[98] [337] According to Sternfeld, it is "by some estimations the most successful song ever from a musical."[321]. Different cats have different types of color patterns, coat patterns, head shape, ear folds, bobbed tails, length of hair, and a few are hairless and tailless too. [216][217] A Paris revival by Stage Entertainment ran at the Théâtre Mogador from October 2015 to July 2016. [317] Recognising the global potential of his show, Mackintosh replicated the original production worldwide with an unprecedented degree of standardisation. The musical was produced by Cameron Mackintosh and Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group, directed by Trevor Nunn, with associate director and choreographer Gillian Lynne, design by John Napier, and lighting by David Hersey. Mistoffelees". Eliot's widow and literary executor, Valerie, was in attendance and brought along various unpublished cat-themed poems by Eliot. [1] The musical is unusual in its construction; along with Eliot's poems, music and dance are the main focus of the show at the expense of a traditional narrative structure. Early advertisements for the musical did not feature traditional pull quotes (despite many positive reviews) or any of the cast, instead branding the show itself as the star. Rehearsals for the musical began in early 1981 at the New London Theatre. The method in which Grizabella ascends to the Heaviside Layer varies depending on the production. They are one of the most popular pets in the world. [227] These European tours have featured several notable performers in the role of Grizabella, including Pernilla Wahlgren (Sweden; 2003),[228] Katarína Hasprová (Slovakia; 2016)[229] and Jenna Lee-James (Netherlands; 2018–2019). [268] Cats was China's highest-grossing musical in 2018, accounting for over 20% of the total grosses from all musicals staged in the country that year. It paved the way for later megamusicals — including Les Misérables (1985), The Phantom of the Opera (1986) and Miss Saigon (1989) — that have dominated the industry since. The musical, which was an icon of the 1980s "megamusical" era on Broadway and in London, ran for decades, but if you ask someone who's seen it, they'll probably just answer "it's about . The "Growltiger's Last Stand" sequence has also been changed multiple times over the course of the show's history. [103] The run was later extended through April 2015 and an additional 100,000 tickets were released, with Kerry Ellis replacing Scherzinger as Grizabella. [79], The musical also features an unusual amount of "group-description" numbers. [354] Similarly, a wax figure of Rumpleteazer is displayed at the Panoptikum wax museum in Hamburg, Germany. By December, the full cast had been assembled. [11] Meanwhile, Mackintosh recruited Nunn, the then artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), to direct Practical Cats. [3], It was announced on 3 August 2012 that a UK tour of the show would open on 9 February 2013, at the Edinburgh Playhouse.[4]. At this moment, Munkustrap, the show's main narrator, explains that tonight the Jellicle patriarch Old Deuteronomy will make an appearance and choose one of the cats to be reborn into a new life on the Heaviside Layer. Media in category "Cats (musical)" The following 27 files are in this category, out of 27 total. [68] The musical returned once again to the London Palladium for another limited run lasting from 23 October 2015 to 2 January 2016, starring Beverley Knight as Grizabella. [1] The success of Cats led Faber to turn another of their literary properties, Ted Hughes' The Iron Man, into a 1989 musical of the same name. [256] A touring company visited Asia again between 2007 and 2010, including stops in Taiwan,[206] Macau, and Thailand in 2007;[258] South Korea from 2007 to 2008;[259] China in 2008;[260] Singapore and Hong Kong in 2009 (with Delia Hannah playing Grizabella);[240][261][262] and Manila in 2010 (with Lea Salonga as Grizabella). [15] Nunn was also convinced that for the musical to have the wide commercial appeal that the producers desired, it could not remain as a series of isolated numbers but instead had to have a narrative through line. There was an initial disagreement over the casting of Nicholas as Rum Tum Tugger; Nunn had misgivings about the actor's easy-going attitude but eventually yielded to Lloyd Webber, Mackintosh and Lynne, all of whom were keen on Nicholas for the role. Also, a brief song entitled "The Moments of Happiness" was taken from a passage in Eliot's Four Quartets. Lloyd Webber began setting Eliot's poems to music in 1977, and the compositions were first presented as a song cycle in 1980. Jewell proclaimed it to be "among the most exhilarating and innovative musicals ever staged",[298] while Hepple declared that with Cats, "the British musical has taken a giant leap forward, surpassing in ingenuity and invention anything Broadway has sent us". [209] The first Italian-language production began touring Italy in 2009. Template:Refimprove section Cats has undergone several revisions since its London and subsequent Broadway openings. Cats opened to positive reviews at the New London Theatre in the West End in 1981 and then to mixed reviews at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway in 1982. Macavity's henchmen capture Old Deuteronomy and take off with the patriarch in tow. The success of the Vienna and Hamburg productions sparked a "musical boom" in the region that saw numerous musicals being launched not just in Germany but also in Switzerland. "[316], Ultimately, critics are polarized on whether Cats has changed musical theatre for the better or for the worse. This is followed by a dance from Victoria the White Cat that signals the beginning of the Jellicle Ball ("The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball"). [394] By 2016, "Growltiger's Last Stand" had been removed completely from the US and UK productions of the show. Then, as Rum Tum Tugger's song fades, a shabby old grey cat stumbles out wanting to be reconciled; it is Grizabella. He was once a famous actor but is now old and "suffers from palsy which makes his paws shake". The concert was performed by Gemma Craven, Gary Bond and Paul Nicholas. [334] The musical was also a boon for the Broadway touring industry. With acceptance and encouragement from Jemima and Victoria, her appeal succeeds and she is chosen to be the one to go to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn to a new Jellicle life ("Journey to the Heaviside Layer"). [396][397] The 2015 Australian tour and 2015 Paris production also used the new version of the character; however, the 2016 Broadway revival did not. [188][189] Mehr-Entertainment launched a separate tour of Cats that ran from December 2010 to June 2013, performing in a travelling purpose-built tent theatre. The 2015 London revival and UK tour reinstates the Italian Aria, as well as rewriting the initial verses of Growltiger's Last Stand into a more jazz/blues sounding piece. This new version was subsequently incorporated into most productions of Cats worldwide. Block, Loni Ackerman, Linda Balgord, Lillias White, Joanna Ampil, Sophia Ragavelas, Nicole Scherzinger,[22] Kerry Ellis, Jane McDonald, Beverley Knight, Debra Byrne, Prisca Demarez, Delta Goodrem, Anita Louise Combe, Leona Lewis, Leslie Ellis, Marianne Benedict. The movie version of Victoria remains a graceful ballerina, but has taken over Jemima/Sillabub's role in the stage show with regards to Grizabella's story, as … Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. Lloyd Webber's compositions employ an eclectic range of musical styles so as to magnify the characters' contrasting personalities. [218][219], English-language touring companies have also toured the European region extensively. Eliot's wife, Valerie Eliot and she loved the songs that Webber had composed. Stagecoach Theatre Arts schools celebrated their 25th anniversary by performing Cats in the Birmingham National Indoor Arena on 24 March 2013. ", "TV NOTES; BROADWAY FIRST: 'CATS' DOES ROCK VIDEO TURN", "A Broadway First: 'Cats' Vidclip Gets Digital Sound", "Broadway's 'Cats': Restaged for Eternity (And We Thought They Were Kidding! Such a rapid familiarity and identification of purpose can be achieved through pastiche. Due to the rhythmic nature of Eliot's work, there had been previous attempts before Cats at setting his poems to music, though none of these attempts had been met with much critical or commercial success. [23], Many of the ensemble characters were created by the original cast through extensive improvisation sessions held during the rehearsal process. [311][312] In 2015, the London revival was nominated for — but did not win — two Olivier Awards, including Best Musical Revival.[313]. [11][12], A Broadway revival opened on July 31, 2016. The musical was co-produced by the original London production team, along with David Geffen and The Shubert Organization. Share Share Tweet Email. [180][181] Cats was the first stage production in the country to be mounted without public funding and was also the first to run for multiple years; its success established the medium as a profitable venture in Germany. Its final performance in London's West End was on its 21st birthday, 11 May 2002, and broadcast on a large screen in Covent Garden to the delight of fans who could not acquire a ticket for the final performance. Beyond the productions in England, the US, Canada, and Australia, the musical has been produced professionally in Hungary, Austria, and Japan, 1983; Sydney and Toronto, 1985; Germany, 1986; France, 1989; Mexico, 1991; Netherlands, 1992; Argentina, 1993; Hong Kong, 1994; Spain, 2003; Poland and Czech Republic, 2004; Russia and Estonia, 2005; Israel, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, China and Finland, 2007; Singapore, Hong Kong, Dominican Republic, Norway, Sweden, South Africa, China, Italy, Bulgaria and Japan, 2009; and Brazil and the Philippines, 2010. [355], A Cats postage stamp was issued by the United States Postal Service in 2000 as part of its Celebrate the Century series. They are kept by humans for … Shortly before tickets went on sale in mid-February, Nunn revealed to the alarmed producers that he was struggling to write the script for the musical. Some of the popular long haired types of cats are Himalayan cats, Turkish Angora, Persian, Birman, Ragdoll and the famous Maine Coon. They are petty burglars, very mischievous, and they enjoy causing trouble for human families ("Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer"). became "with a frightful burst of fireworks, the Siamese they swarmed aboard! [175], The original Viennese cast included Ute Lemper who played Bombalurina, Steve Barton who played Munkustrap, and Robert Montano who played Pouncival. [170], There have been numerous notable performers in the Japanese production, including Shintarō Sonooka as Munkustrap (original 1983 cast),[171] Kanji Ishimaru as Skimbleshanks (1992),[172] Masachika Ichimura, and Mayo Kawasaki. Cats the musical was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and first performed on London’s West End in 1981. [181][182] Germany has since grown to become the third largest musical market after the US and UK, with Hamburg as its "musical capital". [192][193], November 1985 saw the premiere of a Norwegian-language production at Det Norske Teatret in Oslo. cats." [16] Lynne considered the 13-minute "Jellicle Ball" dance to be the crux of the show, noting that in order to work as a dance-driven musical, Cats "had to succeed there or die". [5] In association with 'The Really Useful Group', 3500 children from across Europe joined together with a virtual choir of many international Stagecoach students, and produced the largest production of the musical yet. [9] The run was later extended through April 2015. [15][87] Nunn and Napier had sought to create "an environment rather than a set",[17] and around $900,000 was spent remodelling the New London in preparation for the show. Macavity's minions throw a net over Old Deuteronomy and capture him. He was also very impressed by Lloyd Webber's fitting compositions, Napier's environmental set, Lynne's effective and at times brilliant choreography, and Nunn's "dazzling staging" that makes use of the entire auditorium. [323], Cats introduced a marketing strategy that set the template for subsequent megamusicals. The 2015 London revival and UK Tour introduced numerous 'modernizations' to the show, such as a rapped version of "The Rum Tum Tugger,"[27][28] whose character and costume is also completely reworked, changing him from a ladies-man "rock star" style character, to a "young urban" style cat, changing him also from one of the adult toms, to one of the kittens. [32] It featured new choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, with Nunn and Napier from the original creative team returning to direct and design respectively. [237] A professional circus adaptation of Cats, titled Cats Run Away to the Circus, had a national tent tour from 1999 to 2001, with Hannah once again starring as Grizabella. [300], There were a few lukewarm reviews, most notably from Irving Wardle of The Times. [114][174] The Vienna production played a total of 2,040 performances to more than 2.3 million audience members. The symbolism and meaning of the Musical “Cats”, explained from a Christian point of view. T.S. [181] The musical was also a huge boost for tourism in Hamburg, particularly the subdivision of St. Pauli where it accounted for 30% of all tourists. The opening night cast included Laurie Beechman playing Grizabella and Charlotte d'Amboise playing Cassandra; later replacements included Victoria Clark and Jessica Molaskey both playing Jellylorum/Griddlebone. [96], "Growltiger's Last Stand" has been criticised as being racially offensive. [325] Such branding emblems proved equally effective for later megamusicals, as seen with the waif Cosette for Les Misérables and the Phantom's mask for The Phantom of the Opera. [269], The musical has also been translated and staged nationally in Asia. The final performance was broadcast live on a large outdoor screen in Covent Garden for fans who could not acquire a ticket. [120][129] A second All-Canadian company began at Toronto's former Panasonic Theatre in May 2013 and ran for four months & 128 performances, 28 years after the original production. [128], Meanwhile, the first Canadian national production premiered in March 1985 at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres in Toronto, Ontario. [160][164] The production has played over 10,000 performances to over 10 million audience members. Just as Jennyanydots finishes her song, the music changes suddenly and Rum Tum Tugger makes his extravagant entrance in front of the tribe ("The Rum Tum Tugger"). [94] The set of Cats consists of a junkyard filled with oversized props to give the illusion that the cast are the size of actual cats;[95] it remains the same throughout the show without any scene changes. Her faded appearance and lonely disposition have little effect on her song ("Memory"). Eliot. From September 2008 to May 2009, a Korean-language production toured South Korea, with Shin Youngsook and Ock Joo-hyun alternating as Grizabella, Kim Jin-woo and Daesung alternating as Rum Tum Tugger, and Kim Bo-kyung as Rumpleteazer. However, he panned Lynne's choreography and felt that the musical failed in its vague attempt to tell a story. The official Cats t-shirt became the second-best-selling t-shirt in the world in the 1980s, second only to the Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt. [308] [352] Other stage shows that satirise Cats include Six Degrees of Separation,[347] Angels in America,[296] and The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!). 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