Cover Andrew Lloyd Webber's enduring musical, ‘Cats’, brings its magic to Hong Kong (Photo: @catsthemusicalhk/Instagram)
Andrew Lloyd Webber's enduring musical, ‘Cats’, brings its magic to Hong Kong (Photo: @catsthemusicalhk/Instagram)
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From TS Eliot’s poetry collection to Broadway and beyond, trace how ‘Cats’ transformed a book of verse into a global musical phenomenon, with the classic production now playing in Hong Kong before its Singapore run
Few musicals have shape-shifted quite like Cats. It began as a private joke—TS Eliot’s playful verses for his godchildren, never intended for the stage—before becoming the show that helped invent the modern megamusical. More than four decades on, Cats still refuses to sit still: it has been danced in yak-hair wigs, transformed into a Hollywood film and most recently, reimagined through New York’s ballroom scene, where Cats: The Jellicle Ball earned three Tony Awards.
Now that evolution is playing out across Asia, with the original production at Hong Kong’s Grand Theatre, Xiqu Centre until September before returning to Singapore for the first time in seven years at Marina Bay Sands in October. Here’s the history of Cats, from Eliot’s poems to the global stage.
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1939: The whimsical literary foundation that started it all
Above TS Eliot’s playful poems for his godchildren became a global phenomenon (Photo: Ecco)
TS Eliot’s playful poems for his godchildren became a global phenomenon (Photo: Ecco)
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Published by Faber and Faber, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats was TS Eliot’s private amusement—light verse written under the pseudonym “Old Possum”, far removed from the serious modernist poetry that had made him famous. But its steady cadences and witty rhymes were, unknowingly, built for music. Decades later, Andrew Lloyd Webber began setting the poems to melody purely as a compositional exercise, unaware he was laying the foundation for one of theatre’s most enduring properties.
1981–1982: how Cats launched the megamusical era
When Cats opened at London’s New London Theatre in 1981 and Broadway’s Winter Garden a year later, it rewrote the rules of commercial theatre. John Napier’s oversized junkyard set spilt beyond the proscenium, while performers regularly moved into the audience, turning the theatre itself into part of the spectacle.
The production won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical and seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, before becoming one of the longest-running shows in both London and New York, with more than 8,900 West End performances and 7,400 on Broadway. Its scale, spectacle and commercial ambition helped define the megamusical as the dominant form of blockbuster theatre that followed.
1998: The filmed stage version that preserved the original magic
Above Elaine Paige reprised her career-defining role for the 1998 'Cats' film
Directed by David Mallet and shot live at London’s Adelphi Theatre with a 70-piece orchestra, this direct-to-video production reunited original West End and Broadway performers, including Elaine Paige, Ken Page and Sir John Mills. Rather than reinventing the material, it functioned as a time capsule—preserving Gillian Lynne’s original choreography and the show’s theatrical intimacy for audiences who never saw it staged, and remains the closest record of the production that started it all.
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2019: Tom Hooper’s starry, divisive feature film
Above Jennifer Hudson led a starry cast in Tom Hooper's 2019 film adaptation
Two decades on, director Tom Hooper took a far riskier approach, deploying digital fur technology to render an ensemble cast—including Jennifer Hudson, Judi Dench, Idris Elba, Taylor Swift and James Corden—as fully computer-generated felines. The result drew heavy criticism over its visual effects and adaptation choices, becoming one of the more talked-about box-office disappointments in recent memory. Yet for all its stumbles, the film reintroduced Cats to millions of younger viewers worldwide.
2024–2026: A ballroom revival wins Broadway’s top honours
Above 'Cats: The Jellicle Ball' reimagines the tribe through New York ballroom culture
Stripped of tails, ears and animal make-up, Cats: The Jellicle Ball relocated the Jellicle Choice to a ballroom competition, pairing musical theatre veterans with real ballroom icons. The reinterpretation—directed by Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch—earned nine Tony nominations and three wins, including Best Choreography, proving Lloyd Webber’s score could carry an entirely new cultural language.
2026: the classic production returns to Hong Kong and Singapore
Above In Hong Kong, 'Cats' returns for the first time since its 2018 run (Photo: @catsthemusicalhk/Instagram)
In Hong Kong, 'Cats' returns for the first time since its 2018 run (Photo: @catsthemusicalhk/Instagram)
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Even as Broadway continues to experiment with the musical, the original production remains a draw for audiences who want to experience Cats in the form that made it a global phenomenon. In Hong Kong, the musical returns for the first time since its 2018 run, taking over the Grand Theatre at the Xiqu Centre from August 6 to September 13. The West Kowloon Cultural District venue provides an expansive setting for John Napier’s iconic junkyard set and Gillian Lynne’s choreography, with international touring principals Cindy-Ann Abrahams as Grizabella and King B as Old Deuteronomy.
The production then travels to Singapore, where it runs at the Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands from October 29 to November 22. Its return comes seven years after the musical’s previous Singapore engagement, giving audiences in both cities a chance to see the classic Cats staging as part of its continuing international tour.
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After more than a decade in lifestyle media, Clifford has mastered the art of writing seriously about things that are fun—and writing fun things about people who take themselves very seriously. At Tatler Asia, he helped steer its flagship lists, Tatler’s Most Influential and Asia’s Most Stylish. And today, he leads T-Labs, Tatler Asia’s content innovation hub, where he continues the noble pursuit of lifestyle storytelling, spinning stories on wealth, entertainment, necessary style, Hallyu, Hollywood, beauty and more for audiences across Asia.
