The naming of cats is a difficult—but exciting—matter! Stage favorites Keri René Fuller (Broadway's Waitress) and McGee Maddox (An American in Paris national tour) will star in the new tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's's iconic musical Cats, as Grizabella and Rum Tum Tugger, respectively. Directed by Tony winner Trevor Nunn, the traveling production of Cats will kick off January, 22, 2019, at the Providence Performing Arts Center, before continuing on to cities all across the country.
The cast of the Cats tour will also feature Phillip Deceus as Alonzo, Lexie Plath as Bombalurina, Mariah Reives as Cassandra, PJ DiGaetano as Coricopat, Liz Schmitz as Demeter, Kaitlyn Davidson as Jellylorum, Emily Jeanne Phillips as Jennyanydots, Tion Gaston as Mistoffelees, Tony d'Alelio as Mungojerrie, Dan Hoy as Munkustrap, Timothy Gulan as Peter/Bustopher Jones/Asparagus, Tyler John Logan as Plato/Macavity, Anthony Michael Zas as Pouncival, Rose Iannaccone as Rumpelteazer, Ahren Victory as Sillabub, Ethan Saviet as Skimbleshanks, Halli Toland as Tantomile, Devin Neilson as Tumblebrutus, Brandon Michael Nase as Victor/Old Deuteronomy and Caitlin Bond as Victoria.
The ensemble includes Zachary S. Berger, Nicholas Burrage, Erin Chupinsky, Maria Failla, Justin W. Geiss, Charlotte O'Dowd, Adam Richardson, Tricia Tanguy and Andy Zimmermann, with more to be announced.
Winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Cats is based on T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and tells the story of the Jellicle cats and each cat's individual quest to be selected as the lucky one who will ascend to "the Heaviside Layer." The musical debuted on Broadway in 1982, closing in 2000 after a record-breaking run at the Winter Garden Theatre. Cats received a 2016 Broadway revival at the Neil Simon Theatre.
The original score by Lloyd Webber, original scenic and costume design by John Napier, all-new lighting design by Natasha Katz, all-new sound design by Mick Potter and new choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler—based on the original choreography by Gillian Lynne—make this production a new Cats for a new generation.
As previously reported, a big-screen adaptation of the musical, directed by Oscar winner Tom Hooper, is slated to begin filming in November. The Royal Ballet's Wayne McGregor, movement director of Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White on Broadway, has been named choreographer of the film. The Cats film will be released in theaters nationwide on December 20, 2019.
To find out when Cats is headed to your city, click here and here.