Tickets are now available for the Perth season of the 40th anniversary production of CATS, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s long-running musical adaptation of T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. Pre-sale access began today, with general public sales set to commence on Friday 13 June. The production will be staged at Crown Theatre Perth from 8 November, following its runs in Sydney and Adelaide, with ticketing for all legs of the Australian tour available on the musical’s website.
The Perth cast will include a mix of returning stars and fresh faces, each taking on the eclectic personalities of the Jellicle tribe.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking musical features a new Australian cast, with Gabriyel Thomas taking on the role of Grizabella, the outcast glamour cat made famous by the show’s signature ballad Memory. Todd McKenney plays Bustopher Jones and Asparagus the Theatre Cat, while Mark Vincent returns to musical theatre as Old Deuteronomy, the wise elder of the Jellicle tribe.
Lucy Maunder, who recently played Roxie Hart in the national tour of Chicago, portrays Jellylorum. Des Flanagan steps into the role of the charismatic Rum Tum Tugger, and Jarrod Draper, a graduate of WAAPA, has been cast as Munkustrap. Leigh Archer returns to CATS in the role of Jennyanydots, the motherly “Gumbie Cat”.
Producer John Frost of Crossroads Live commented on the casting choices and the significance of the production returning to Australian stages:
We have assembled a purr-fect cast for this 40th Anniversary Australian tour of CATS, a wonderful clowder of seasoned artists and new performers to the industry. CATS was revolutionary when it first opened and to celebrate the production in the theatre where it first played is a real thrill. Australia has an enduring love for CATS and it’s time to let the memory live again. Perth, queue up to buy your tickets before they sell out!
