Recordbreaker Cats Closes on 21st Birthday, 11 MayDate: 15 January 2002
Just three days after the West End's second longest-running musical, Starlight Express, gave its final performance, the longest-running musical, fellow Andrew Lloyd Webber stablemate, Cats, has announced that it too will close. The show will finish its historic run at the New London Theatre on its 21st birthday on 11 May 2002.
When the Cameron Mackintosh-produced musical first opened in 1981, the cast included Elaine Paige, Brian Blessed, Paul Nicholas, Wayne Sleep, Sarah Brightman and Bonnie Langford. Since then, it has given nearly 9,000 performances and grossed £136 million, where it has been seen by more than eight million people.
Since 1996, Cats has held the record for longest running musical on the both sides of the Atlantic. Before closing in September 2000, the Broadway production had clocked up 18 years. Worldwide, the musical has taken in excess of $2 billion, been performed in 11 different languages in over 300 cities in 26 countries and been seen by over 50 million people in total.
An unlikely hit, Cats is based on the Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats poems by TS Eliot, one of the 20th century's foremost poets. Lloyd Webber's score for Cats score includes now-classic songs such as "The Magical Mr Mistoffolees" and, most notably, "Memory". The West End production is directed by Trevor Nunn, with associate direction and choreography by Gillian Lynne, design by John Napier and lighting by David Hersey.
Cats also holds a place in musical stage history as being a catalyst for the remarkable partnership between composer Lloyd Webber and producer Mackintosh, who today are two of the most powerful figures in international theatre. Though the two no longer collaborate, their previous productions - which have also included The Phantom of the Opera - still enjoy huge success around the world.
With the closures of Cats and Starlight Express - which finished this past Saturday, 12 January, after nearly 18 years - the only remaining Lloyd Webber long-runner in the West End is The Phantom of the Opera, which has been playing at Her Majesty's Theatre since October 1986.
Lloyd Webber's next scheduled production - which he is producing rather than creating - is the Bollywood musical Bombay Dreams, which opens at the Apollo Victoria on 19 June. The composer has been vocal in recent years about the perceived lack of upcoming musical talent to take over the reins from the likes of himself and Mackintosh.
- by Terri Paddock
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