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History

'CATS' is a musical written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the book "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" by T.S. Eliot
In this children's book are light-hearted, witty poems about various cats that Eliot describes
Webber made these poems the lyrics for his musical
'CATS' first opened in 1981 in the Winter Garden Theatre, and is the longest running musical in history
The song "Memory" is forever engrained as a Broadway hit
'CATS' won 7 Tony Awards in 1983, including Best Musical
It closed on Broadway in September 2001

Brief Synopsis

'CATS' takes place in an oversized junkyard at night
The actors and actresses wear unitards, tails, wigs, and thick makeup as their cat costumes
This musical is almost plotless, and consists of cats introducing fellow cats to the audience
All cats are called "Jellicles"
The Jellicle Ball takes place once a year, and is a special night where all Jellicle cats get together in the junkyard and follow their urge to dance under the full moon
The antagonist of the show is Mcavity, a criminal (yet mysteriously irresistible) feline
At the end of the Ball, Old Deuteronomy, the leader of the cats, takes a selected cat to the Heaviside Layer, a sort of "cat-heaven"