It's one of the biggest hits on and off Broadway -- CATS!

Character costumes and make-up turn people into realistic-looking creatures.

The show, CATS, recently prowled into the Naples Philharmonic, selling out nearly every show.

T.S. Eliot wrote a collection a poems that Andrew Lloyd Weber then set to music. It became a musical sensation, selling out theaters worldwide and staying on Broadway for a record 18 years.

But what it takes to go from behind the scenes to center stage is quite a feat. Each actor in CATS does his or her own makeup for the show. One transformed WINK reporter Maggie Crane into one of Eliot's "jellicle" cats.

Among this cast of CATS is Alonzo, a kitten coming of age. And behind Alonzo is Andrew Hodge.

His crafty cat actions come from months of "character study."

"We rehearse acting like a cat," Hodge says. "A lot of times we'll sit and watch a cat and see how they behave and try to take on their mannerisms and characteristics."

Hodge has many cats in his care. He plays five of them.

"I'm actually quite fond of Skimbleshanks. He's a little persnickety and very particular, but he's a lot of fun to play," Hodge says.

But before he can do the dance, he has to do the makeup. He shows our Maggie Crane how.

"We're going to apply the base now," Hodge explains as he begins the lengthy process.

Instead of creating Alonzo or Skimbleshanks, Hodge will teach Maggie to transform into Sillabub.

"It's important that we stay to the original design because these are based on Broadway designs, and it's very important that we maintain that because the concept of the show and the costumes and the design all help to create the allusion that we are cats," Hodge says.

"This is what really makes a cat -- the whiskers," Maggie says as Hodge applies her makeup.

Each cat has an individual look, a unique name and a particular "purrrsonality."

"You get to identify with these characters, that are cats, but there are things about them that are so human," Hodge says.

Once my face is covered in color, Hodge seals it with powder -- and lots of it.

"The way the makeup is set, it's essentially a part of your skin. It should look like it's not separate from you," Hodge says.

He says this is the first step to creating a cat character ready to pounce on the stage.

"When I put the makeup on, I see every step of it, and then when I'm finally ready to go on stage, it feels like it's not so much a costume and this shell of makeup and wig but sort of part of your identity," Hodge says.

Add on costumes, wigs, tails and fur, and the longest-running Broadway show continues to climb the charts as a seat-filling, fur-flinging mega musical.

"The thing that I think keeps people coming back is that you can always discover something new," Hodge says.

Here's another interesting fact about CATS -- once the characters are in costume, they don't talk at all. It's all part of the illusion that they really are cats.

A special thanks to the cast of CATS and the Naples Philharmonic for taking time out of their hectic schedules to let us in on the action and to Jason Sill, our photojournalist.

If there's a job you've always wanted to do, or you want to learn how to do something, email Maggie at maggie.crane@winktv.com. Every Monday she'll show us a creative job or thing to do as part of a new segment called "Maggie Mondays" on WINK's CW6 7-9 a.m. morning show.