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Cats 1982

Ages: 6+
Opened: October 7, 1982
Closing: September 10, 2000

Cats - 1982 Broadway History , Info & More


Cats is a record-breaking musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on T. S. Eliot's 1939 poetry collection Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats . It tells the story of the Jellicle Cats, a tribe of cats who gather for the Jellicle Choice on the night of the full moon. During this night, the Jellicle leader Old Deuteronomy chooses one cat from the assembled Jellicles to ascend to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn into a new life.



It features a number of well-known songs, including "Memory," "Macavity: The Mystery Cat," and "Jellicle Song for Jellicle Cats." Cats is one of the longest-running musicals in history, both on West End and Broadway . It has been translated into over 20 languages and has been performed all over the world. The musical has won numerous awards, including seven Tony Awards and six Olivier Awards.


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Michael Riedel's New Book SINGULAR SENSATION: THE TRIUMPH OF BROADWAY Receives Early Praise
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jul 31, 2020


Michael Riedel's new book Singular Sensation: The Triumph of Broadway, is set to be published on November 10, 2020.

The 101 Greatest Musical Theatre Characters (1940-2020)
by Peter Nason - Apr 30, 2020


BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the best musical theatre characters from 1940-2020; see if your favorites are on our list of the best characters from Broadway musicals.

BWW Book Club: Read an Excerpt from UNTOLD STORIES OF BROADWAY: The Winter Garden Theatre
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Apr 6, 2020


BroadwayWorld Book Club is officially off and running! Or should we say, reading! The first BroadwayWorld Book Club selection is Jennifer Ashley Tepper's The Untold Stories of Broadway Volume 1. Tepper has just released the first volume of the book for free on Kindle!

BWW Tonys Special: Ultimate Guide to This Season's Cast Recordings
by David Clarke - Jun 10, 2017


Happy Tonys season BroadwayWorld! Is your CD collection and iPod Tonys ready? The big show-the 71th annual Tony Awards-is just over 24 hours away! Naturally, New York City and theatre fans across the world are excitedly buzzing about this year's ceremonies, which will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, June 11, 2017 at 8/7c on CBS. As always, this Broadway season has some exciting contenders in the musical categories, and to get you ready for the big night, I'm recapping the albums you should be listening to (or at least pre-ordering).

Broadway Manager, Producer and BC/EFA Activist Peter Neufeld Passes Away at 78
by BWW News Desk - Jan 27, 2015


A successful Broadway company manager, general manager and producer for more than 20 years, Peter Neufeld passed away peacefully after a long battle with Parkinson's disease this morning, January 27, 2015, at The Actors Fund's Lillian Booth Residence in Englewood, NJ, where he had been living since 2007. He was 78.

THIRTEEN’s American Masters to Air First Film Bio of Media Mogul David Geffen, 11/20
by Tyler Peterson - Nov 14, 2012


David Geffen's far-reaching influence - as agent, manager, record industry mogul, Hollywood and Broadway producer, and philanthropist - has helped shape American popular culture for the past four decades. Notoriously press and camera-shy, Geffen reveals himself for the first time in the new two-hour documentary American Masters Inventing David Geffen, premiering nationally Tuesday, November 20, 2012 at 8 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings). Two-time Emmy®-winning filmmaker, American Masters creator and executive producer Susan Lacy paints an unflinching portrait of Geffen, who narrates his unorthodox rise from working class Brooklyn boy to billionaire entertainment power broker in extensive interviews.

INVENTING DAVID GEFFEN Premieres 11/20 on PBS
by Kelsey Denette - Jul 10, 2012


David Geffen's far-reaching influence - as agent, manager, record industry mogul, Hollywood and Broadway producer, and philanthropist - has helped shape American popular culture for the past four decades.

THE FIREBRAND OF FLORENCE Begins 3/12
by BWW News Desk - Mar 12, 2009


On March 12, 2009 at 7:00 p.m., The Collegiate Chorale appears with The New York City Opera Orchestra at the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall in a performance of Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin's 1945 Broadway operetta The Firebrand of Florence. The performance, led by guest conductor Ted Sperling, stars baritone Nathan Gunn, soprano Anna Christy, baritone Terrence Mann, and soprano Victoria Clark. Krysty Swann, David Pittu and Patrick Goss complete the cast, and narration will be provided by Stage Director Roger Rees. Boasting a score by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and a book by playwright and screenwriter Edwin Justus Mayer, The Firebrand of Florence had a short run on Broadway in 1945. The work was subsequently not heard for over a half-century until three presentations - Ohio Light Opera (1999), the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London (2000) and the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Vienna (2000) - shed new light on the relatively obscure work. The performances were not only accepted, but widely acclaimed, thus giving hope for a new life in a new century. Variety's theater critic Steven Suskin says 'I have long believed that Firebrand in concert should be a dazzling delight.' Benvenuto Cellini, the great Florentine artist, is sentenced to hang, but he is pardoned when the duke realizes that he has not completed a previously commissioned sculpture. Freed, he is able to turn his attention to his favorite model (and object of his affections), Angela. The Duke also is interested in Angela. In a typical operetta plot, Cellini swashbuckles around the stage, keeping the Duke away from Angela, keeping himself away from the Duchess, and escaping yet another death sentence by fleeing to Paris, as the end of the show recapitulates the beginning.

THE FIREBRAND OF FLORENCE Begins 3/12
by Gabrielle Sierra - Jan 26, 2009


On March 12, 2009 at 7:00 p.m., The Collegiate Chorale appears with The New York City Opera Orchestra at the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall in a performance of Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin's 1945 Broadway operetta The Firebrand of Florence. The performance, led by guest conductor Ted Sperling, stars baritone Nathan Gunn, soprano Anna Christy, baritone Terrence Mann, and soprano Victoria Clark. Krysty Swann, David Pittu and Patrick Goss complete the cast, and narration will be provided by Stage Director Roger Rees. Boasting a score by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and a book by playwright and screenwriter Edwin Justus Mayer, The Firebrand of Florence had a short run on Broadway in 1945. The work was subsequently not heard for over a half-century until three presentations - Ohio Light Opera (1999), the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London (2000) and the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Vienna (2000) - shed new light on the relatively obscure work. The performances were not only accepted, but widely acclaimed, thus giving hope for a new life in a new century. Variety's theater critic Steven Suskin says 'I have long believed that Firebrand in concert should be a dazzling delight.' Benvenuto Cellini, the great Florentine artist, is sentenced to hang, but he is pardoned when the duke realizes that he has not completed a previously commissioned sculpture. Freed, he is able to turn his attention to his favorite model (and object of his affections), Angela. The Duke also is interested in Angela. In a typical operetta plot, Cellini swashbuckles around the stage, keeping the Duke away from Angela, keeping himself away from the Duchess, and escaping yet another death sentence by fleeing to Paris, as the end of the show recapitulates the beginning.

Charlotte D'Amboise To Take A Lead Role On ONE LIFE TO LIVE
by BWW News Desk - Jan 16, 2009


Broadway star Charlotte D'Amboise will be taking on the role of Principal Dickinson on One Life To Live. She will appear on January 16.

Charlotte D'Amboise To Take A Lead Role On ONE LIFE TO LIVE
by Gabrielle Sierra - Jan 7, 2009


Broadway star Charlotte D'Amboise will be taking on the role of Principal Dickinson on One Life To Live. She will appear on January 16.

Cats History

Other Productions of Cats

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

Cats - 1982 Broadway Awards and Nominations

Note: Award winners will appear on a background
Year Ceremony Category Nominee
1983 Outer Critics Circle Awards Best Broadway Musical 0
1983 Tony Awards Best Direction of a Musical Trevor Nunn
1983 Tony Awards Best Musical David Geffen
1983 Tony Awards Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre Andrew Lloyd Webber
1983 Tony Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical Betty Buckley

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