Cats (musical) Cats (musical) Cats is a sung-through musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" by T. S. Eliot. The musical tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles and the night they make what is known as "the Jellicle choice" and decide which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life. Directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Gillian Lynne, "Cats" first opened in the West End in 1981 and then with the same creative team on Broadway in 1982. It won numerous awards, including
Face the Music (musical) 9 June to 3 July 2015. Directed by Brendan Matthew, choreography by Sally Brooks and musical direction by Aaron Clingham. Brooks Atkinson, reviewing the original 1932 production for "The New York Times", called the musical a "bountiful merry-go-round" of songs and "gibes", writing that it is "bold satire", but has familiar musical comedy numbers, such as the "stunning mirror dance... expressionistic Times Square ballet...and "Dear Old Crinoline Days which is guffawing burlesque." An unnamed reviewer, quoted in the Brown biography "Moss Hart", wrote "It's a worthy successor to "Of Thee I Sing" [but] it doesn't entirely measure up to it.