Cats is a sung-through musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is based on the 1939 poetry collection Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot.
Cats the musical was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and first performed on London's West End in 1981. Lloyd Webber based the wide cast of characters on one of his childhood favorites, poet T.S. Eliot's 1939 book Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (1939) is a collection of whimsical light poems by T. S. Eliot about feline psychology and sociology, published by Faber and Faber. It serves as the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical Cats.
Andrew Lloyd Webber is the composer of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, By Jeeves, Evita, Variations and Tell Me On A Sunday later combined as Song & Dance, Cats, Starlight Express, The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love, Sunset Boulevard, Whistle Down the Wind, The Beautiful ...
Meanwhile... Andrew Lloyd Webber Reviews The "Cats" Movie
Why did Andrew Lloyd Webber write Cats?
Using one of his favorite books from childhood, T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, Webber wrote the music as a challenge to craft original melodies for previously penned poems. These songs evolved from an exercise into a song cycle called Practical Cats.
Jellicle cats were first mentioned in Eliot's 1933 poem "Five-Finger Exercises" and later developed in Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. They were given further characterization in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 stage musical Cats, which was based on Eliot's book.
Jellicle Cats come out tonight, Jellicle Cats come one come all: The Jellicle Moon is shining bright— Jellicles come to the Jellicle Ball. Jellicle Cats are black and white, Jellicle Cats are rather small; Jellicle Cats are merry and bright, And pleasant to hear when they caterwaul.
Although the etymology of the word is not given in Cats, or just about anywhere else, it comes from a poem by Eliot called “Pollicle Dogs and Jellicle Cats,” and Pollicle is a pet form of poor little, and Jellicle is a pet form of dear little.
The Heaviside Layer is a setting referenced throughout the musical, usually interpreted to be a heaven-like place of rebirth for cats selected by Old Deuteronomy. Being selected to go to the Heaviside Layer is a huge honour, with hopefuls apparently vying for a spot each year.
Grizabella, the Glamour Cat, is shunned by the rest of the tribe despite being a Jellicle Cat. She left the tribe years ago to explore the outside world and now wants to return. Bustopher Jones is a large 'twenty-five pounder', always clad in his signature white spats.
In his New York Times review of “Cats,” Frank Rich wrote that despite its flaws, the “reason people will hunger to see 'Cats' ” is that “it's a musical that transports the audience into a complete fantasy world that could only exist in the theater.”
"Beautiful Ghosts", alternatively titled "Beautiful Ghosts (From the Motion Picture Cats)", is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber from the 2019 Cats film adaptation, in which Swift played Bombalurina.
Character. Grizabella is, at the time of her appearance, a very old and mangy cat, withered to the point that she no longer resembles the glamorous cat of her youth. Having left the Jellicle tribe a long time ago, she is now all alone and left with only the memories of her happier days.
Eliot's playful cat poems have delighted readers and cat lovers around the world ever since they were first published in 1939. They were originally composed for his godchildren, with Eliot posing as Old Possum himself, and later inspired the legendary musical "Cats."
Grizabella is invited back into the Jellicle fold by Victoria, the only cat in the movie who seems to sympathize with her plight until she shares her emotional journey through the song “Memory.” Both on stage and in the film, this is the moment where the other cats welcome her back to the tribe and Old Deuteronomy ...
And in 1996, Cats became what was then the longest-running show in Broadway history, leading to the tagline, “Cats — now and forever.” It ran for 18 years on Broadway and grossed over $1.3 billion; when it finally closed in 2000, the Winter Garden Theatre underwent another massive renovation.
Poor "Cats." After 7,486 chandelier crashes, gondola rides and dramatic endings, "The Phantom of Opera" officially became the longest-running show in Broadway history last night, knocking the musical "Cats" off its throne.
Who knows the French composer/lyricist team who wrote Les Misérables and Miss Saigon? Only Lloyd Webber's name goes above the title - and even he's being usurped by Disney. The ancestor of the modern West End show lives on from an age when actors' main skills were pouring drinks and lighting one another's cigarettes.
Advertisement. It is scarcely surprising that he chose Lloyd Webber, who is one of the world's most successful composers of musicals, including The Phantom of the Opera, Cats and Evita. His productions have projected British creativity across the world and earned him hundreds of millions of pounds.
