Mega-musical returns in purr-fect timing for 40th Australian anniversary

Known as the first of it’s kind, the mega-musical CATS has returned to its Australian home in time for its 40th anniversary, celebrated with original and new cast and crew.

Original cast members celebrate 40 years since the original premiere of CATS at Sydney’s Theatre Royal. Picture: John Feder/The Australian

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CATS the musical has returned to its original Australian home purring and preening – and thankfully with no hint of the catastrophe that almost blew up its opening night exactly four decades ago.

The 40th anniversary show went off without a hitch on Sunday night at Sydney’s Theatre Royal, unlike the 1985 premiere which was interrupted by a bomb scare, leaving the costume-clad cast, and special guests Bob Hawke, Cameron Macintosh, Andrew Lloyd Webber and then wife Sarah Brightman standing on King Street for 30 minutes.

Many members of the original cast and production team were there to celebrate the return – and the birthday – of the world’s first mega-musical.

“The testament is that 40 years later, CATS is still doing really well and packing out a theatre, which is fabulous,” said actor and soprano Marina Prior.

Prior played the dual roles of diva cat Jellylorum and Griddlebone for two years in the original Sydney production, an experience she described as being “absolutely life-changing”.

“Forty years ago, CATS was the absolute zeitgeist,” she said.

“It was the most exciting thing. For the first time, musicals started running for years at a time, they were so popular. It was very exciting, it was exhausting.”

The members of the original cast of Cats included Pat Pitney - Original Jennyanydots, Laura Hamilton (nee Bishop) - Rumpleteazer, Stewart Crowley - Tumblebrutus, John (Toby) Hackett - Skimbleshanks, Roula Kanta - Tantomile, Greta Thomas - Victoria, Stephen Holford - Alonzo / Rumpus Cat, Robyn Forsythe - Demeter, Ian White - Ensemble, Avigail Herman - Ensemble, Leanne White (nee O'Farrell) - Swing and Dance Captain, Rodney Glenn-Smith - Swing, Marianne Howard - Swing and Graciano Debeljuh - Swing. Picture: John Feder/The Australian

CATS heralded the era of the mega-musical and was “groundbreaking” when it first hit theatres around the world according to star performer Todd McKenney.

“When it started it was groundbreaking … it really changed the landscape of musical theatre worldwide so there’s a reason it’s still hanging around because it’s magical and unlike anything else,” he said.

McKenney was part of the original Melbourne cast in 1987, playing a kitten “tumbling all over the stage”, and now he has returned to the stage as a geriatric cat 40 years later.

“Very rarely do you get to measure yourself 40 years down the track in exactly the same job … I noticed how much more experience I’ve got under my belt,” he said.

“I’m also in Lycra 40 years later, which is a whole different ­experience than it was back in the day.”

Leanne O’Farrell was the dance captain on and off for 10 years during the original production and said the show was “(even) better to do than to watch”.

“It’s so much fun because there’s so many playful impro­visations … when you’re wandering around the stage, lots of naughty things can go on,” O’Farrell said.

Hazel Hawke, reasurer Paul Keating and wife Anita Keating, Prime Minister Bob Hawke and daughter Rosslyn Dillon at the CATS opening night party at The Strand in Sydney, 1985.

The musical is based on T. S. Elliot’s 1939 poetry collection Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats and features music from Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Its unusual premise turned it into a commercial success and won the production numerous awards, including Best Musical for the Laurence Olivier Awards and Evening Standard Awards.

CATS also won seven Tony Awards.

The quirky performance surrounding the Jellicle cat tribe is packed with modern dance, leg warmers and Lycra and will “be around forever”, according to O’Farrell.

“There’s no storyline to it, it’s just a group of cats, so really it won’t have an end date,” she said.

“It’s not a dense plot, there’s no dialogue. There’s just a whole lot of cats singing songs, competing to be the one that gets sent up to cat heaven,” Prior said.

“I feel happy that there’s another generation that gets to do it,” she added.

After its Sydney season, CATS will tour to Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane.