Thu 9/7 @ 7PM
Every month, The Musical Theater Project’s Bill Rudman hosts a series called Movies at Home, a Zoom discussion of an important film musical.
No musical film was more important in my life than the 1955 Walt Disney animated movie Lady and the Tramp. The engaging dogs — soulful cocker spaniel Lady and raffish mutt Tramp — were OK. But my entire life changed when I heard those fateful words “I’m called Si, I’m called Am, Put them together and they spell Siam, There be no finer cat than we am.”
“Mom, dad, I want one! I need a Siamese cat!” And we got one. I have owned (?) many since then.
Yes, the two adorable feline devils were only in a single scene for a couple of minutes and they were intended to be villains. But they made a powerful impression. Do not watch the 2019 CGI remake which replaced the Siamese with the obscure Devon Rex breed. The original has it all: great characters, wonderful animation, songs and a fast-moving story with a happy ending. It was also the first Disney film released in Cinemascope. And it featured legendary jazz/pop singer Peggy Lee as Si and Am, as well as two other characters.
Here’s what you do: first watch Rudman’s intro on TMTP’s YouTube channel, telling you what to look for. Then watch the first, available on YouTube, Disney+ and Amazon Prime. Finally, join Bill and other film buffs (and perhaps even Siamese cat buffs) on Zoom to talk about the film. It’s free and open to all.