New London production of ‘Cats’ to feature a rapping cat
By Nick Levine
The upcoming West End revival of Cats is to feature a rapping cat.
Last month (June) it was announced that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic musical, based on TS Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, will be returning to the capital for a 12-week run at the London Palladium beginning in early December.
Tickets for the new run went on sale today (July 7) – and Lloyd Webber has teased fans by revealing an unexpected tweak he is making to the show.
In the upcoming production, the character of Rum Tum Tugger will be a “street cat” with a flair for rap, the Associated Press reports.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that … maybe Eliot was the inventor of rap,” Lloyd Webber said.
Explaining how the rapping will be incorporated into the show, Lloyd Webber said: “I’m not changing what Eliot wrote, but if you read that poem and you get a rapper to do it – don’t ask me to do it – it’s quite interesting.”
Cats debuted in the West End in 1981, and went on to have a record-breaking 21-year run before coming to an end in 2002. The original production won an Olivier Award for Best Musical, while the Broadway adaptation went on to win seven Tony Awards.
Meanwhile, another classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Evita, is also set to return to the West End later this year – click here to find out more.