These cats are getting a third life on Broadway. Last season's downtown hit Cats: The Jellicle Ball will transfer to the Broadhurst Theatre next year, with previews beginning March 18 ahead of an April 7 opening night. The production, which debuted with a multi-extended run at the Perelman Performing Arts Center last year, had been teasing a major return.
Directed by Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, the revival reimagines the well-known Andrew Lloyd Webber musical and re-sets it in the world of Ballroom, with its Jellicle cats convening for an annual ball to stomp the runway in fabulous duds. The staging features vogueing-infused choreography by Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons, and Lloyd Webber's Tony-winning score (which includes the seminal "Memory") newly augmented by dance music-inspired beats. See what critics had to say about the production Off-Broadway here.
'Electric': Andrew Lloyd Webber Officially Weighs In on Cats: 'The Jellicle Ball'
Much of the staging's original company will reprise their work on Broadway, including Tony winner André De Shields as Old Deuteronomy, "Tempress" Chasity Moore as Grizabella, Junior LeBeija as Gus, Sydney James Harcourt as Rum Tum Tugger, Jonathan Burke as Mungojerrie, Baby Byrne as Victoria, Dava Huesca as Rumpleteazer, Dudney Joseph Jr. as Munkustrap, Robert “Silk” Mason as Magical Mister Mistoffelees, Primo Thee Ballerino as Tumblebrutus, Xavier Reyes as Jennyanydots, Nora Schell as Bustopher Jones, Bebe Nicole Simpson as Demeter, Emma Sofia as Cassandra and Skimbleshanks, Garnet Williams as Bombalurina, Teddy Wilson, Jr. as Sillabub, and Tara Lashan Clinkscales. Additional casting—by X Casting's Victor Vazquez and Sujotta R. Pace—is to be announced.
Also back from the earlier staging will be Levingston and Rauch's full creative team, including scenic designer Rachel Hauck, costume designer Qween Jean, lighting designer Adam Honoré, sound designer Kai Harada, projection designer Brittany Bland, hair and wig designer Nikiya Mathis, dramaturg and gender consultant Josie Kearns, and music supervisor and director William Waldrop. Cooper Howell and N'yomi Allure Stewart will serve as associate directors, and Cody Renard Richard will be production stage manager. Baseline Theatrical is general managing.
READ: In This New Cats Revival, It's Jellicle Songs for Voguers and Femme Queens
Most recently brought somewhat mainstream by the FX series Pose, the Ballroom scene is an underground LGBTQIA+ subculture that arose in 1920s NYC, arguably reaching its zenith in the '80s. Home to runway walk categories that invited participants to dress in any number of themes ranging from the extravagant to the fabulously commonplace, the Ballroom scene is also where vogue dancing comes from—but real vogueing, not Madonna vogueing. Dominated specifically by the Black and Latino queer communities, the scene has become ingrained in much of queer and popular culture today, particularly the world of drag. Ball culture was most famously memorialized in the iconic 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning.
But the world of Ballroom is a new take on the Lloyd Webber musical, which debuted in London in 1979 as a dance musical adapted from T.S. Eliot's book of poetry, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. Largely plotless, the musical follows a tribe of so-called "Jellicle" Cats who gather for an annual ball, presenting themselves for the chance to be reborn into a new life. The first act culminates in an all-dancing Jellicle Ball. While the connections to Ballroom culture might seem obvious now, the original production, choreographed by Gillian Lynne, featured quasi-modern ballet-inspired dance and cat costumes comprising '80s-appropriate leotards and leg warmers.
Michael Harrison and Mike Bosner are producing the Broadway bow.
Ticket pre-sales will begin October 14 at 10 AM ET with registration at CatsTheJellicleBall.com. General sales begin October 16 at 10 AM ET.
