A revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, reimagined as Cats: The Jellicle Ball, premiered at the Broadhurst Theatre on Tuesday evening. The production blends the musical's songs with New York ballroom culture, drawing legends from both theater and ballroom scenes. Celebrities joined the cast for an after-party at Chelsea's Pier 60.
The show, codirected by Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, transforms T.S. Eliot's feline characters into ballroom families like House of Dots and House of Macavity, competing for a trophy and ascension to the Heaviside Layer. Co-choreographers Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons emphasized authentic representation after decades in ballroom. Wiles noted the need to first define the story's subjects, while Lyons stressed correct depiction of the culture they know well from 30 years combined experience. Chasity “Tempress” Moore portrays Grizabella the Glamour Cat, delivering a poignant “Memory,” and Junior LaBeija plays Gus the Theatre Cat with dramatic flair, declaring, “With an hour of rehearsal / I never could fail.” André De Shields stars as Old Deuteronomy, calling the evening “life reassuring” amid a “brutal world of mayhem.” Levingston praised the cast's outfits on the yellow carpet, inspired by the original Cats poster, as “the best-dressed Broadway cast I have ever seen.” Producers including Cynthia Erivo, Law Roach, Lena Waithe, Jeremy Pope, and Andrew Lloyd Webber attended. Webber, in a structured white jacket, said he was “delighted to be part of something which is this daring.” Roach lauded Qween Jean's costumes as a “modern interpretation of the original.” Post-show festivities at Pier 60 featured voguing on the dance floor, with guests like Dylan Mulvaney, Michelle Buteau, and Denée Benton. Actor Peppermint highlighted the revolutionary casting of queer and trans performers, stating, “To see an entire stage of people who are queer and trans…in front of a crowd of people who might never otherwise be concerned with their lives…it’s so beautiful.” Debutants like Teddy Wilson Jr. as Sillabub and Dava Huesca as Rumpleteazer expressed awe at sharing the stage with veterans.
