The Origins of CATS

Groundbreaking and completely unprecedented for its time, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats took the musical theatre world  by storm. Eye-catching costumes, eccentric choreography, a junkyard set to scale and some of the most memorable songs in musical theatre, Cats is nothing short of iconic. But where exactly did Lloyd Webber come up with the idea for such an unusual and never-seen-before concept?  Here’s the impossibly, amazing yarn of how Cats came to be.

The concept for Cats came from none other than T.S. Eliot, one of the world’s most renowned poets. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats is a collection of playful poems he wrote for his grandchildren. Originally in letter form, the verses went down such a treat that Eliot decided to publish them in 1939 so that children everywhere could delight in them, too. One such child was a 6-year-old Andrew Lloyd Webber, whose mother read the poems to him at bedtime and who, as he grew up, revisited the poems himself time and time again.

Almost 25 years later, a now grown-up Andrew wondered whether he could set his beloved childhood poems to music. Up until this point Andrew’s process had to been to first write the music before handing over to a lyricist for the words. Andrew presented four newly composed settings from T.S. Eliot’s collection at his 4th Sydmonton Festival which received a wholly positive round of applause, encouraging him to further develop the piece.  

Two years later, the complete draft of ‘Practical Cats’ was performed to an audience which included Valerie Eliot, T.S. Eliott’s widow. Valerie offered Andrew an unpublished poem called ‘Grizabella the Glamour Cat,’ which the poet had believed to be too sad to be part of a children’s book. Andrew, however, saw its potential as a fantastic piece of music, which would add heart and emotional depth to the wider collection.

Another important addition of Valerie’s was a poem that mentioned the ‘Heaviside Layer’ and the ‘Jellicle Ball’. So, it could be said that Valerie Eliot was equally thanked for the Jellicle Cats that we have come to know and love so well. It was the mention of ‘ball’ that sparked Andrew’s creativity prompting him to consider accompanying his music with dance.  

Dance icon Gillian Lynne joined the creative team as choreographer, followed by Trevor Nunn as director and John Napier on costume and set design. In true Andrew fashion, the music of Cats first hit human ears as a music release in 1980. The song in question was the much loved ‘Magical Mr. Mistoffelees,’ sung by Paul Nicholas (who would later go on to play Rum Tum Tugger).

Rehearsals for Cats got off on a shaky foot (or, should we say, paw) with Judi Dench, who was originally offered the roles of Grizabella and Jennyaydots, unfortunately snapping her Achilles tendon and having to leave the roles. Elaine page jumped in to save the day debuting in the now famed role at the New London Theatre on 11 May 1981. The production was also tested when, on opening night, the theatre audience and the fully costumed cast (in cat leotards, tails and ears) were evacuated onto the London pavements due to a bomb scare. The production, however, must have been blessed with the luck of a black cat, as despite these initial hiccups, the show was a whirlwind success. Cats went on to win at both the Olivier Awards and the Ivor Novello Awards, whilst the 1982 Broadway production took home seven Tony’s, and a coverted  Grammy for the cast recording.

Cats has become one of the most loved and referenced pieces in musical theatre history. In particular, Grizabella’s iconic solo Memory has gone on to be covered by the likes of Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow and Jennifer Hudson, to name a few. The show has been lauded worldwide with global productions in Australia, Japan and South Korea as well as inspiring modern reimagining's such as Cats: The Jellicle Ball in 2024.  

It really is the show with nine lives!