20 CATS facts ahead of the musical’s 40th anniversary return to Sydney next week

Forty years after its Australian premiere at the Theatre Royal Sydney, the ground-breaking musical CATS is making a triumphant return to the very stage where it first captivated Aussie audiences. The brand-new production will begin performances on Tuesday, June 17, before embarking on an Australian tour to Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne.

Ahead of the world-famous musical returning to Sydney, we’ve taken a look back at the rich history of CATS, and all the eccentric behind-the-scenes action of the theatre production. Read on to learn about the origins of the musical, the theatrical makeup and why Andrew Lloyd Webber bought a dog (take a look at #17).

1. The play is adapted from a book of poems

English composer and theatrical producer Andrew Lloyd Webber adapted the musical CATS from TS Eliot’s 1939 ‘Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats’. The whimsical book of poems is centred around feline psychology and society, acting as the basis of Lloyd Webber’s world of CATS.

Using both the characters found in the books, and several additional characters from Eliot’s unpublished drafts, Lloyd Webber shaped what would later become one of the longest-running musicals of all time.

2. Andrew Lloyd Webber took out a second mortgage to finance the show

Lloyd Webber struggled to find investors for CATS, as many though a musical about felines would never work. Luckily, he believed in the musical so much that he took out a second mortgage to finance it — and its safe to say, it was a worthy investment.

3. The original title of CATS was changed because of the logo

Designed by Russ Eglin, the logo is an iconic and recognisable part of the musical’s advertising. However, the play was originally called Practical Cats, but it wording looked too cramped and distracting. It was agreed that because the title messed with the image, it should be changed to CATS.

4. CATS has won 7 Tonys, 2 Oliviers and 1 Grammy

Among the awards are the Grammy for Best Cast Album (won by the Broadway cast) as well as the Tony for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical (T.S. Eliot).

5. The term ‘Jellicle’ makes fun of the British upper class

Lloyd Webber was told by T.S. Eliot’s widow that ‘Pollicle’ and ‘Jellicle’ came from Eliot’s private joke about the British upper-class, and how they’d slur the words “poor little dogs” and “poor little cats”.

6. Judi Dench was meant to star in the 1981 opening show

The famous British actress was originally supposed to star in the show’s opening in 1981 as Grizabella and Jennyanydots. Unfortunately, she tore her achilles tendon a week before the show’s debut. She went on to play Old Deuteronomy in the film’s wildly unsuccessful 2019 movie adaptation.

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7. The London production of CATS ran for 21 years

CATS was the longest-running musical in the district for a long time, putting on 8949 performances. The longest-running West End musical is now Les Misérables which has played almost continuously since 1985.

8. The Broadway production ran for 18 years

This covered 7485 productions. In 1983, the Broadway production became the recipient of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

9. The hit song Memory has been recorded by more than 150 artists

The include music legends such as Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Nicole Scherzinger, Johnny Mathis, Liberace and Barry Manilow.

10. The 2025 Australian cast will learn to do their own makeup for the show

CATS is legendary in the world of makeup artists, thanks to the transformation required to give the cast fully feline features. The 22 cast members of the Aussie production will have to learn to do their own makeup for this production, and are being taught by head of wigs and makeup, Kellie Ritchie.

READ MORE: Sydney production of Picture of Dorian Gray gets New York award in huge win

11. The 2019 movie was a huge flop

Not only was it attacked by critics, it also is estimated to have lost Universal Pictures between $70 million to $100 million, thanks to the large production budget, marketing spend and other costs. Despite starring big names, including Taylor Swift, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo and Ian McKellan, the movie was ridiculed and criticised by audiences, especially because of its bad CGI.

12. CATS has been translated into 23 languages

These languages include Swedish, Japanese, Korean, Italian and Spanish, to name a few.

13. Elaine Paige replaced Judi Dench four days before opening night in 1981

After Judi’s injury, Elaine Paige was selected to take over the now coveted role of Grizabella. As Elaine got the call from Lloyd Webber, a cat actually jumped on her window.

14. The Australian production of CATS heavily influenced the first-ever German production

The Australian version of the show was the base for the Hamburg production, which later became one of Germany’s most successful musicals. It even had the same production team, including the director and associate choreographer.

15. The original Sydney production starred Debra Byrne as Grizabella

Debra Byrne’s performance as Grizabella, and particularly her performance of Memory, is iconic in Australia, having been widely praised by theatre-goers. Her daughter followed in her musical theatre footsteps, starring at Annie in Sydney in 2011.

16. The OG Sydney season was produced by Cameron Mackintosh

The legendary British theatre producer helped bring many other West End hits to Australian audiences, including Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera. CATS set the stage for other popular musicals to head Down Under.

17. Lloyd Webber hated the 2019 film adaption so much, he bought a dog

He went out and purchased a dog after seeing Tom Hooper’s CATS, and soon registered it to be a therapy dog, so that he could travel with it.

“I wrote off and said I needed him with me at all times because I’m emotionally damaged and I must have this therapy dog,” he said. “The airline wrote back and said, ‘Can you prove that you really need him?’ And I said ‘Yes, just see what Hollywood did to my musical, CATS’ Then the approval came back with a note saying, ‘No doctor’s report required.’”

18. The musical has grossed an estimated US$3.5 billion worldwide

This is largely thanks to the original Broadway and West End productions.

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19. Actors and actresses spent up to 2 hours applying their CATS makeup at the Broadway production

Similar to the Australian production, the Broadway cast reportedly had to apply their own makeup and make sure it was dry before going onstage. They would turn up to get ready 2 hours before call time to achieve this.

20. CATS was a milestone for Australian theatre, and we can’t wait for its return

The show helped build momentum for other large-scale productions to head down to Australia, putting it on the map as a global theatre destination.

CATS in Sydney

Where: Theatre Royal Sydney, 108 King St, Sydney NSW 2000.
When: 17 June 17- September 6, Tues-Thurs 7pm, Fri-Sat 7.30pm, Wed 1pm, Sat 2pm, Sun 1pm & 6pm.
Price: From $69.90 (Transaction fees apply).

Find out more and book tickets at catsthemusical.com.au

(Cover Photo by: Xiadong)