Cats is a big show with music.
People sing and dance on a stage. It tells a story about cats. They gather for a big party. It is a lot of fun to watch. Do you like cats?
Cats is a famous musical show.
It uses songs and dance to tell a story. The show is based on poems about cats.
A group of cats meets for a big party. They call themselves the Jellicles. They must choose one cat for a special prize. This cat will go to a new life.
The show has been a huge success all over the world. It is a very popular show to see.
Cats is a famous musical show.
It uses songs and dance to tell a story. The show is based on poems by T. S. Eliot. These poems are from his book, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.
The story follows a group of cats called the Jellicles. They meet for a big party called the Jellicle Ball. During the ball, they must make a "Jellicle choice." They pick one cat to go to the Heaviside Layer. This is their version of heaven. That cat will then come back to a new life.
Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote the music. He began the songs in 1977. The show was a huge success. It has made billions of dollars around the world.
It is a very long-running show. In London, the show ran for 21 years. In New York, it ran for 18 years. The show has even been performed in Japan. There, it has played for over 10,000 shows since 1983.
Cats is a famous musical that uses song and dance to tell a story.
It is based on a book of poems called Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. These poems were written by T. S. Eliot in 1939. The show tells the story of a tribe of cats known as the Jellicles. They gather for a special event called the Jellicle Ball. During this night, the cats must make a "Jellicle choice." They decide which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer. This is the cats' version of heaven where they can be reborn into a new life.
The musical is very different from most stage shows. It does not follow a traditional story structure with many scenes. Instead, it focuses on music and dance to introduce different cat characters. The songs are mostly taken from Eliot's poems. Some lyrics were even added from poems that Eliot had never published before. One very famous song is called "Memory."
The performers use their bodies and movement to show who the cats are. This makes the show feel like a series of beautiful, connected moments.
Andrew Lloyd Webber began writing the music in late 1977. He originally wrote the songs as a personal exercise. He wanted to see if he could set Eliot's words to music. In 1980, the songs were first performed as a concert. Later, producer Cameron Mackintosh worked with director Trevor Nunn and choreographer Gillian Lynne. They turned the songs into a full musical.
Even though some people were unsure about the idea at first, it became a huge success. It helped start a new era of big-budget musical shows around the world.
The show has had many long runs in different cities.
In London, the production ran for 21 years and had 8,949 performances. The Broadway show in New York ran for 18 years with 7,485 performances. By 2012, the musical had earned 3.5 billion US dollars worldwide. In Japan, a production has played over 10,000 times since 1983.
It has also been performed in many other languages and places like Hamburg, Germany.
Cats changed how people make and sell musicals. It helped create a global market for big shows that families and tourists love. It also changed the technology used in theatre. For example, radio microphones became very common in live shows after Cats.
The show has been seen on screen too. There was a video version made in 1998 and a movie in 2019. It remains one of the most famous examples of how poems can become a grand stage adventure.
Cats is a famous musical that uses song and dance to tell a story.
It is a "sung-through" musical, which means there is little to no spoken dialogue. Instead, the music carries the entire performance. The show is based on the 1939 poetry collection *Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats* by T. S. Eliot. The plot follows a tribe of cats called the Jellicles. They gather for an annual ritual known as the Jellicle Ball. During this event, the cats must make a "Jellicle choice." They decide which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer, which is their version of heaven, to be reborn into a new life.
The musical uses a unique structure that differs from traditional plays. Musicologists William Everett and Paul Laird describe it as a combination of a "revue" and a "concept musical." A revue is a collection of short acts, while a concept musical focuses on a central theme rather than a strict plot.
Most of the show consists of introducing different cat characters through song. These characters are presented by themselves or by other cats in the tribe. To create a cohesive story, director Trevor Nunn used the idea of the Jellicle Ball to give the characters a reason to gather. He also added the concept of rebirth to play on the idea that cats have nine lives.
The creation of the show involved many different artists and unexpected turns. Andrew Lloyd Webber began composing the songs in late 1977 as a personal exercise. He wanted to see if he could set Eliot's rhythmic poetry to music.
In 1980, the songs were first presented as a song cycle at the Sydmonton Festival. Producer Cameron Mackintosh then recruited Trevor Nunn to direct and Gillian Lynne to choreograph. The team worked to turn isolated poems into a complete narrative. They even used analog synthesizers in the orchestrations to create a unique electronic soundscape for the show.
Developing the lyrics required extra work from the creative team. While most lyrics came from Eliot's book, some were taken from unpublished poems. For example, the song "Grizabella: The Glamour Cat" used a poem that Eliot had once thought was too sad for children.
The famous song "Memory" was also a special addition. Director Trevor Nunn insisted the song serve as the "emotional centre" of the show. He wrote the lyrics himself after an earlier version by Tim Rice was rejected for being too depressing.
Building the production was a difficult and risky process. Many investors were skeptical of the unusual premise and refused to provide money.
To cover the costs, Lloyd Webber took out a second mortgage on his house. He also relied on small investments from 220 different people who responded to newspaper advertisements. Even during rehearsals, problems arose. The actress Judi Dench, who was meant to play Grizabella, snapped her Achilles tendon. This forced her understudy, Myra Sands, to take over the role of Jennyanydots, while Elaine Paige became the new Grizabella.
Despite these early struggles, *Cats* became an unprecedented commercial success. It has had incredibly long runs in major theatre districts around the world.
The London production ran for 21 years with 8,949 performances. The Broadway production in New York ran for 18 years with 7,485 performances. By 2012, the musical had earned a worldwide gross of US$3.5 billion. In Japan, a production in a purpose-built theatre has played over 10,000 performances since it opened in 1983.
The influence of *Cats* reaches far beyond the stage. It helped start the "megamusical" phenomenon, which changed how the theatre industry works. It shifted the focus toward big-budget blockbusters that are friendly to families and tourists.
The show also changed the technology used in live performances. For instance, the use of radio microphones became a standard practice in musical theatre after *Cats*. The show has also been adapted into a direct-to-video film in 1998 and a feature film in 2019.
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