CATS Rehearsals Have Begun

Rehearsals have begun for the 40th Anniversary production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking musical CATS, produced by John Frost for Crossroads Live. The new Australian tour will open at its original theatrical home, Theatre Royal Sydney from 17 June, before playing at Her Majesty’s Theatre Adelaide from September, Crown Theatre Perth from November and at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne from December.

 

 

The coveted role of Grizabella, the former “glamour cat” ostracised by the Jellicles, is played by Gabriyel Thomas, while audience favourite Todd McKenney plays the dual roles of Bustopher Jones and Asparagus, the Theatre Cat, and classical performer Mark Vincent returns to the musical theatre stage as Old Deuteronomy, the wise patriarch of the Jellicle tribe.

Recently seen as Roxie Hart in the sold-out national tour of Chicago, Lucy Maunder is taking on the role of Jellylorum, while the rebellious cat Rum Tum Tugger is played by Des Flanagan. WAPPA graduate Jarrod Draper has been cast as Munkustrap, and returning to CATS after many years will be Leigh Archer as the kind, motherly character Jennyanydots, also known among the tribe as the “Gumbie Cat”.

 

 

The remainder of the company includes Sarah Bourke (playing Tantomile), Olivia Carniato (Demeter), Mia Dabkowski-Chandler (Bombalurina), Tom Davis (Skimbleshanks), Ella Fitzpatrick (Jemima), Charlie Follows (Bill Bailey), Joshua Gordon (Coricopat), Chaska Halliday (Cassandra), Dominique Hamilton (swing), Claudia Hastings (Victoria/ White Cat), Aimee Jones (swing), Savannah Lind (Rumpleteazer), Joe Miller (swing), Jake O’Brien (Mungojerrie), Xavier Pellin (swing), Guy Pik (Carbuckety), Rania Potaka-Osborne (Alonzo), Edward Smith (Admetus/ Macavity), Thalia Smith (swing) and Tod Strike (swing).

Todd:

Todd McKenney, returning to CATS after 37 years ago being part of the original Melbourne cast, is loving the experience. Through these rehearsals I’m remembering what a spectacular show this is. It’s a dancer’s dream. Watching all these young performers brings back so many memories.

Gabriyel Thomas:

This is a dream come true. I don’t think I would have been a performer if not for watching the movie of CATS constantly as a child. Rehearsals are an intense but magical time, watching how everyone is working together to tell the story.

Based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats and set to music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, CATS has been captivating audiences around the globe since it opened at the New London Theatre (now known as the Gillian Lynne) in 1981, where it played for 21 record-breaking years and almost 9,000 performances, winning both the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical.

Since then, CATS has been presented in over 50 countries, translated into 23 languages and has been seen by over 81 million people world-wide. On Broadway, CATS played for 18 years and won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical.

 

 

The musical tells the story of the Jellicle cat tribe. On just one special night of the year, all Jellicle cats meet at the Jellicle Ball where Old Deuteronomy, their wise and benevolent leader, makes the Jellicle choice and announces which of them will go up to “The Heaviside Layer” and be reborn into a whole new Jellicle life.

The timeless musical score includes the hit song Memory, which has been recorded by more than 150 artists including Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Nicole Scherzinger, Johnny Mathis, Liberace and Barry Manilow. With “timeless music, spectacular sets and a superb cast” (Daily Mirror), breathtaking  choreography and of course the unforgettable Memory, CATS is a magical musical like no other.

Photo Credit: David Hooley

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