Cats The Jellicle Ball Opens on Broadway

A vibrant reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber's long-running musical "Cats" opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre, transforming the story of feline rituals into a high-energy ballroom competition among queer Black and brown New Yorkers. Titled "Cats The Jellicle Ball," the production premiered following a successful off-Broadway run at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in summer 2024, bringing fresh choreography and cultural depth to the classic based on T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats."

Directed by Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, the show reinterprets the Jellicle cats' annual gathering, where one feline ascends to the Heaviside Layer for rebirth, as a drag ball featuring categories like Realness, Body, and Runway. The competitors, portrayed by human performers rather than actors in cat suits, vie for trophies under the watchful eye of Old Deuteronomy, played by André De Shields. Celebrity guests serve as judges at each performance, while Munkustrap, performed by Dudney Joseph Jr., acts as the emcee, calling out challenges amid pulsing music and voguing sequences.

The cast delivers standout performances that blend musical theater precision with...