sung by the antagonist, they tell the audience, ‘This is who I am, take it or leave it”
Best examples: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast), I’m a Mean Green Mother From Outer Space (Little Shop of Horrors), Mine Mine Mine (Pocahontas)
Simple enough? Ok, here’s the breakdown of the musical CATS.
We have over two hours of cats singing “I am” songs. Traditionally expected from the movie villains, these “I Am” songs take up most of the runtime of the Broadway musical. This is a weird departure from the norm, and why a lot of people don’t get CATS. I’ve heard many complaints that it doesn’t have a plot. Well, it kind of does. It just has a 2-hour pause between point 1 and point 2 of the plot, which is as follows:
Cats are choosing who should ascend to the Heavyside Lair (the afterlife) - the greatest desire of Jellical cats.
Grisabella, who has fallen out of the group’s graces, only wants to return as a group member.
After hearing her plea, the group decides to not only let her back in, but that she should ascend.
The end.
That’s the whole story. Right there. Super simple, kinda.
CATS is an incredibly physical show, and I mean that in every sense of the word. The dancing and set pieces do 99% of the work to explain what is going on. The characters also touch each other… a lot. But it’s important to know that they don’t touch Grisabella - because she isn’t part of the group. She sticks out her hand multiple times and the rest of the cats refuse. She is an outcast, dirty, and forlorn. She lives on the fringe of their society.
The whole plot of CATS hinges on Grisabella’s “I Want” song - which is the only song most uninitiated people know - Memory. It’s arguably Andrew Lloyd Weber’s most popular song from all of his musicals. It’s beautiful, and heart-wrenching. At its climax and ending, Grisabella sings this:
Touch me, it's so easy to leave me
All alone with the memory
Of my days in the sun
If you touch me, you'll understand what happiness is
Look, a new day has begun
Grisabella just wants to be touched. To be touched would bring her back into society. Her greatest want. The story is very simplistic, but it also echoes with all of us. We want to belong, we are social creatures, and no one wants to be cast by the wayside.
Alright, so we’re all up to speed on CATS, Grisabella, and “I want” songs. Cool. Let’s talk about Jesus.
Part 2: Mark 1:41
I am in no way shape or form going to pretend like I’m an expert, or a Christian, or a biblical scholar. I’m only going to say this:
In my very short time here on Earth, I have noticed there are patterns and symbolic structures to stories. There are universal stories that are scattered across our history, that repeat in different cultures, and are universal truths. These leitmotifs of themes and stories are guiding principles that will continue to repeat over and over. We know these stories, fiction and non.
The hero’s sacrifice. Iron Man. The 3 Russians who saved Chernobyl.
The underdog’s win. David and Goliath. Miracle on Ice.
Because these are universal stories, many of them are repeated in holy texts, I’m only going to put the scripture here, below, and let it resonate with you.
Here is the full passage:
40 Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. 43 And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 45 However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.
I’m going to leave that there for you to interpret and consider, while I’m going to draw some conclusions to this mess of a blog post.
Part 3: Why I Became a Strength Coach
I wanted to be a teacher so I could teach. Honestly, there’s not much else to say about it. I like the feeling of helping someone get to their ‘eureka’ moment.
I became a strength coach because it was something that I was passionate about. It’s something I can approach and do and not feel like it’s work. But also, it’s insanely important work.
Gaining muscle and losing weight is hard. It’s really, freaking hard. It’s one of the last true indicators of mental fortitude that you can’t bullshit. I have been a part of many online professional coaching groups that are so full of bullshit, I had to shake my head in disbelief and walk away.
You can eat like shit, lie on your food tracker, not count your macros, and that scale is going to tell you every time you weigh in that you didn’t do the work. You can skip sets, reps, and workouts. You can be the person who thinks they’re lifting weights, going through the motions, and getting a “workout” in. But when you get on that platform and get that heavy barbell on your back - that’s the most honest your body will be with you. You’ll fail if you don’t do the work.
But on the other hand - you do the work. You get strong. Your daily movements get easier. Your pants fit better. Your mood improves. Your mental health improves. You are feeling better and more confident.
I know that doing the work myself is what has brought a handful of my friends into a healthier lifestyle. I know my strength training is directly responsible for getting me through a 60-hour labor and is also directly responsible for me being able to bounce back mentally and physically after the trauma. I know that it is easier for me to get up and down off the ground to play with my toddler because he weighs less than the kettlebells I swing around.
I know that I can help people into a healthy lifestyle with no bullshit added.
And that’s how I can touch others.
