Celebrating its 40th anniversary, CATS, the record-breaking stage musical from Andrew Lloyd Webber, is set to tour Australia from June 2025.
Starting its season at the Theatre Royal in Sydney, CATS will then move on to Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide from 20 September and to Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne from 21 December. A Perth run has also been set for November.
The musical, based on T. S. Eliot’s, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, has been captivating audiences on an international scale since it opened at the New London Theatre in 1981 (now the Gillian Lynne), where it played for a whopping 21 years (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 worldwide. On Broadway, CATS played for 18 years, winning seven Tony Awards including Best Musical.
CATS tells the story of the Jellicle cat tribe. On one special night of the year, all Jellicle cats meet at the Jellicle Ball where Old Deuteronomy, their wise 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 musical score includes the hit song Memory, which has been recorded by more than 150 artists including Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, and Liberace, to name a few.
An initial cast announcement listed principal performers Todd McKenney, playing the dual roles of Bustopher Jones and Gus the Theatre Cat, Mark Vincent as Old Deuteronomy, and Leigh Archer as Jennyanydots, also known as the “Gumbie Cat”. And, following a second announcement, we now know who else will be attending the Jellicle Ball.
This latest casting announcement includes Gabriyel Thomas, (who stars as Michelle and sometimes in the lead role of Deloris Van Cartier in the Australian tour of Sister Act). Thomas has been cast in the coveted role of Grizabella, the former “glamour cat” ostracised by the Jellicles. WAPPA graduate, Lucy Maunder (who starred as Roxie Hart in Chicago) is taking on the role of Jellylorum, who watches out for the kittens and takes care of Gus the Theatre Cat. Des Flanagan (who played Christian in the Australian tour of Moulin Rouge! The Musical) is cast as the rebellious cat Rum Tum Tugger who likes to cause mischief amongst the Jellicle tribe. Lastly, another WAPPA graduate, and star of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Jarrod Draper has been cast as Munkustrap, the tabby tomcat who is the storyteller and protector of the Jellicle tribe.
The remainder of the company includes Sarah Bourke (playing Tantomile), Olivia Carniato (Demeter), Mia Dabkowski-Chandler (Bombalurina), Tom Davis (Shimbleshanks), 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 (Rumpleteaser), Jake O’Brien (Mungojerrie), Xavier Pellin (swing), Guy Pik (Carbucketty), Rania Potaka-Osborne (Alonzo), Edward Smith (Admetus/ Macavity), Thalia Smith (swing) and Tod Strike (swing).
Producer John Frost said:
“We have assembled a purr-fect cast for this 40th Anniversary Australian tour of CATS, led by Gabriyel, Todd and Mark. It’s a wonderful clowder of seasoned artists and new performers to the industry… CATS was revolutionary when it first opened and to celebrate the production in the theatre where it first played is a real thrill. Australia has an enduring love for CATS and it’s time to let the memory live again.”
Set to be an incredible production, with a richly talented cast, tickets to CATS are available now at catsthemusical.com.au.
