| Cats Event Information
Cats, the musical that featured its first show in London in 1981, has become the longest running show in theatre history and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. The musical is based on T.S. Eliot's “Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats” and started in London on May 11, 1981, and on Broadway on October 7, 1982. The London production would last more than 21 years and the Broadway show played almost 18 years itself. In April of 1999, the gross box office for the London production was more than 115 million pounds but in addition to the London show, Cats has been performed in more than 25 countries and in more than 300 cities across the world. The script has been translated into ten different languages for shows across the globe but the title has never changed regardless of where the show has taken place. The hit song “Memory” has been recorded by more than 150 different artists, most notably Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, and Barry Manilow, who had a top-40 chart spot with his rendition. Natalie Grant, a European singer, even took a dance remix of the song to number one in the United Kingdom in 1999. In 1981, the debut year for the musical, Cats took home two Laurence Olivier Awards (including Musical of the Year) and an Evening Standard Award and in 1983, the performance won seven Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. In New York, Cats won the prestigious Outer CriticsCircle Award for Best Musical and in France, it also won Best Musical in the form of a Moliere Award. The international performances have also won seven awards each in Canada and Japan. Andrew Lloyd Webber, who has earned a reputation as one of the best composers in the musical business, is the one that has made Cats what it is but he’s also responsible for incredible musicals like Evita, The Phantom of the Opera, and Jesus Christ Superstar.
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