Andrew Lloyd Webber Talks Rapping & T.S. Eliot In New CATS Revival

International mega-hit mega-musical CATS is poised to pounce back on the West End later this year in a new revival production at the vaunted London Palladium and the composer himself, Andrew Lloyd Webber, teases some of the changes that are in store as part of a new interview.

Webber reveals he plans to update the score to reflect some contemporary sounds, including making fan favorite cat Rum Tum Tugger a rap-based musical figure.

"I've come to the conclusion that ... maybe Eliot was the inventor of rap," Lloyd Webber asserts.

Furthermore, Lloyd Webber says, "The thing about the Eliot verse is that you can tell he's American. Nobody other than Eliot would have written 'The Rum Tum Tugger is a curious cat'."

Additionally, Lloyd Webber said of the changes in store, "For instance, today Rum Tum Tugger should be a street cat and so that gives us a great dance opportunity, and I must say that I never liked what I did with Growltiger's Last Stand. I hated it, so we're having a go at that."

Check out the original article on the matter here.