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At the end of last month, on the same day that I had gone to Istana Budaya to watch ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ musical, I caught a glimpse of the backdrop cum poster for ‘Cats’. I realised then that yet another show by Andrew Lloyd Webber will be playing in early-2020. The 71-year-old Lloyd Webber, who received knighthood, grew up in a musical family.

‘Cats’ centres on a group of felines known collectively as The Jellicles, who assemble one night at The Jellicle Ball, during which their leader makes the Jellicle choice and announces which of them will ascend to The Heaviside Layer and be re-introduced to a whole new Jellicle life.  The ‘megamusical’ was granted multiple awards including the prestigious Grammy and Tony Awards.

‘Cats’ first came to Malaysia in 2002, so those of you who did not have the chance to see that performance will have a second chance to see cast members live in action. And yes, cast members are expected to be in the country, as part of the international tour. As per the schedule, cast members are set to perform in three other Asian countries through end-2019. Perhaps you should check out some of the cast members’ backgrounds. Who’s prepared to ‘paw-s’ everything for our furry friends?

Hey, there’s also the feature film version coming out at the end of 2019. Purr-fect timing? ???? There’s even a 1998 direct-to-video film of the musical.

Anyway, performances are slated to begin mid-January 2020. There will be one performance at night on most weekdays and two slots on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are priced between RM204 and RM704. For a decade right up to 2006, ‘Cats’ remained the longest-running Broadway show – until ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ took its place.

The show, based on the poetry book by TS Elliott, has been translated to 15 languages to cater to international audiences. This took place since its world premiere at the New London Theatre in 1981.  Did you know that ‘Cats’ was the first musical to account for merchandising as a major revenue stream? The official ‘Cats’ T-shirt was the second-best-selling T-shirt back in the 1980s.

See you at The Jellicle Ball!