NEW YORK, United States (Reuters) — The musical CATS returned to Broadway for the first time in sixteen years on Sunday (July 31).
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s fan favorite opened its revival at the Neil Simon Theatre, just a block away from its original home at the Winter Garden Theatre, which currently hosts Webber’s newest hit, ‘School of Rock’.
“I think if you come see it you’ll probably won’t remember it exactly as it was before. I mean nobody’s memory of something they saw 15-20 years ago is exactly right and I think you’ll probably find its absolutely the CATS you remember,” Webber said on his way into the theater.
“I know we’ve done a bit of work on it. We’ve condensed a couple of things. There’s one number, a song in the show I was never particularly keen on myself, and that’s gone now, which is a great, great pleasure. We’ve done quite a lot of work and I think we’re quite pleased with it.”
After opening on the West End in 1981, the musical came across the Atlantic in 1982 and went through 7,485 performances in 18 years before closing in 2000.
Since its world premiere, CATS has been presented in over 30 countries, has been translated into 15 languages.