Feline, fearless, faithful, and true. Jellicle cats can and Jellicle cats do. Preparing to meet our second cat in the Jellicle Cat Lineup, for the upcoming fall production of Tidewater Players’ Cats, we have Suzanne Zacker, recently returned to the Maryland area, and dipping her paws back into the theatrical pond, so to speak!

Thank you for giving us a few moments of your time! Tell us who you are and who you play in this production of Cats!

Suzanne Zacker: I’m Suzie Zacker and I play Carbucketty.  

And why are you excited to be a part of Cats?

Suzie: This is not a show that comes around often. It’s very exciting to be part of a show with a bunch of dancers and a fantastic song list.

We learn that all cats have three names. Carbucketty is your cats ‘more dignified name’ and while we can never know the ‘secret name’ that she calls herself, what do you think her ‘family daily use’ name is? What are the humans calling her every day?

Suzie: I don’t think Carbucketty is a friendly cat. She’s more of a junkyard, street-cat kitten. So I don’t think they’re calling her anything. Maybe “cat.”

Do you have cats?

Suzie: No I do not.

Do you wish you had cats?

Suzie: No I do not. I respect cats. By keeping a healthy difference from them.

What has been your biggest joy in being a part of this so far?

Suzie: The theatre community and getting back into it has been so exciting. Meeting a bunch of new people has been really exciting too.

What does it mean to be a Jellicle Cat?

Suzie: Wow. That’s a tough one. Jellicle Cat is a cat that thinks for itself and it has a certain identity. One of the best things about this production is that we are all creating our own individual cat identities. So exploring that has been really exciting. Every cat will be doing different ticks that the audience can look for.

What is Carbucketty’s tick?

Suzie: Oh you might see her kneading her hands…or paws…

If you had to sum up the Cats experience using just one word, which word would you use?

Suzie: Fun.

Cats plays September 16^th 2022 through September 25^th 2022 with Tidewater Players, in residence at the Cultural Center at The Havre de Grace Opera House— 121 N. Union Street in historic downtown Havre de Grace, MD. For tickets call the box office at 667-225-8433 or purchase them online.

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