Winter Garden Theatre 1634 Broadway (At W. 50th St.) SYNOPSIS: Based on T.S. [203] The first non-replica production of Cats was approved for a Polish production at the Teatr Muzyczny Roma in Warsaw. Their number was also rewritten to be faster and more upbeat, alternating between vaudeville-style verses and a "manic patter" section. The risky hiring of a British choreographer, Lynne, for a British dance musical was described by one historian as "a vivid and marvellous gesture of transatlantic defiance". [4] For example, the rebellious Rum Tum Tugger is introduced with a rock song ("The Rum Tum Tugger"); the fallen Grizabella is accompanied by a dramatic operatic aria ("Grizabella: The Glamour Cat"); Old Deuteronomy makes his grand entrance to a lullaby-turned-anthem ("Old Deuteronomy"); and Gus' nostalgia for the past is reflected through an old-fashioned music hall number ("Gus: The Theatre Cat"). The Shuberts leased the building in 1911. [7], Most of the lyrics in Cats were taken from Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats with very minor alterations. Eliot's widow Valerie Eliot dies at 86", "Faber & Faber: The Untold Story of a Great Publishing House by Toby Faber – review", "BoJack Horseman Is the Funniest Show About Depression Ever", "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt serves up a lackluster penultimate episode", "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Does Cats as Only Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Can", "One-Man Show Cat Brings "High Kicks and Swearing" to Northern Ireland Tonight", "Review of CAT – (THE PLAY!!!) It starred Elaine Paige as Grizabella, John Mills as Gus, Ken Page as Old Deuteronomy, and Michael Gruber as Munkustrap. The Winter Garden Theatre was home to the original Broadway production of Cats from 1982 until the production closed in 2000. As with the contrasting music and dance styles, the costumes and make-up are used to bring out each character's distinct personality. [120] This was followed by a second national tour from 1993 to 1996,[236] during which Delia Hannah made her debut as Grizabella in 1994. International tours in the early to late 2000s included stops in Sweden, Norway,[220] Finland,[221] Greece,[189] Portugal,[222] Germany,[223] and Italy. [297] Valerie Eliot used a portion of this money to establish the literary charity Old Possum's Practical Trust, and to set up the T. S. Eliot Prize which has since become "the most coveted award in poetry". Act II – Why Will the Summer Day Delay – When Will Time Flow Away? [289], The musical is also available for school and amateur licensing through The Musical Company. The opening night cast included Tony Award winner BETTY BUCKLEY as "Grizabella" and included TERRENCE MANN, KENNETH ARD, RENE CEBALLOS, WALTER CHARLES, RENE CLEMENTE, MARLENE DANIELLE, WENDY EDMEAD, DIANE FRATANTONI, STEVEN GELFER, HARRY GROENER, STEVEN HACK, STEPHEN HANAN, ROBERT HOSHOUR, JANET L. HUBERT, REED JONES, WHITNEY KERSHAW, DONNA KING, CHRISTINE LANGNER, ANNA McNEELEY, HECTOR JAIME MERCADO, BOB MORRISEY, CYNTHIA ONRUBIA, KEN PAGE, SUSAN POWERS, CAROL RICHARDS, JOEL ROBERTSON, TIMOTHY SCOTT, HERMAN W. SEBEK and BONNIE SIMMONS ..... Side Note: On June 19th, 1997, Cats became the longest-running musical in Broadway history with 6,138 performances. [134] After a total of 350 performances, the show closed at the Teatro San Rafael in June 2014,[135] and then toured over 36 cities in Mexico until December 2014. in November 1997 to become the longest-running tour in theatre history, and played its 5,000th performance in July 1999. [116][117] A third US touring company, Cats National III, ran for two years from September 1986 to September 1988. Notable performers in the third tour included Jonathan Cerullo as Skimbleshanks (1986) and Bill Nolte as Old Deuteronomy (1987). By 2002, the song had been played over two million times on radio and television stations in the US. It closed in January 1987 and included performers such as Øivind Blunck, Brit Elisabeth Haagensli and Øystein Wiik. [4] The bulk of the musical consists of the different contenders being introduced, either by themselves or by other cats.[5]. Shortly after the Sydmonton Festival, Lloyd Webber began setting the unpublished poems he had been given to music, a few of which were later added into the show. Namely, the score relies heavily on recurring motifs as well as the use of preludes and reprises. Within his song, a whole steam train engine is assembled out of objects in the junkyard. With a third crash and an evil laugh, the "most wanted" cat Macavity appears. Diese Seite wurde zuletzt am 24. 11-Year-Olds and Tony Winners? When they are finished, Macavity returns disguised as Old Deuteronomy, but his cover is blown by Demeter and he ends up in a fight with Munkustrap and Alonzo. The entire theatre had to be revamped to allow for the sparkling ABBA musical to take its place on the stage. [149] Hammond reprised the role on tour again from 2007 to 2008. [216][217] A Paris revival by Stage Entertainment ran at the Théâtre Mogador from October 2015 to July 2016. ), a one-man show written by Jamie Beamish and Richard Hardwick, is a dark comedy about the fictitious life of Dave, a cat who was fired from the original London production of Cats on opening night. moved in where the theatre was empty, being de-felined! [62] Lloyd Webber was also involved and rewrote "The Rum Tum Tugger" for the revival. The cast for this tour included Marti Webb as Grizabella, Rosemarie Ford as Bombalurina and John Partridge as Alonzo. The musical was produced by Mackintosh and Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group, with direction by Nunn, choreography by Lynne (who also served as the associate director), set and costume design by Napier, lighting design by David Hersey, sound design by Abe Jacob and music direction by Harry Rabinowitz. [145] The tour closed at the Manchester Opera House in December 1995. Additional seats were also removed so as to create wide aisles, each taking up the space of several rows, that cut wide paths through the seats such that no audience member was very far from an open performance space. [91] Adding to the experience, the show usually includes a lot of audience interaction, such as during the overture when the cast don flashing "green eyes" as they make their way through the audience in the darkened theatre. [302][303] Critics generally found the revivals to be enjoyable and invigorating, though Mark Shenton was disappointed that the new staging lacked the immersiveness of the original. As of 2006, the song had been recorded around 600 times by artists such as Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, Judy Collins, and Johnny Mathis, in covers ranging from easy listening to techno. [106], The "Growltiger's Last Stand" sequence has been changed multiple times over the course of the show's history. [158][159], The Japanese-language production of Cats by the Shiki Theatre Company has been playing continuously since it premiered in Shinjuku, Tokyo, in November 1983. The revival was originally planned for 2020, but was postponed due to the pandemic. Cats premiered in the West End at the New London Theatre on 11 May 1981. Grizabella leaves and the music changes to a cheerful upbeat number as Bustopher Jones, a fat cat in "a coat of fastidious black", is brought to the stage ("Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town"). [160][161] An initial investment of ¥800 million (US$3.4 million in 1983) was required to bring Cats to Japan, including ¥300 million for the construction of a purpose-built theatre tailored to the needs of the musical. [174][181], After Hamburg, the German production transferred to Stuttgart where it played from 2001 to 2002. The auditorium was gutted to accommodate the show's junkyard setting, and, after the show's closing, architect Francesca Russo supervised its restoration, returning it to its 1920s appearance. [6] Musicologist John Snelson wrote of the poems: [They] provided excellent material for musicalization, as Eliot's style in this collection is reminiscent of a popular lyricist. The entire exterior of the theatre was painted black to match the aesthetic of the musical. 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 into a new Jellicle life ("The Journey to the Heaviside Layer"). Block as Grizabella and Lara Teeter as Munkustrap. Then, as Rum Tum Tugger's song fades, a shabby old grey cat stumbles out wanting to be reconciled; it is Grizabella.