Andrew Lloyd Webber's record-breaking musical Cats, based on T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, returns to the West End for a strictly limited 12 week run at the London Palladium from 6 December 2014.
Andrew Lloyd Webber's record-breaking musical Cats returns to the West End for a strictly limited 12 week run at the London Palladium beginning early December 2014. Based on T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, tickets for this production will go on sale on Monday 7 July 2014 when casting and further details about the production will be announced.
The Jellicle moon must be shining bright! The Daily Mail reports that Andrew Lloyd Webber's CATS is scratching its way back into the West End for a run at the London Palladium, beginning this December for a 12-week run.
CATS, one of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history, comes to Canterbury later this month (June).
The National Museums Scotland's listings until July 27th are below. They include exhibits such as Ming: The Golden Empire, Common Cause: Commonwealth Scots and the Great War, and much more. There are also activities and events for families and many daily tours available.
Today we are talking to a terrifically talented triple-threat diva known for her legendary Broadway performance as the title character in the iconic original production of ANNIE as well as notable appearances on Broadway since in STARLIGHT EXPRESS, LES MISERABLES, STATE FAIR and more - the engaging and passionate Andrea McArdle. Opening up about her life after 'Tomorrow' as well as sharing memories of her time in ANNIE, McArdle sheds some light on her idiosyncratic showbiz career and shares sensational stories from her past and present while also looking ahead to the future. Additionally, McArdle looks back on many of her most famous roles to date, including her roller skating days in STARLIGHT EXPRESS and her recent stint as MAME herself, as well as her various Judy Garland-related properties, too - the TV biopic RAINBOW and the stage adaptation of MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS among them, not to mention her sensational star turn as the opener of the recent sold-out series of 10th anniversary concerts at Joe's Pub, BROADWAYWORLD.COM VISITS OZ, directed by Richard Jay-Alexander and MaryBeth Abel, where she exquisitely performed 'I'm Always Chasing Rainbows'. Plus, McArdle comments on her recent Broadway Records live album 70'S & SUNNY and the material and decade that inspired it. Most importantly, McArdle looks ahead to her new series of solo shows kicking off at 54 Below this week titled DREAM ROLES and previews some of the stupendous song selections she has chosen for the show - with material by Stephen Sondheim, Charles Strouse and more included! All of that and much, much more awaits in this career-spanning chat with one of Broadway's best and best-loved leading ladies.
One of the longest-running musicals in West End and Broadway history, CATS has now been re-mastered in high definition for Blu-ray and is now available.
A brand new Blu-ray edition of Andrew Lloyd Webber's mega-successful long-running musical based on the poems of T.S. Eliot, CATS, is now available in an all-region Ultimate Edition release.
One of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history, CATS comes to The King's Theatre today, Monday 16th - Saturday 28th September 2013.
One of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history, CATS will come to The King's Theatre from Monday 16th - Saturday 28th September 2013.
A new production of Cats is set to open at the Panasonic Theatre in Toronto on May 28, and is being produced by the same producers as the now famous 1985 production, which played the Elgin Theatre.
Last night, Starlight Express was celebrating 29 years to the day when it opened at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in the West End. Since ending an incredibly successful 18-year run in London, the production has not been very far from our stages. With one of the most impressive set designs in a resident venue, taking it out on tour was never going to be quite as lavish. H
Arizona Theatre Company (ATC) brings Neil Simon's comic masterpiece about show business, friendship and growing old, 'The Sunshine Boys' to Arizona audiences. David Ira Goldstein directs one of Neil Simon's most beloved and acclaimed plays in ATC's new production that will premiere in Tucson for three weeks of performances and continue to Phoenix for an additional three weeks. ATC's 'The Sunshine Boys' opens at the Temple of Music and Art, running from tonight, March 2, 2013 through March 23, 2013. It continues its run in Phoenix at the Herberger Theater Center from March 28, 2013 through April 14, 2013.
Arizona Theatre Company (ATC) brings Neil Simon's comic masterpiece about show business, friendship and growing old, 'The Sunshine Boys' to Arizona audiences. David Ira Goldstein directs one of Neil Simon's most beloved and acclaimed plays in ATC's new production that will premiere in Tucson for three weeks of performances and continue to Phoenix for an additional three weeks. ATC's 'The Sunshine Boys' opens at the Temple of Music and Art, running from March 2, 2013 through March 23, 2013. It continues its run in Phoenix at the Herberger Theater Center from March 28, 2013 through April 14, 2013.
Arizona Theatre Company presents the Arizona Premiere of "Jane Austen's Emma" a new romantic musical comedy that brings Jane Austen's masterpiece to life. "Jane Austen's Emma" plays at the Temple of Music and Art and runs from December 1, 2012 - December 22, 2012. It continues its run in Phoenix at the Herberger Theater Center from December 31, 2012 - January 20, 2013. "Jane Austen's Emma" is sponsored by Shirley Estes. ATC's season sponsors are I. Michael and Beth Kasser.
One of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history, CATS will begin a new tour in 2013. Premiering at the Edinburgh Playhouse on 9 February 2013 the show will also visit Aberdeen, Wolverhampton, Manchester, Bradford, Hull, Sunderland, Southampton, Milton Keynes, Woking, Ostend and Dublin. Further dates and venues to be announced.
Today we continue our expansive look at the most memorable moments from the sixty-plus years of the Tony Awards by saluting one of the biggest hit musicals of all time that is about to hit the silver screen in a big budget adaptation starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway - the emotionally devastating and faith-affirming LES MISERABLES.
Forget "Rock Of Ages." That 21st century musical about the 1980s has nothing on the real thing. "Cats," the show that set much of the look and tone of musical theater for the next decade or so when it opened in London in 1981 and in New York in 1982 (and began continuous touring in 1984, a record unmatched in theater history) is on display for this week only (sorry, "Now And Forever") at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre. Forget "Rock Of Ages." That 21st century musical about the 1980s has nothing on the real thing. "Cats," the show that set much of the look and tone of musical theater for the next decade or so when it opened in London in 1981 and in New York in 1982 (and began continuous touring in 1984, a record unmatched in theater history) is on display for this week only (sorry, "Now And Forever") at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre. And I, who saw the original Broadway production twice during that heady decade and have not seen the show in any form since then, was eager to go and see what the fuss was, and is, all about. So I went, Tuesday night. If you've never seen this show, if you kids have never seen it, or if you want to experience the magic of this unique theatrical masterpiece one more time, then this is a great opportunity to do so, as this is the only remaining North American production to (somewhat) accurately replicate the award-winning, record-setting British musical that took America and the world by storm thirty years ago. This tour of non-Equity performers, with its usual orchestra of five beefed up to eight for a weeklong stand (May 1-6) in a major theatrical market, has enough going for it that I highly recommend it. It's a little like entering a time machine, and there's a lot of sleight of hand, but it works. Let me explain. What is "Cats?" Much maligned by insiders, derided as dated by visual artists, underrated by dance teachers and ignored by voice teachers (save for its megahit song, "Memory," which is heard twice, but never in the sheet music version everything has heard and claims to know), it is in many ways a dichotomy. It's a dance show (choreography by Gillian Lynne) written by a singer's songwriter (Andrew Lloyd Webber), as well as a British song cycle based on poems written by a St. Louis-born English poet (T. S. Eliot) who never intended his work ("Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats," and other snippets) to be either musicalized or staged. Its plot, slight though it is, is also the subject of much derision, but to this observer is very reminiscent of "A Chorus Line," a universally revered work that does include dialogue and more depth of character, but also honors unity of time and place. However, there are indeed works that dispense with plot entirely, and which people unabashedly love (you know, revues--"Ain't Misbehavin'" comes to mind), and even shows like "Forever Plaid" and Lloyd Webber's "Starlight Express" feature heaven-going as a climax that is not entirely a surprise. So, enough complaining about there being no dramatic tension, already. But the spectacle! Is it a rock concert with dance, a dance concert with character, a makeup and hair extravaganza with arena-style lighting (still thrilling, the work of David Hersey, as recreated by Rick Belzer), a radio-friendly cast album with a decidedly British keyboard-rock spin, an intellectual set of inscrutable poems with earworm melodies, an environmental theater piece that's fun for all ages (an unmistakeable set and costume design by the remarkable John Napier)--what exactly is going on? The answer, of course, is all of the above. Oh, and it owes a lot to the English music hall tradition and to contemporary classical music, too, not to mention Puccini. Name another show that encompasses so much. Not to mention that original marketing campaign. Aside from his immature works (the children's show "Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and others), Lloyd Webber's previous shows written with Tim Rice (the two nominated for the Best Revival of a Musical Tony Award this year, "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Evita,") were both introduced to the world via record albums and marketing campaigns that featured a logo rather than a star name and image. But "Cats" seemed to take that even further, dispensing with the concept album and zeroing in on the show AS the star. Indeed, this show has no leading roles. Really. But who can forget that moon/cats' eyes/dancer silhouette logo, and the letters of the title in color-coordinated graffiti (echoing the oversized junkyard scene design). It was exciting and revolutionary at the time, and the only shows that have done it better since then (Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom Of The Opera" and director Trevor Nunn's "Les Miserables," all three produced by wunderkind Cameron Mackintosh) are the only ones that have run longer in London and New York, due to the lessons they learned from the feline juggernaut before us now. It was "the birth of the musical spectacular," as Broadway In Chicago's promotional materials tell us. This particular edition of the endless "Cats" tour, directed and choreographed by Richard Stafford and featuring mostly young, recent graduates of top U.S. musical theater and dance schools, is indeed "cut down" from the total makeover that the Winter Garden Theatre in New York displayed for the 18 years it played there (1982-2000). But the "Christmas lights" that once ringed the audience do indeed extend past the proscenium arch, and the cast makes several trips out into the aisles, a nice touch. The back wall of the set does not swing down to reveal the ship's set needed for the "Growltiger's Last Stand" sequence--they use drops and a false proscenium downstage center here, and I almost liked it better. The set as a whole is not as detailed and certainly not as deep as it once was, but if you haven't seen the video of the London production, or the show as it played in the early '80s, you would be none the wiser. Sound-wise, I have to give credit to sound designer Duncan Robert Edwards, musical supervisor Kristen Blodgette and music director J. Michael Duff. I swear the show sounds better than ever, even with a smaller orchestra than originally employed. And I could understand the lyrics! The costumes and makeup design look simplified to me, though, but again, a newcomer to the proceedings wouldn't know. And do I care of part of the set is inflatable, as rumor would have it? I don't care how they get it from city to city, or how quickly they do it, but somebody does care, and they figured out a way to make it work! The floating tire and the thing that comes down from the fly space (spoiler alert?) look great, absolutely. Absolutely. The cast is led by Melissa Grohowski as Grizabella, the role made famous by Elaine Paige and Betty Buckley and carrying with it, shall we say, a certain expectation of a certain money note. Boy, does Ms. Grohowski deliver! Three people stood during the applause for the number. Bravo to Clemmons/Dewing Casting, I say! The two singing roles for the men, Old Deuteronomy and Gus/Growltiger/Bustopher Jones, are essayed here by Nathan Morgan and Christopher E. Sidori, who both acquitted themselves well and were very effective theatrically, whatever their actual ages. Among the dance roles, Daniel J. Self as the narrator Munkustrap, Chris Stevens as Rum Tum Tugger and especially Chaz Wolcott as Mistoffelees were crowd pleasers: Self with his movement detailing, Stevens with his Elvis impersonation and Wolcott with his amazing fouette turns. The cast of two dozen or so performers dances uniformly well, and sings very well, too, save for a few minor quibbles with single lines here. And there or some missing low notes that older performers would probably have no trouble with. But these are easily forgiven. Who cares if the leading lights of Broadway (Harry Groener, Terrence Mann, Anna McNeely and of course Ken Page) have been replaced in these roles by recent graduates of Wright State, SUNY-Purchase and Oklahoma City University? These energetic, disciplined performers are working their tails off (pun intended), singing like people who can't dance a lick and are basking in the glow of theater history with every city they visit. Yes, the show has moments that seem a little longwinded, and sure, it doesn't challenge your intellect as much as it challenges your wallet and your caffeine intake (it takes place at night, and everybody is dressed like a cat!). But I challenge you to remain unmoved when Grizabella begs for physical contact, when old Gus relives his moment of youthful theatrical triumph, when assorted junk becomes the train that Skimbleshanks loves, and when the sopranos of the ensemble soar on the words, "'Round the cathedral rang 'Vivat!" Come on! It's "Cats." It's eye and ear candy galore. I don't even like cats, but I do like "Cats." Very much. "Cats" plays this week only, Tuesday night through Sunday night, with additional matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday, at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph Street in Chicago. Tickets are available at all Broadway In Chicago box offices, the Ticket Kiosk at Water Tower Place, all Ticketmaster retail outlets, by phone (800.775.2000) and online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com. Photos: Melissa Grohowski; The Cast
Frolicking felines took the stage last night in all their graceful glory, bringing the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic CATS to life once again - this time at Broadway San Jose. The fantastical, magical world of London's Jellicle cats, who are gathered together for their yearly Jellicle Ball, still has the power to transfix and delight even now, thirty years after it first opened on Broadway.
The Hobby Center and Broadway Across America are bringing CATS back to Houston for a limited one-week engagement. Billed as 'the longest running, most popular North American touring production in history,' it will close in Sarofim Hall Sunday, April 17.
