Cats opened on Broadway in 1982, and closed in 2000, making it the longest running musical ever, running for 18 years and just shy of 7,500 performances. Since then, it has been replaced by another Lloyd Webber musical, Phantom of the Opera, which is still running today. It had music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and based on the work of T.S. Elliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, published in 1939. I saw a prodution of it a long time ago. The show had 11 Tony nominations, and an amazing 8 wins.
I gotta be honest here, I was not a fan of the show. Based on a collection of poetry, the storyline is not a strong one. The costumes and makeup looked cool from the stage, but when the 'cats' went into the audience, the illusion was lost for me. And it is not the strongest of Lloyd-Webber's music. It seemed to have more life as a dance piece than as a strong work of musical theater. Take for example, the opening, Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats.
Often in a Lloyd-Webber musical, giving a performer an Elvis type of moment. In this show, it is Rum Tum Tugger.
The real break-out song of the show is Memory, sung on Broadway by Betty Buckley. The song has been sung by almost every female singer who has picked up a microphone in the last 20 years.
The statistics for this show are amazing. I've seen it once. And it IS strange. The spaceship at the end? Um . . . Okay. The music was great though.
ReplyDeleteLove this one Howard. Cats may seem strange to some, but the heart of the story and its' characters are closer to real our lives than most people want to think or recognize. I believe that is why the show has had so much success and why it known around the world. Universal messages, bring universal appeal.
ReplyDeleteMichael, the stats are phenomenal.
ReplyDeleteKyle, I felt it was more of a special presentation, a dance/performance piece, than a real Broadway musical. And ALW can make me a little nuts - he can be repetitive...
where could i find one of these costumes?
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