BATS, Currently and for a very long time.
Bats at Sesame Place
Cats is an award-winning musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and built around the characters and lyrics from T. S. Eliot's book of poems Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. The show opened in London's West End in 1981 and ran at Broadway's Winter Garden Theater from 1982 to 2000, at one point becoming the longest-running Broadway musical in history, a record which was later broken by Webber's own The Phantom of the Opera. A film adaptation of the musical was released in 2019.
References[]
- In the Fall 1983 issue of Muppet Magazine, Scooter interviews Candy Carell, the creator of the distinctive makeup design for Cats.
- The marquee for the musical is shown in The Muppets Take Manhattan teaser trailer.
- The Muppet Babies episode "Puss N' Boots N' Babies" visually references the musical with the set and costumes used for the characters.
- In Muppets Tonight episode 108, Gonzo and Jason Alexander revive their college musical, Bats: the Musical, a parody of Cats. Jason performs poetic-style recitations and sings new lyrics to the musical's song "Memory."
- In the 2000 Sesame Street coloring book Let's Take a Trip, Ernie and Bert are seen in New York City. Outside a souvenir shop is a poster for a musical entitled "Dogs," rendered similarly to the Cats promotional posters.
- In Episode 3948 of Sesame Street, Elizabeth sings a song to Little Murray Sparkles that parodies "Memory."
- In Episode 3989 of Sesame Street, a duck who performs in one of Prairie Dawn's pageants proudly announces that she's won a role in the touring company Cats. The duck then quacks out a chorus of "Memory."
- In the Muppets' 2002 MasterCard commercial, Kermit and company are shown in front of a theater where The Producers is playing. As they approach the lobby, Rizzo the Rat inquires "No cats in this one, right?"
- In the Elmo's World episode "Pets," the Pets Channel tells viewers to stay tuned for CATS starring Eartha Kitten.
- The Muppets Character Encyclopedia mentions that the Muppet birds like the musical Cats, but not the animals.
- In the waiting area for the Sesame Place stage show Elmo the Musical Live, a poster hangs for the show Bats. The same poster can be seen at Sesame Street at Sea World.
Connections[]
- Stephen Bienskie played Rum Tum Tugger in the final Broadway performance.
- Betty Buckley originated the role of Grizabella on Broadway.
- James Corden played Bustopher Jones in the 2019 film.
- Jason Derulo played Rum Tum Tugger in the 2019 film.
- Graham Fletcher played Quaxo and Mr. Mistoffelees on the West End from 1982-1983, and again from 1985-1990.
- Christopher Gattelli played Pouncival during the original Broadway run.
- Todrick Hall played Rum Tum Tugger in a regional production in 2014.
- Jennifer Hudson played Grizabella in the 2019 film.
- Danny John-Jules played Coricopat on the West End.
- Roger Kachel played Mungojerrie, Mistoffelees, and most other roles in touring productions and on Broadway for approximately 14 years.
- Gillian Lynne was the original choreographer and associate director for Cats. She was also the choreographer for the 1998 taped version.
- Rob Marshall played Munkustrap during the original Broadway run.
- Ian McKellen played Gus the Theatre Cat in the 2019 film.
- Hugh Spight played Alonzo on the West End.
- Michael Sundin played Bill Bailey on the West End.
- Lillias White played Grizabella on Broadway.