CATS
Let the Memory Live Again
Tickets for the Brisbane season of the 40th Anniversary production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking musical CATS are now on sale. The much-loved iconic musical will play at the Lyric Theatre, QPAC from 6 February for two weeks only – no extension is possible, and all performances are on sale.
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 patriarch of the Jellicle tribe. Recently seen as Roxie Hart in the sold-out national tour of Chicago, Lucy Maunder takes 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 motherly character Jennyanydots, also known among the tribe as the “Gumbie Cat”.
The remainder of the company includes Axel Alvarez (playing Mr Mistoffelees), Sarah Bourke (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). 
“We have assembled a purr-fect cast for this 40th Anniversary Australian tour of CATS, a wonderful clowder of seasoned artists and new performers to the industry, and Sydney audiences are loving the show” said producer John Frost for Crossroads Live. “CATS was revolutionary when it first and Australia has an enduring love for the show. Now it’s time to let the memory live again. Brisbane, queue up to buy your tickets before they sell out as it’s only in town for two weeks!”
The 40th Anniversary production of CATS is currently playing at Theatre Royal Sydney, its original Australian home, before touring to Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane, and receiving critical and audience acclaim.
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.
Get your tickets now at catsthemusical.com.au and let the memory live again.
“Inexplicably magical” – First Class Magazine
“This fresh production is a great way to celebrate 40 years” – AU Review
“Australia’s new 40th anniversary production well and truly delivers” – Time Out
“Spectacular” – Stage Noise
“An immersive spectacle” – Sydney Morning Herald
“‘Run, leap or prowlingly sneak, just don’t miss it!’” – Theatre Thoughts
“A must-see again and again … A theatrical triumph” – DanceLife
