Cats: "The Jellicle Ball" is a radical reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic dance musical based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. Inspired by the Ballroom culture that roared out of New York City over 50 years ago and still rages on runways around the world. Staged as a spectacularly immersive competition by Zhailon Levingston (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Chicken & Biscuits) and PAC NYC Artistic Director Bill Rauch (All the Way), with all new Ballroom and club beats, runway ready choreography, and an edgy eleganza makeover that moves the action from junkyard to runway. Come one, come all, and celebrate the joyous transformation of self at the heart of Cats and Ballroom culture itself.
Levingston and Rauch’s melding of “Cats” and the queer ballroom scene is so effortless that it seems to have required only the slightest alterations. The synthesizer groove has been juiced up with some new club beats by Trevor Holder, the directors have added a plotlet about the naughty thief Macavity (Antwayn Hopper) getting rumbled by the cops, and the entire number “Growltiger’s Last Stand,” in which the titular tom hates “cats of foreign name and race,” has been tastefully deleted. The true difference, though, lies in the piece’s shift from commercialized kitsch to camp sincerity.
This is obviously not the first deconstruction of a classic Broadway title, but what makes this one different from say, the very chilly Daniel Fish “Oklahoma!” or the recent inuring “Cabaret,” is that this “Cats” doesn’t shock or confront but meets audience members of different ages and persuasions wherever they may land. (Rauch, especially, has a long history of knowing how to include everyone.) The show, sexy throughout, comes off as a celebration of love and resilience, timeless Broadway themes long proven to work with middle America. and what is yet more impressive (and, frankly, surprising) is how much crew actually respects the material. You read that right. They respect “Cats.” They dignify “Cats.” They elevate “Cats,” and certainly make it work for a new moment where queens now sit on thrones unimaginable in 1981. There are some fresh, more percussive orchestrations but I know this show well, and as far as I can tell, they play every note of the score. And speak almost every line, with a few lively additions.
| 1981 | West End |
Original London Production West End |
| 1982 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| 2004 | London Fringe |
London Revival London Fringe |
| 2011 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
| 2014 | West End |
West End Revival West End |
| 2016 | West End |
West End 2015 Revival Production West End |
| 2016 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
| 2019 | US Tour |
US Revival Tour US Tour |
| 2021 | US Tour |
Non-Equity Tour US Tour |
| 2024 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Arturo Lyons |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Omari Wiles |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Costume Design of a Mus | Qween Jean |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Musical | Zhailon Levingston |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Musical | Bill Rauch |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical | Andre DeShields |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical | Adam Honoré |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Wig and Hair Design | Nikiya Mathis |
| 2025 | Drama League Awards | DISTINGUISHED PERFORMANCE | André De Shields |
| 2025 | Drama League Awards | OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL | Zhailon Levingston |
| 2025 | Drama League Awards | OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL | Bill Rauch |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Costume Design | Qween Jean |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Musical | Zhailon Levingston |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Musical | Bill Rauch |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical | Andre De Shields |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | Cats: The Jellicle Ball |
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