CATS Comes To The Phillips Center 1/9, 1/10/2010

The show that revolutionized musical theatre is coming to the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Gainesville for three performances on January 9 and 10. Tickets are on sale now at the Phillips Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations or call 352-392-2787 for more details.

Produced by CATS-Eye, LLC, the national tour of CATS is the only production in North America sanctioned by Andrew Lloyd Webber. With original direction by Trevor Nunn and choreography by Gillian Lynne this is The catS credited with the British invasion of Broadway. The national tour of CATS recently celebrated its 27th anniversary season, holding its place as the longest continuously touring Broadway musical in history.

On May 11, 1981, CATS opened at the New London Theatre in the West End. Eight years later it celebrated its first important milestone: after 3,358 performances CATS became the longest running musical in the history of British theatre. CATS played its final performance on its 21st birthday, May 11, 2002.

CATS opened on Broadway October 7, 1982 at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City and continued to live up to its motto "Now and Forever." On June 19, 1997, CATS became the longest running musical on Broadway. It ended its 18 year run on September 10, 2000 with 7,485 performances. That record was broken by The Phantom of the Opera on January 9, 2006 when Phantom celebrated its 7,486th curtain.

Based on T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, and with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, CATS won seven 1983 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Lighting and Best Costumes.

In October of 1991 CATS became the longest continuously touring show in American theatre history. Five continents, 26 countries, over eight and a half million audience members and 27 years later, CATS is still America's most loved family musical. Celebrating not only 27 years but the birth of the musical spectacular, CATS is still revolutionary and awe inspiring.

Now that it was been seen by millions of audience members worldwide, it is time to celebrate with the whole family the magic, the mystery, the wonder of CATS.

CATS
Saturday, January 9, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, January 10, 1 p.m. & 5 p.m.
Phillips Center for the Performing Arts

The performance is sponsored by Home Magazine and The Sky 97.3

Pre-performance Discussion
Led by Keith Watson on Saturday, January 9 at 6:45 p.m.
There will be no performance discussions for the performance on Sunday, January 10.

Ticket Prices: $34.00-$66.00

Web sites:
University of Florida Performing Arts: www.performingarts.ufl.edu
CATS: www.reallyuseful.com

To Purchase tickets, call the Phillips Center Box Office at 352-392-ARTS (2787) or 800-905-ARTS (toll-free within Florida) or call Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 (toll-free). Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Phillips Center Box Office, the University Box Office at the University of Florida Reitz Union or from any Ticketmaster outlet, or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Cash, checks, MasterCard and Visa are accepted.

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