CATS: The Jellicle Ball
CATS: The Jellicle Ball - 2024 Off-Broadway History , Info & More
Perelman Performing Arts Center
251 Fulton Street New York, NY 10007
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.
CATS: The Jellicle Ball - 2024 - Off-Broadway Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR CATS: The Jellicle Ball
Cats: The Jellicle Ball
9 / 10
A revival of Cats, at least in theory, might well give you paws. After a then-record 18-year run on Broadway—with a tagline, “NOW AND FOREVER,” that began to sound a bit like a threat—Andrew Lloyd Webber's synthtastic 1980s musical finally hung up its leotards and yak-hair wigs in 2000. Its comeback efforts since then have been less than thrilling: a taxidermic 2016 revival, a widely mocked 2019 film. It seemed almost as though the show had been condemned to obsolescence, humbled and disavowed like its own once-grand Grizabella the Glamour Cat. But now along comes a thrilling reconception at the Perelman Performing Arts Center that not only rescues Cats from the oversize junkyard but lifts it, like Grizabella herself, to unexpected heights.
The Drag-Ball Cats Is Good
9 / 10
Cats: “The Jellicle Ball” is the vogueing, waacking brainchild of co-directors Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch. It’s a high-spirited mash-up of Lloyd Webber’s possibly most dunked-on musical (the one about cats) with the culture and choreographic stylings of the ballroom scene immortalized in Paris Is Burning. It’s also a tribute to the legends of that scene, living and dead, and an energizing act of cross-community collaboration. A mix of more traditional triple threats with dancers, newcomers, and elders from the ball circuit—as well as a DJ to scribble, juggle, and sample along with the live band—creates a palpable effervescence in the room, banishing any theater in-crowd stuffiness. At intermission, I heard whispers about Steven Tyler being in the crowd. People are stoked, both onstage and off-. It’s, as the kids say, a vibe.
Category
by A.A. Cristi - August 15, 2024
CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL will welcome new cats to its catwalk for the remainder of its run.
by Nicole Rosky - August 7, 2024
In Broadway by Design, BroadwayWorld is shining a spotlight on the stellar designs of this season, show by show. We continue with the Tony-winning scenic designer of Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Rachel Hauck.
by Nicole Rosky - July 31, 2024
The Jellicle Ball will party on! BroadwayWorld has just learned that the show has been extended for the third time, through September 8, 2024. It was previously scheduled to conclude its limited run at the Perelman Performing Arts Center on August 22.
by Joey Mervis - August 3, 2024
CATS: The Jellicle Ball is hitting the catwalk and welcoming audience members of all stripes to witness its radical reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic musical! BroadwayWorld correspondent Richard Ridge stopped in for a chat with two of the catwalk's brightest stars, Antwayn Hopper who plays Macavity and Nora Schell who plays Bustopher Jones. Watch the video!
by Joshua Wright - July 24, 2024
Performances of CATS: The Jellicle Ball will resume this evening following several cancellations, including today's matinee, due to cast illness.
by Josh Sharpe - July 23, 2024
Tony Award winner André De Shields stopped by CBS New York on Tuesday to discuss the current reimagining of Cats: The Jellicle Ball Off-Broadway. Shields says the new production is a 'magical collaboration between those of us who consider ourselves legitimate performers and the Ballroom community.' Watch the interview!
by Blair Ingenthron - July 21, 2024
According to their official website, CATS: The Jellicle Ball, now in performances at PAC NYC, has canceled matinee performance due to illness in the cast.
by Stephi Wild - July 15, 2024
BroadwayWorld has learned that CATS: The Jellicle Ball, now in performances at PAC NYC, recently canceled a performance due to illness in the cast. The matinee performance set for Sunday, July 14 did not go on, which was announced last-minute, as attendees were arriving to the theatre.
by Joshua Wright - July 11, 2024
Andrew Lloyd Webber made a visit to CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL at PAC NYC, and met with the company after the show. We spoke to the production's music supervisor, William Waldrop, about Webber's visit. See the photos and learn more about Webber's time at the Junkyard.
by Sidney Paterra - June 29, 2024
Cats: The Jellicle Ball has arrived at PAC NYC and audiences and critics can't get enough of this exciting new adaptation. What makes this Cats different from the iconic original? Let's break it down...
by Chloe Rabinowitz - June 25, 2024
Perelman Performing Arts Center will present a second extension of “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” at PAC NYC. Learn how to purchase tickets.
by A.A. Cristi - June 20, 2024
Read the reviews for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” at PAC NYC. As previously announced the limited run has extended now through Sunday, July 28, 2024. Performances began on June 13, 2024.
by Stephi Wild - June 20, 2024
All new photos have been released from “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” at PAC NYC. Check out the photos here!
by Chloe Rabinowitz - June 11, 2024
Check out new footage of Cats: “The Jellicle Ball” at PAC NYC. Learn how to purchase tickets.
by Joshua Wright - May 30, 2024
Get a first look inside rehearsals for PAC NYC's radical reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic dance musical Cats based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot.
CATS: The Jellicle Ball History
Other Productions of CATS: The Jellicle Ball
| 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 |
| 2026 | West End |
West End |
CATS: The Jellicle Ball - 2024 Off-Broadway Awards and Nominations
| 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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