CATS: Young Actors Edition
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Based on ‘Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats’ by T.S. Elliot
Thursday, March 27, 2025 • 6:30 pm
JUMP, Pioneer Room on 6th floor
Run Time: Approximately 1 hr.
Featuring Opera Idaho’s Children’s Choruses, Cats: Young Actors Edition is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of The Really Useful Group. www.concordtheatricals.com
THE VIDEOTAPING OR MAKING OF ELECTRONIC OR OTHER AUDIO AND/OR VISUAL RECORDINGS OF THIS PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTING RECORDINGS OR STREAMS IN ANY MEDIUM, INCLUDING THE INTERNET, IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED, A VIOLATION OF THE AUTHOR(S)’S RIGHTS AND ACTIONABLE UNDER UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT LAW. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT: https://concordtheatricals.com/resources/protecting-artists
Summary
CATS: Young Actors Edition is a one-hour adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical, specially tailored for young actors. CATS is set amongst a larger-than-life junkyard playground and is alive with purr-fect felines, including Rum Tum Tugger, Mr. Mistoffelees, Macavity, Jennyanydots, Old Deuteronomy, Skimbleshanks and Grizabella. The Jellicle Cats come out to play on one special night of the year—the night of the Jellicle Ball. One by one, they tell their stories for the amusement of Old Deuteronomy, their wise and benevolent leader, who must choose one of the Cats to ascend to The Heaviside Layer and be reborn into a whole new Jellicle life.
History
CATS, one of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history, received its world premiere at the New London Theatre in 1981, where it played for 21 record-breaking years and almost 9,000 performances. The groundbreaking production was the winner of the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical. The following year, CATS opened at New York’s Winter Garden Theatre, its home for the next 18 years, garnering seven 1983 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The show returned to Broadway in 2016, where it had a successful pre-tour run at the Neil Simon Theatre.
CATS has been presented in over 30 countries, translated into 16 languages, and seen by more than 73 million people worldwide. The original Broadway cast recording won the Grammy Award for Best Cast Album. Lloyd Webber’s magnificent musical score includes the poignant hit song “Memory,” which has been recorded by over 150 artists from Barbra Streisand to Liberace to Barry Manilow. A big screen adaptation, directed by Tom Hooper, opened in December 2019, starring Jennifer Hudson, Judi Dench, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson, James Corden, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Ian McKellen and Francesca Hayward.
