Feral Cat Situation Takes Center Stage

HELLO, I AM JENNIFER CRAWFORD, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. HOMELESS CATS ARE FILLING UP ANIMAL SHELTERS IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AND THE NUMBER OF UNWANTED KITTIES GROWING EVERY DAY. IT'S ESTIMATED A QUARTER OF A MILLION FERAL AND COMMUNITY CATS LIVE IN LEE COUNTY AND PROGRAMS SUCH AS TRAP NEUTER AND RETURN ARE ONLY MAKING A SMALL DENT IN CONTROLLING THE CAP POPULATION. NOW A FAMILIAR BROADWAY PRODUCTION SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON THE FELINE PROBLEM IN OUR AREA. WGCUS TOM HALL TAKES US BEHIND THE CURTAIN TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP. >> INSIDE THIS FORT MYERS THEATER, THE CAST OF CATS MEET THEIR NAMESAKES FROM CAPE CORAL ANIMAL SHELTER TO A OUTSIDE THE THEATER. A LOOMING PROBLEM FOR FELINES. THERE ARE AN ESTIMATED 250,000 FERAL AND COMMUNITY CATS ON THE LOOSE IN LEE COUNTY, ALA. CAPE CORAL, ANIMAL SHELTER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR LIZ MCCAULEY COUCHES. 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, WE DON'T KNOW WHERE MOMS THAT SOMETIMES 6, 7, 8, OF THEM AT A TIME AND IT IS A CRISIS BETWEEN THE SHELTER AND THE STAGE IS A COLLABORATION. >> AND IT'S INTENDED TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM AND HOPEFULLY INSPIRE PEOPLE TO ADOPT SOME OF THE SHELTERS. KITTENS AND CATS. SINCE IT'S WHAT'S KNOWN AS A MANAGED TO ACCEPTANCE FACILITY. CAPE CORAL ANIMAL SHELTER CAN ONLY ACCEPT WHAT IT HAS ROOM FOR. >> WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF EXPANDING. WE ARE ON 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, WILL 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 FOR LINN COMMUNITY CAT POPULATION. >> THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH PROGRAMS IN THE COMMUNITY TO GET THAT DONE. SO WE ARE TRYING TO WORK WITH LEE COUNTY AND SOME OF THE VETS IN THE COMMUNITY TOO, TO TAKE CARE OF THAT PROBLEM. PARK SHELTER ALONE IS DOING AT LEAST TO TRAP NEUTER RELEASE CLINICS ON SUNDAYS. AT LEAST 2 A MONTH. WE'RE TRYING TO DO TO JUST TRY TO GET THAT POPULATION DOWN. >> NOW FROM THE SHELTER, BACK TO THE STAGE. KATZ ALSO PLACES A PREMIUM ON PRODUCTION VALUE. THEY FOR THE SET LIGHTING OR SENSATIONAL. THE COSTUMES REFLECT EACH FELINES, UNIQUE CHARACTER. WITH HAUNTING MELODY AND POIGNANT LYRICS. MEMORY IS ONE OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER'S GREATEST SONGS. AND DIRECTOR. ANY MURRAY MCQUEARY'S CHOREOGRAPHY PERFECTLY ENCAPSULATES CATS, DISTINCTIVE MOVEMENTS. >> WE TRY TO INCORPORATE THAT IN HER CHOREOGRAPHY IN THEIR GRACE AND THEN ALSO LIKE SUDDEN MOVEMENTS. ONE OF THE THING THAT'S SO WONDERFUL ABOUT THE SHOW AS AN ACTOR IS THAT YOU COULD 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 IN HERITAGE CONTRIBUTED TO SOCIETY BY THOSE. >> OF A MORE MATURE AGE. THE JOE COOL CATS PATRIARCH IS THE WISE AND REVERED OLD DEUTERONOMY WEST OF JONES. A 25 POUND UPPER CLASS DANDY BRINGS A SENSE OF CULTURE. THE NASH TO THE TELECOMS. WHAT IS THE AGING GLAMOUR CAT GRIZ ABELLA WHO TRULY TESTED JELLICO SOCIAL STRUCTURE. >> SHE HAS AN OLDER WOMAN IS OSTRACIZED AND SOMETIMES WE DON'T CELEBRATE OLDER WOMEN AS MUCH AS WE SHOULD. AND 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 U.S. >> ABIGAIL ALDRIDGE PLAYS PRINCE OF ELLA. SHE BRINGS A DEPTH OF VULNERABILITY. GRAYSON, QUIET RESIGNATION TO THE ROLE. >> KIND OF THE ESSENCE OF THE SHOW IS ABOUT ACCEPTANCE AND AS THE SHOW KIND OF GOES ALONG, WE SEEK OR IS ABOUT TO 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. Arts reporter Tom Hall joins us now with, Really astounding numbers. You said a quarter of a million cats are stray cats in Lee County. That is mind boggling. What can we do to help reduce those numbers? Well, Liz McCauley at the Cape Coral Animal Shelter says it's really two things that people can do to help reduce the size of the feral and community cat population. The first adopt more cats. Yeah. There's always a need for cats and kittens to be adopted, and then that creates more space. And then secondarily, all of the shelters need volunteers to help trap feral cats so that they can be brought in, spayed neutered and vaccinated and then return to, to their communities. So those are the two things that really would help put a dent in that, that 250,000, number. Now you got to see cats. It is a spectacular show. What was your favorite part? Well, the choreography is is absolutely amazing. The director, who's also the choreographer, Amy Marie McCleary, has found a way to incorporate the movements of cats into the choreography and the movement of her actors. So they have the same grace as a cat, but also those sudden, darting movements that the cats are known for. And that's all incorporated into the, into the choreography. That sounds fascinating. And it runs through, April. It runs through April 4th, April 4th. And this is at Broadway Palm. It is. But I think the thing that was the most surprising to me out of that show is the fact that it actually places an emphasis on, older populations. So in the show, the cats are revered. Older cats are revered for their experience, their wisdom, and for the contributions that they can make to heritage and to culture. Andrew Lloyd Webber is the one who who basically wrote, cats. And he also has a very interesting juxtaposition. Whereas the older cats in the show are revered, the older male cats, I should say, are revered in spite of their size, shape, and simplicities. Women aren't accorded the same deference. And so there is an older cat by the name of Grizabella. She's the glamor cat, and she's ostracized because her looks have faded and she doesn't have that beauty that she once possessed. And so he actually draws kind of a stark light on the difference accorded to older, older males versus aging women. That's an interesting perspective. You also mentioned in the lobby there's the opportunity to raise money for stray cats and for helping our population. That's feral. Tell me about that. Yeah. The Broadway, collaboration with, Cape Coral Animal Shelter, is multi-tiered. They actually had cats in the lobby on opening night. They had, a promotion on March 1st where a certain percentage of the the ticket sales went to the Cape Coral animal shelter. And that every production you can purchase for $5 a paper paw, you can write anything you want on the part of the name of your own cat. Or, you know, previous cats that you may have been a caretaker for, or just any kind of message that you like. And all of those paper, paws are on display in the lobby at, Broadway Palm. I love that that makes it a must see and must attend. Now, you mentioned there are 36 exhibitions on display from Marco Island all the way to Sarasota this entire month. There are. Tell me about them. What is what is your go to? What would you suggest? Well, as a photographer, I'm cutting out of a bias. So I'm really looking forward to the Ansel Adams, exhibition that's opening on the 14th at the Baker Museum. Now, for those that aren't familiar with Ansel Adams, he was the preeminent landscape photographer of the 20th century. If you've ever seen any of these dramatic black and white photographs of Yosemite National Park, they're probably Ansel Adams. And so that exhibition is going to shine a light on his early process and how he developed the photographic vocabulary that he used from the 1940s all the way up until his death in 1984. I'm always amazed at how many exhibitions and performances there are. I think you mentioned there's 30 art performances that we could go see as well. Visual performing art. This week alone, there are 25 plays. Musicals and plays are on stage throughout Southwest Florida. Any that come to mind that you think we should make a point to go see? In addition to cats, in addition to cats? Well, down at Marco Island, they're doing, Neil Simon's, California suite. And then there's a couple of interesting shows that are getting ready to close. For anybody who's an August Wilson fan, two Trains running is winding up its run at, the Laboratory Theater of Florida in downtown Fort Myers. Again, something for everybody. Thank you so much, Tom. For joining us today. Glad to be here.