Caitlin Bond

For the final show of its acclaimed 2022-2023 PNC Bank season, City Springs Theatre Company (CSTC) will bring Tony Award-recipient Baayork Lee back to Atlanta to helm the renowned Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, CATS. Ms. Lee directs and choreographs the production, running May 5-21, 2023, in the Byers Theatre at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center.

The touring production of CATS has changed in the more than fifteen years since I first saw it, but all of the elements that make the Andrew Lloyd Webber show a classic remain intact. The set is fairly simple: a junkyard where the cats congregate to celebrate the annual Jellicle Ball, when Old Deuteronomy (Adam Richardson) will choose which cat goes to the Heaviside Layer to be reborn. There are many contenders for the coveted position. We have Jennyanydots (Dani Goldstein), the seemingly lazy Gumbie cat who sleeps all day but works hard all night, demonstrated in a wonderful tap dancing sequence replete with a roaring twenties style flapper outfit. Then, there is the Rum Tum Tugger (McGee Maddox), the narcissistic, spoiled cat with the sexy swagger, who is a favourite of the lady-cats. Grizabella (Donna Vivino), the once glamourous cat, now past her prime and ostracized by the others. Gus, the Theatre Cat (Timothy Gulan), when aided by a toothful of gin, regales the audience with stories of his career on the stage, when he acted alongside theatre greats and once even 'understudied Dick Whittington's cat'. The Magical Mister Mistoffelees (PJ DiGaetano), shows off his impressive tricks and manages to conjure Old Deuteronomy, who was been kidnapped by Macavity (Brayden Newby), the nefarious 'Napoleon of crime'. Okay, so the plot is, perhaps, a little odd and the story may be disjointed. This is only natural, considering that the musical is based on a collection of whimsical poems written by T.S. Elliot for children. I think the reason CATS remains so popular after nearly forty years is because of the level of detail given to each character, from the costumes and make-up to each cat's story as they are introduced one by one, song by song, to the audience. Even the chorus cats have their own personalities. There is truly something for everyone in this show.

While I have heard wonderful things about the musical CATS and about the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, CT, I had never experienced either until March 5, 2020, when both far exceeded my expectations when I saw this musical masterpiece phenomenally performed by an extraordinary cast, to a packed audience representing numerous demographics, leaving us all united with an amazing memory of such an incredible theatrical experience!

Producers announced casting for the North American tour of the first ever Broadway revival of CATS. The multi-year tour launched at Providence Performing Arts Center on January 22, 2019 and will play 40+ cities during its multi-year tour, including the Fabulous Fox Theatre from April 7-19.

The Jellicle Cats include Adam Vanek as 'Alonzo,' McGee Maddox as 'Bill Bailey/Rum Tum Tugger,' Elyse Collier as 'Bombalurina,' Jordan Betscher as 'Cassandra,' Maurice Dawkins as 'Coricopat,' Alexa Racioppi as 'Demeter,' Donna Vivino as 'Grizabella,' Annemarie Rosano as 'Jellylorum,' Dani Goldstein as 'Jennyanydots,' PJ DiGaetano as 'Mistoffelees,' Ben Sears as 'Mungojerrie,' Zachary S. Berger as 'Munkustrap,' Timothy Gulan as 'Peter/Bustopher Jones/Asparagus,' Brayden Newby as 'Plato/Macavity,' Brett Michael Lockley as 'Pouncival,' Adriana Negron as 'Rumpleteazer,' Nevada Riley as 'Sillabub,' Giovanni DiGabriele as 'Skimbleshanks,' Melody Rose as 'Tantomile,' Cameron Edris as 'Tumblebrutus,' Adam Richardson as 'Victor/Old Deuteronomy,' Caitlin Bond as 'Victoria,' along with Erin Chupinsky, Alex Dorf, Devin Hatch, Madison Mitchell, Nathan Patrick Morgan, Charlotte O'Dowd, Austin Joseph Reynolds, Zachary Tallman, Tricia Tanguy and Loretta Williams.

CATS is a show that, on paper, isn't necessarily an easy sell. The narrative is simple: once a year a group of cats come together for the jellicle ball, and their leader Old Deuteronomy selects one cat to ascend to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn into a new life. There isn't too much structure to the plot besides that a?" cats come and go, introducing themselves and sometimes each other, and generally justa??do cat things. Because of all that, I wasn't the most optimistic viewer at the start of the night. By curtain call I was debating adopting a cat and naming it Mr. Mistoffelees, even with a lifelong track record of severe allergic reactions to the animals.

The new National Tour of CATS, based off the last Broadway revival, is on the road! The musical returns to Toronto starting tomorrow until January 5th at The Princess of Wales Theatre. Toronto news channel, Breakfast Television chatted with Keri Rene Fuller, who plays Grizabella, about the show, and she performed Memory.

World Series tickets may have been the hottest tickets Tuesday night, but they definitely weren't the only tickets in town. Patron lines at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts stretched across the lobby prior to opening, proof that Andrew Lloyd Webber's cornerstone musical really is 'Now and Forever Cats'.

a?oeThe Memory Lives Againa?? at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as the National Tour of CATS takes the Opera House Stage. CATS has been entertaining audiences all over the world since its Broadway debut in 1982. Now, the newly imagined, yet classic CATS invites us into the junkyard all over again in Washington, DC.

One of the biggest hits in theatrical history, CATS will come to Houston from October 22 to October 27, 2019 as part of a multi-season North American tour. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, August 2, 2019.

This production of CATS epitomizes excellence in musical theatre. Putting a show of this caliber in the capable hands of this almost universally young cast is a move that pays off. With fresh, revitalizing energy, soaring music, and jaw-dropping choreography, CATS is sure to delight fans of the original show and a whole new generation of theatergoers. Hurry up and catch this spectacular show before it leaves Austin on May 12th.

CATS captured the hearts and imaginations of people worldwide and the most current touring revival has found a home at Broadway San Diego though April 21st.

One of the biggest hits in theatrical history, CATS will come to Sacramento from April 2 - 7 as part of a multi-season North American tour. Tickets are on sale now.

One of the biggest hits in musical theatrical history, CATS comes to Segerstrom Center for the Arts April 9 - 14, 2019 as part of its North American Tour.

KeyBank Broadway at The Paramount has announced that the tour of the first ever Broadway revival of CATS is coming to Seattle for a limited one-week engagement at The Paramount Theatre from March 26 through March 31.

Without a doubt, Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit musical CATS is of an era. Based on one of Lloyd Webber's favorite books as a child, T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, it was a perfect vehicle for the tastes of theatre lovers in the eighties, the decade of excess. The large-scale production, which opened on Broadway in 1982, was a highly theatrical concept featuring an elaborate light show, impressive dance numbers, and an intoxicating score, exactly what the public had come to expect from the composer of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and EVITA.

CATS opened in Los Angeles last night, and humans and felines alike came out to celebrate! Check out photos from the opening night red carpet below!

CATS opened in Los Angeles last night, and Hollywood came out to walk the Jellicle carpet! Check out video from the opening night below!

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Happy Friday! Help get yourself through this final day of the week before your weekend, by catching up on the latest Broadway news!

BroadwayWorld has a first look at the new national touring company of CATS! The Jellicle Cats include Phillip Deceus as 'Alonzo,' McGee Maddox as 'Bill BaileyRum Tum Tugger,' Lexie Plath as 'Bombalurina,' Mariah Reives as 'Cassandra,' PJ DiGaetano as 'Coricopat,' Liz Schmitz as 'Demeter,' Keri Rene Fuller as 'Grizabella,' Kaitlyn Davidson as 'Jellylorum,' Emily Jeanne Phillips as 'Jennyanydots,' Tion Gaston as 'Mistoffelees,' Tony D'Alelio as 'Mungojerrie,' Dan Hoy as 'Munkustrap,' Timothy Gulan as 'PeterBustopher JonesAsparagus,' Tyler John Logan as 'PlatoMacavity,' Anthony Michael Zas as 'Pouncival,' Rose Iannaccone as 'Rumpelteazer,' Ahren Victory as 'Sillabub,' Ethan Saviet as 'Skimbleshanks,' Halli Toland as 'Tantomile,' Devin Neilson as 'Tumblebrutus,' Brandon Michael Nase as 'VictorOld Deuteronomy,' Caitlin Bond as 'Victoria,' along with Zachary S. Berger, Nicholas Burrage, Erin Chupinsky, Maria Failla, Justin W. Geiss, Charlotte O'Dowd, Adam Richardson, Tricia Tanguy, and Andy Zimmermann.