Cats

"Cats" is the most successful Broadway musical in history. It is based on 14 poems of T.S. Eliot's Old Possom's Book of Practical Cats, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

"Cats" opened on Broadway at the Wintergarden Theater on October 7, 1982, and is still playing there today - 16 years later. Cats received seven Tony Awards in 1983, including Best Musical. The song "Memory" has become a contemporary classic.

The story takes place in a larger-than-life junkyard at midnight, with bottles and boxes scattered around. "Cats" is about a gathering of Jellicle Cats who meet once a year to rejoice and celebrate at the Jellicle. They are waiting for their leader  Old Deuteronomy to choose which one of the Jellicle Cats will be "reborn" to a new life. Each cat tells about his or her life in song and dance, hoping to be selected as the special cat to come back to a new life.

The evening becomes sad when Grizabella, the glamour cat, appears. She is faded and her spirit is dying. Betty Buckley, who played Abby Bradford on Eight is Enough, was Broadway's original Grizabella. The rest of the tribe shun her because she left to go see the outside world. Now she is trying to rejoin her family and become part of the celebration.
 
"Cats" reached it's 5000^th Broadway preformance on September 28, 1994. On June 19, 1997 , "Cats" became the longest running show in the history of Broadway. "Cats" continues to play, and has been seen by an estimated 8 millon people. This show is suitable for children of all ages so go see "Cats", whiskers and all.