Currently being performed at the Sydney Theatre Royal as part of the musical’s 40th anniversary celebrations in Australia, it has been confirmed that a special anniversary performance will take place on Sunday 27 July 2025 – marking exactly forty years since the musical’s Australian debut in the same venue. The event will reunite many members of the original 1985 cast and crew, with tickets available to purchase via the musical’s official website.
Producer John Frost of Crossroads Live has confirmed that the Australian Children’s Music Foundation (ACMF) will serve as the tour’s charity partner. Audience collections after each performance will raise funds for the not-for-profit, with additional opportunities for cast visits to schools and children’s hospitals. In a statement he shared:
Australia has an enduring love for CATS. It was revolutionary when it first opened, and now, 40 years later, we celebrate its legacy on its 40th anniversary at the original Australian home of CATS, Theatre Royal Sydney. We are thrilled to partner with the Australian Children’s Music Foundation for the Australian tour. They do an extraordinary job bringing music to children across the country, in a similar way to work being done by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation in the UK and US.
ACMF founder Don Spencer welcomed the collaboration, sharing:
The Australian Children’s Music Foundation (ACMF) is thrilled to be the charity partner for CATS in Australia. This initiative is a powerful demonstration of how the world of musical theatre can directly support grassroots music education. By contributing to this collection, theatregoers will directly help ACMF ensure more vulnerable children receive long-term music education, helping them find their voice and a sense of belonging through music.
The ACMF exists because two in three Australian primary school children lack access to a music education. The synergy with the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation’s commitment in the UK to music education underscores a shared belief: that every child deserves the chance to experience the profound benefits of music.
CATS the Musical is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary Australian tour in Sydney, and will then head to Adelaide’s Her Majesty’s Theatre in September, the Perth Crown Theatre in November, Melbourne’s Hamer Hall in December and then the Brisbane QPAC Lyric Theatre in February 2026.
