CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL Previews- Page 9

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 4/4/26 at 12:51pm

Betty Buckley gives a full throated endorsement to The Jellicle Ball in a Guest Essay for the NY Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/04/opinion/cats-musical-ballroom-culture-broadway.html

[uncageg]

Posted: 4/4/26 at 2:06pm

Here is a clickable gift article to the Buckley opinion piece:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/04/opinion/cats-musical-ballroom-culture-broadway.html?unlocked_article_code=1.YVA.f2g0.2tMspsQ524Xu&smid=url-share

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/4/26 at 5:41pm

That Buckley article was a very lovely tribute and I hope people read it. She was the original, and so she knows her character best - and to give such an endorsement may actually help the fuddy-duddy purists a chance to try something new.

I was at the show today and the judges were the House Mother of Allure and Icon and Overall Father Stan from the House of Elle. I will say that the energy of this matinee crowd was…barely there. A few of us were hype in the audience, but it almost felt like everyone was asleep. 

The show is in great shape and they’ve already frozen everything for opening. ALW was in attendance today too.

[bear882]

Posted: 4/4/26 at 11:01pm

bryan2 said: "Just a question? Does the POSING get repetitive and boring , Cats in itself is repetitive musically so I cant understand how this sustains interest after the first 10 or 15 minutes of being wowed by the moves. The version of MEMORY is spectacular , I was surprised how good it was sung. I am curious if this is just something people love of just feel they have to love to seem cool...thanks for any responses. I want to see this so bad to see for myself

I will try to address this, because as I posted after seeing the show, I am not an expert on ballroom or even the original version of Cats, which I never saw in person and watched once on BroadwayHD. I am a cisgender guy past 60. I usually get annoyed when I can’t follow all the lyrics or if everyone around me is getting jokes I didn’t catch. I kind of threw out my usual rule book for the evening.

I deliberately saw the show on a Friday night on my recent trip, assuming I would get a revved up audience (it was the third preview) and the full experience. 

The main thing I can say is that the show features great choreography from the start. The actors aren’t just posing. It’s high-level dance from most of the company. The lyrics aren’t always clearly understood (they’re probably working on that) and the show is a bit chaotic. But it was easy for me to follow and I would recommend the mezzanine, and ideally the center, because the lighting helps guide you about what to watch. But sometimes it was fun to let my eyes wander. There is a lot to see.

I didn’t love everything about the revival (ironically, Andre de Shields was a disappointment despite a great star entrance and a funny ad libbed glare at an audience member who spoke out of turn) but the show made total sense to me. The world it evokes and pays tribute to isn’t my world, but that’s why I go to the theater. And there are moments in the show that are just spectacular and made me very glad I didn’t miss it.

Will you enjoy the show as much as I did? I make no promises. A member of my party enjoyed many elements of the show, especially the choreography, but found it a bit exhausting. But it sounds like you know Cats better than I did. Go in with an open mind, learn a bit about ballroom culture, and have fun.

Updated On: 4/4/26 at 11:01 PM

[jpbran]

Posted: 4/5/26 at 12:08am

Tonight's (Sat) evening show's judges were Trammell Tillman (Severance) and Jelani Alladin.

Energy was amazing... hate hearing the matinee crowd was a dud. :-(

House right Box F 1-3 seats were a blast! Might not have liked them as much with a traditionally staged show or non-musical, but for this they were epic; felt right in the middle but also kinda "peeking in." Was cool, and a bonus was they're well priced. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/5/26 at 12:14am

TRAMELL AND JELANI?!?! I would’ve fainted. That would’ve been a moment for both of them and Tugger to do battle in the Body and/or Realness category.

Updated On: 4/5/26 at 12:14 AM

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 4/5/26 at 1:49am

I was at the matinee today as well, TDF put me in mezz row F on the left side, which was a pretty good seat as I had a good line of sight to the DJ and could see pretty much the whole runway (just missed some of the actors walking in front of it so I wouldn't say I really missed anything and never found myself leaning to try to catch anything).

I thought the crowd was better than what quizking perceived.  It was definitely a bit tentative in the beginning, unsure of whether they could cheer and applaud mid-song (I think Victoria's solo was a bit of a sticking point since that music is more balletic), but it seemed to have dialed up by the time we got to Tugger and was a decent level for the rest of the show.  A LOT of people came back from intermission with fans and it seems like they sold out about halfway through intermission, so it seems like people really leaned into it once they got into the swing of things.  It still feels different from when it was at the PAC (or perhaps I was also sitting in a seat that was very different from where I sat before), but I though the level of crowd engagement was fairly encouraging, and I think it'll only grow as the run goes on.

Overall, I'm glad the show transferred as intact as it is.  Some upgraded costumes, minor adjustments in the staging, different interactions with the audience--they all added up to a fantastic experience.  I took a Cats skeptic (he had never actually seen Cats and I don't think he would've liked a traditional staging of it) who came out raving about it, and I've already seen at least one social media post where someone who hadn't been planning on seeing it started considering it after the Betty Buckley article so I'm optimistic it'll really find its audience.

For those that might be sensitive to volume, I found the overture extremely loud and wishing I had brought my earplugs.  The levels came down a bit after that but I'd say it's still on the louder side of Broadway shows.  I'm sure they're still fiddling with the sound design overall though, as I found the harmonies in Gumbie Cat hard to understand, and the vocals on Rum Tum Tugger seemed mixed a bit too low (though Sydney James Harcourt sounded fine by the time of his solo in Mistoffeles).  Also, did the DJ ever leave the booth off Broadway?  I don't know if I just wasn't paying attention but I was pleasantly surprised how much Ken Ard was involved in the proceedings and now just isolated in the box.

I have a hard time imagining anything else will beat out this show for choreography and costumes, and yes, revival as well.  I know everyone's talking about Andre de Shields but I'd love to see nominations for Sydney James Harcourt, Emma Sofia, and Dudney Joseph Jr (who I think isn't really given enough credit for holding the evening together).  But there are SO MANY people who don't necessarily have a showy role but still add a lot with their mere presence, and I hope they get recognized at some point for that (does anyone happen to know why the Chita Riveras didn't do performer awards for off Broadway?  I went to check and the choreographers got an award but no awards were given to individuals).

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/5/26 at 8:43am

Maybe the mezzanine was more engaged, and I would assume so based on the louder reaction they gave Munk during Virgin Vogue. Where I was sitting in the rear orchestra, there were a lot of deer-in-headlights older patrons.

Re: The DJ - Capital Kaos never left the booth during off-Broadway, but he was also (I believe) actively mixing and sweetening the show since the orchestra was smaller. Kaos wasn’t able to return since he had his foot amputated last year. With Ard, they were able to make use of his extensive dance background, as well as someone who understood the show since he was the original Macavity. When I saw they added and rearranged moments to have him in on the action, I was thrilled because I couldn’t imagine hiring him only to consign him to a box all night

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/5/26 at 9:35am

this show doesn't appeal to the typical matinee audience(older people, school groups, etc.). I've wondered if they considered doing later times on Saturdays(3:30 & 9:30?)?

[Lot666]

Posted: 4/5/26 at 9:44am

uncageg said: "Here is a clickable gift article to the Buckley opinion piece:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/04/opinion/cats-musical-ballroom-culture-broadway.html?unlocked_article_code=1.YVA.f2g0.2tMspsQ524Xu&smid=url-share"

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/5/26 at 10:45am

ACL2006 said: "this show doesn't appeal to the typical matinee audience(older people, school groups, etc.). I've wondered if they considered doing later times on Saturdays(3:30 & 9:30?)?"

Keep in mind, the show is 2:45. A 9:30 start would mean that the audience would get out after midnight and good luck with transportation at that hour.

I do think bucking the Wednesday matinee and pushing it to Sunday night would be the right move, but this is a bear of a show to do twice in one day. I do think at least one non traditional showtime can benefit the show greatly but the proof of the current model hasn’t yielded enough data

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/5/26 at 10:56am

But doing a 5 show weekend of CATS would be brutal for these performers. 

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 4/5/26 at 11:08am

ACL2006 said: "this show doesn't appeal to the typical matinee audience(older people, school groups, etc.). I've wondered if they considered doing later times on Saturdays(3:30 & 9:30?)?"

I feel like this would be more detrimental to them overall, it's not like the show isn't selling they're just not as boisterous.