50 Fun Facts About Cats (Musical)

Which Andrew Lloyd Webber ballad, sung in Cats by a faded glamour cat, had been recorded around 600 times by 2006?

Memory had been recorded about 600 times by 2006, in styles from easy listening to techno. Barbra Streisand and Johnny Mathis are among the stars who covered it.

Which actress snapped her Achilles tendon rehearsing Cats in 1981 and had to give up the role of Grizabella?

Judi Dench withdrew a week before the first preview. Nearly four decades later she finally appeared in Cats on screen, as the Jellicle leader in the 2019 film.

Which rock star did Andrew Lloyd Webber say the swaggering Rum Tum Tugger in Cats partly pays homage to?

Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones was a model for the Tugger, who struts in to a rock song. The 2014 West End revival reworked the character as a street rapper.

Which villain in Cats did T. S. Eliot model on Professor Moriarty, the nemesis of Sherlock Holmes?

Macavity borrows Moriarty's tall, thin frame and domed forehead, and the name itself puns on the professor's. Eliot was a devoted fan of Conan Doyle's detective stories.

In which sitcom is Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield forever taunted for having turned down the musical Cats?

The Nanny made a running gag of Sheffield's rivalry with Andrew Lloyd Webber. The joke has a real echo: major investors did refuse to back the show before it opened.

In Cats, where does the one cat chosen each year at the Jellicle Ball ascend to be reborn?

The Heaviside Layer is a real band of the upper atmosphere, predicted by physicist Oliver Heaviside. Eliot made it a cat heaven in an unpublished poem, and the show's director built the yearly ritual around it.

Which pop star played the flirtatious Bombalurina in the 2019 film of Cats and co-wrote its one new song?

Taylor Swift wrote the lyrics and shared the music credit with Andrew Lloyd Webber. Their song earned a Golden Globe nomination even though the film itself was panned.

What setting did designer John Napier fill with oversized props so the Cats cast looked cat-sized?

A junkyard of scaled-up rubbish stays on stage all night with no scene changes. The original Broadway production used more than 2,500 giant props, spilling across the whole auditorium.

Whose animation studio planned a cartoon version of Cats set in wartime London before closing in 1997?

Steven Spielberg's studio Amblimation developed the film in the 1990s, but the project died with the studio. A filmed stage version went straight to video the following year instead.

How did Andrew Lloyd Webber personally help fund Cats when major investors refused to back a show about cats?

He remortgaged his house to cover the theatre's down payment, and later said a flop would have ruined him. The rest came from 220 small investors found through newspaper adverts.

Which wise patriarch in Cats makes the Jellicle choice each year and is kidnapped by the villain's henchmen?

Old Deuteronomy takes his name from the biblical book of law, fitting for a cat who sits in judgment. Unlike the unitard-clad ensemble, he wears a loose, shaggy coat and a full beard.

Which tuxedo cat in Cats restores the lights by magic and performs 24 consecutive spinning fouettés?

Mr. Mistoffelees takes his name from the demon Mephistopheles, though he is a showman rather than a menace. The run of spins is known as his Conjuring Turn.

Which orange tabby in Cats rides the night mail trains and has a steam engine assembled on stage during his song?

Skimbleshanks is the Railway Cat, unofficially in charge of a train that will not leave without him. Eliot's poem about him opens as a parody of a Rudyard Kipling verse.

Which West End star replaced an injured colleague as Grizabella in 1981 and scored a UK Top 10 hit?

Elaine Paige heard an instrumental of the show's big ballad while driving home and resolved to sing it; the composer rang the next morning. She returned to the role for the 1998 film.

Which Broadway venue had part of its roof torn through for Cats, which then stayed for nearly 18 years?

The Winter Garden Theatre got a $2 million makeover, with the stage thrust forward and the roof opened for Grizabella's final ascent. Restoring the building afterwards cost about $10 million.

Which opera composer's style did Andrew Lloyd Webber imitate in the tune of Grizabella's great ballad in Cats?

Giacomo Puccini was the model, and the tune was first meant for an abandoned project about him. Fearing he had copied a real aria, Lloyd Webber asked his father, an expert on the composer, to check.

In Cats, which rival animals fight a street battle until the Great Rumpus Cat scares them off?

Dogs from two rival tribes, the Pekes and the Pollicles, clash until the Rumpus Cat frightens them away. The cats act it out as a play for their leader, a number UK and US productions moved to Act II in 2016.

Which member of the original 1981 London cast of Cats went on to marry its composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber?

Sarah Brightman played the kitten Jemima, having already had a chart hit with a song about a starship trooper. She arranged her own private audition for the show.

Which musical did Cats overtake in June 1997 to become the longest-running show in Broadway history?

A Chorus Line lost the record at performance 6,138. Cats held the title until January 2006, when another Andrew Lloyd Webber show, The Phantom of the Opera, passed it.

Which country built a theatre specially for Cats in 1983 and has since staged over 10,000 performances of it?

Japan's Shiki Theatre Company gambled on an open-ended run at a time when shows there were booked month by month. It paid off: more than 10 million people have seen the production.

Which white kitten in Cats opens the Jellicle Ball with a ballet solo yet has no solo singing part?

Victoria is pure dance on stage, yet the 2019 film rebuilt its whole story around her. Her costume is not truly white: faint gold or grey markings stop the stage lights washing it out.

Which seemingly lazy tabby in Cats spends her nights teaching mice and cockroaches, then leads a tap routine?

Jennyanydots is the Old Gumbie Cat, and her bulky costume comes off mid-song to reveal a bright orange and yellow flapper outfit. Rebel Wilson played her in the 2019 film.

Which fat cat in Cats wears white spats on a black coat and dines at London's gentlemen's clubs?

Bustopher Jones is the Cat About Town, respected by every other Jellicle. In the original London cast he was played by Brian Blessed, who doubled as the tribe's elderly leader.

In Cats, what was the frail old cat Gus, short for Asparagus, famous for being in his younger days?

A stage actor of renown, Gus now lives on his memories with Jellylorum as his carer. His song is written as an old-fashioned music hall number to match his nostalgia.

Which grey tabby narrates Cats, protects the tribe and fights off the villain who kidnaps its leader?

Munkustrap is second-in-command of the Jellicles and sings several songs introducing the other cats. Eliot gave him only a passing mention, in the poem about how cats are named.

Which mischievous cat burglar in Cats, played in 1981 by Bonnie Langford, is Mungojerrie's partner in crime?

Rumpleteazer and her partner knock over Ming vases and loot their own family's home. Eliot's poem implies both are male, but the musical made her female.

Which Royal Shakespeare Company chief directed Cats and wrote the words to Grizabella's famous ballad himself?

Trevor Nunn was thought too highbrow for a musical, and he finished that lyric only once previews were under way. He also wove the separate poems into a single story.

Which Cats choreographer had the show's original West End home renamed in her honour in 2018?

Gillian Lynne became the first non-royal woman to have a West End theatre named after her. She and her dancers had to perform every part of a 13-minute sequence to persuade the composer to keep it.

Which producer brought Cats to the stage in 1981 and insisted every touring version replicate the original?

Cameron Mackintosh cloned the staging worldwide, which pushed regional theatres to upgrade in order to host it. In 1981 he refused to delay previews, to quash rumours of a looming flop.

On the famous black Cats poster, what forms the pupils of the pair of yellow cat's eyes?

Dancing figures in silhouette sit inside each eye of the design by the agency Dewynters. Early adverts showed no cast and no review quotes, making the logo itself the star.

Which Oscar-winning British veteran played the elderly Gus in the 1998 filmed version of Cats?

John Mills was the one newcomer in a cast otherwise drawn from the show's stage companies. Because of his age, a second performer covered the character's ensemble duties.

Which original Broadway cast member, also the voice of Oogie Boogie, played the Jellicle leader in the 1998 Cats film?

Ken Page created the part in New York in 1982 and was one of the few stage originals invited back for the cameras. He later played it once more in a regional production in Texas.

In which West End venue was the 1998 Cats film shot over 18 days, on a new set and with no audience?

The Adelphi Theatre hosted the shoot in August 1997, with 16 cameras capturing two full run-throughs. The vocals had been recorded beforehand, and the score used a 100-piece orchestra.

Which number, a flashback for the elderly Gus, was cut entirely from the 1998 Cats film?

Growltiger's Last Stand, a pirate tale, was dropped to help trim a 2 hour 40 minute show to just under two hours for television. UK and US stage productions have also gone without it since 2016.

On which long-running PBS arts series did the 1998 Cats film make its American television premiere?

Great Performances aired it on 2 November 1998, four weeks after the video went on sale in Britain. The tape reached No. 6 on Billboard's Top Video Sales chart.

Which director's 2019 film of Cats used visual effects to turn its stars into unsettling humanoid cats?

Tom Hooper had won an Oscar for The King's Speech, but his Cats lost an estimated $71 million. Andrew Lloyd Webber said his dismay at the film drove him to buy a dog.

Which American singer and actress played the outcast Grizabella in the 2019 film version of Cats?

Jennifer Hudson's rendition of the show's big ballad was called the best part of the film by some critics. She had previewed it live at CinemaCon in Las Vegas months before release.

Which new song did Andrew Lloyd Webber co-write for the 2019 Cats film, sung on screen by its white kitten heroine?

Beautiful Ghosts gave a voice to a character who communicates only through dance on stage. It was nominated for both a Golden Globe and a Grammy.

Which pop singer made his feature film debut as the Rum Tum Tugger in the 2019 Cats movie?

Jason Derulo joined a cast that mixed pop stars with ballet dancers. On stage the part was created in London by Paul Nicholas, who was cast despite the director's doubts about him.

Which cat was created specially for the 1998 Cats film so original London cast member Femi Taylor could appear?

Exotica exists only on screen. Taylor had played the psychic twin Tantomile in 1981, and most of the film's cast were likewise drawn from past and present stage companies.

Which actress won a Tony Award for playing Grizabella in the original 1982 Broadway cast of Cats?

Betty Buckley took Best Featured Actress in 1983, one of seven Tonys the show won from eleven nominations. She sang its big ballad on the awards broadcast that night.

Which show overtook Cats in October 2006 as the longest-running musical in London's West End?

Les Misérables took the record on 8 October 2006. Cats had held it since 1989, when it passed Jesus Christ Superstar, and had closed on its own 21st birthday in 2002.

Which former Andrew Lloyd Webber collaborator had his lyric for Grizabella's ballad rejected as too depressing?

Tim Rice was called in when the song still had no words well into rehearsals. The director turned his version down and finished a lyric of his own during previews.

What was the working title of Andrew Lloyd Webber's feline musical before it was shortened to suit the poster?

Practical Cats was the name on the song cycle first performed at the Sydmonton Festival in summer 1980. The producers felt it looked out of place beside the stark new logo.

According to T. S. Eliot's unpublished poem, the word Jellicle is a corruption of which three-word phrase?

Dear little cats, run together, gave Eliot his Jellicles. He first used the word in a 1933 poem, and in his verse they are scruffy black and white creatures that come out at night.

Which honour had T. S. Eliot won in 1948, long before the two posthumous Tony Awards he received for Cats?

The Nobel Prize for literature went to Eliot 35 years before Broadway honoured him for the show's book and score. He had died in 1965, long before a note of the musical was written.

In the 1980s the official Cats T-shirt was the world's second-best seller, behind the shirt of which restaurant chain?

Hard Rock Cafe alone outsold it. Cats was the first West End and Broadway show to treat merchandise as a major income stream, with lobby stalls selling logo mugs, toys and watches.

On which animated series does the opening number of Cats loop as hold music for cat agent Princess Carolyn?

BoJack Horseman has run the gag since 2014, playing the same refrain from the cast recording on a loop. The musical has also been referenced on The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live.

In which German city did Cats run for 15 years at the Operettenhaus and transform the local tourist trade?

Hamburg hosted over 6,100 performances from 1986, in the first German stage production mounted without public funding. Overnight visitors to the city rose by more than a million a year.

In which West End venue did Cats open in 1981, with part of the audience seated on a revolving platform?

The New London Theatre mounted sections of the stalls on its 60-foot revolve, so spectators turned with the set. In 2018 the building was renamed after the show's choreographer.