For those of you who don’t know, Cats: The Musical is back on Broadway. That’s right, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1982 smash hit classic. Cats has always been a divisive musical. People either absolutely love it and are super fans or can’t stand it and enjoy mocking its existence. To most, Cats is a very strange piece of theater and an even stranger phenomenon. It was is once the longest running musical on Broadway and one of the most internationally performed and translated musicals ever.
People who have not seen Cats often have a lot of questions about the musical. Are they all really cats? Do they walk on all fours? Is there a plot? Are there actual characters? Why are they reviving it? Who wants to see the show again? Do they still wear those awful bodysuit costumes?
Yes, they are cats and they walk on two legs but sometimes crawl. Surprisingly, there is a plot and there are very specific characters. Who consistently manages to steal the show, even in songs they are very memorable and enjoyable performances. These cats stand out from ensemble acro-cats, they are clearly more dancers than actors.
Since Cats first opened on the West End stage in 1981, it has become one of the world’s best known and best loved musicals. With a plot based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats and award-winning music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. CATS, originally directed by Trevor Nunn, has since been presented in over 20 countries and in about 250 cities. The production ran for 18 years on Broadway, a record-setting 21 years in London,...
