CATS The Musical Comes To Sydney – Get In Quick!
Brought to you by Nuffnang and Cats Australia.
My very acrobatic young daughter and I were thrilled to attend the Sydney premiere of CATS last Sunday. It was a glittering event for us, we were all dressed up in our finest and even got to walk the red carpet.
Delta Goodrem stars in the demanding role of Grizabella. Ms9 and I were thrilled to see Delta sing live as we’re big fans of hers. Delta makes the song ‘Memory’ her own, which is a big, big ask.
If your children like dancing, singing and gymnastics they will just adore CATS. It really is a spectacular all-singing and all-dancing show.
The performers are marvelous. Breathtaking. There are dancers and acrobats and aerial artists, undaunted by smoke and bursts of light and bedazzling colours.
In fact the performers are a bit like one of the cats they portray.
“Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity,
He’s broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity.”
Read all of Macavity here.
Cats dress rehearsal, The Civic, Auckland, New Zealand on Thursday, 10 September 2015. Credit: Hagen Hopkins.
Ms9 said she loved Delta best as poor old Grizabella. Myself I loved the hilarious Mr Mistoffelees, and Skimbleshanks, Rum Tum Tugger and of course Macavity the Mystery Cat, the only villain in the piece.
Your junior singers and dancers will enjoy reading the biographies of the cast which you can find on the website here. That might give some ideas of how enthusiastic ballerinas and gymnasts and singers make the leap from school to stage.
CATS Original Production and This Revival
CATS is one of the most successful and highly awarded musicals in history. The original production played for 21 years in London from 1981 and for 18 years on Broadway from.
Australia has seen the show performed several times but this new tour is different. This is the 2015 Perrier nominated hit revival by the original creators of the CATS, Andrew Lloyd Webber, director Trevor Nunn, costume designer John Napier and choeographer Gillian Lynne,
The CATS revival was a huge hit in London’s West End, with excellent reviews and an extended run due to high demand.
CATS is based on the book of poems by Nobel Award winning poet and author T.S. Eliot’s ‘Old Possums Book of Practical Cats’ first published in 1939.
The book was a favourite of Andrew Lloyd Webber who approached TS Eliot’s estate to use the poems in a musical. They agreed on the condition that only the poems were used.
So there’s no real dialogue in CATS, the poems are sung, and many musical styles are used. Dancing has always been a huge part of the show too.
If you’d like to read about the poems and the plot check out the CATS (Musical) Wikipedia page.
CATS has been seen by more than 73 million people in 30 different countries. And you can see it too.
CATS Australian Tour
CATS is touring Australia for a strictly limited season. See places and dates below.
You’ll need to pounce upon tickets for CATS in Sydney as they’re selling fast. Click here to read more about buying tickets to CATS.
CATS website here.
CATS Dates Around Australia
Sydney Capitol Theatre 30th October – 29th November 2015
Hobart Derwent Theatre 10th – 13th December
Melbourne Regent Theatre 18th December 2015 – 17th January 2016
Brisbane Lyric Theatre 29th January – 14th February 2016
Adelaide Festival Theatre 18th March – 10th April 2016
Perth Crown Theatre 16th April – 8th May 2016
If you go to see it, do let us know. Meanwhile, my daughter belts out songs from the show and I’m singing Memory in the shower.
Have you seen CATS?
Would your son or daughter love to be a singer or dancer too?
PS: You can Buy Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats from Booktopia here.