Cats: The Jellicle Ball to Broadway — Page 9

If it's half as good as downtown it wins Best Revival, Best Direction, Best Choreography (unless schmigadoon amazes) and likely Supporting Actor in a musical for one (with several nominated).

I mean… the Skimbleshanks wig alone is award-worthy.

Does anyone have any info on a RUSH policy for this show? I've messaged them on instagram with no response and haven't gotten a chance to get to the box office yet...

I saw this at PAC and imo, you want those stage seats to be filled by rushers, folks who LOVE the show and LOVE the cast and give it the energy we had at PAC! someone who is walking into this show for the first time and paid $300 is likely not going to give the energy it needs

CoffeeBreak said: "If it's half as good as downtown it wins Best Revival, Best Direction, Best Choreography (unless schmigadoon amazes) and likely Supporting Actor ina musical for one (with several nominated)."

Interesting. I actually think things might be split a bunch this year, and would guess at Ragtime for Best Revival, The Lost Boys for Best Direction, Cats for Best Choreography and supporting actor I have no clue at all lol.

Jellicle Ball also manages to carry even more sociopolitical potency than Ragtime does right now.

quizking101 said: "Ragtime doesn’t reinvent anything. It’s the same show as it always was with just a new cast. The only compelling argument for its existence is that it “speaks to now”, which is weak, as CATS also arguably speaks to now because of how it allows a space for people to be unabashedly queer in a world away from the one that treats them with hostility. It has the GYPSY problem - great central performance (Joshua Henry), but a production otherwise on autopilot.

100% agree. In fact I’d say the only real competition that CATS has for Best Revival (depending on how the first reactions are) is ROCKY HORROR and even then I still think CATS will still find ways to come out victorious.

malcs98 said: "100% agree. In fact I’d say the only real competition that CATS has for Best Revival (depending on how the first reactions are) is ROCKY HORROR and even then I still think CATS will still find ways to come out victorious."

I honestly think the only close competition for CATS is CHESS. Love Pinkleton but RH is a show that is strictly in his bag in terms of being a subversive musical with downtown energy and nostalgic appeal. His bigger goal should likely be ensuring he can create a coherent production that keeps the audience fully engaged and hitting the nostalgia button just enough for the old guard who are protective of the property.

CHESS is being considered for many more categories than the average revival because it’s a “revisal”, including Book and Orchestrations. I don’t think it stands against CATS head to head, but enough to get in the nomination pool

Rocky Horror is a bit of an open question right now and the thing working against it, from an awards standpoint, is that the material itself is deeply unserious. It is arguably not even a particularly "good" musical in the conventional sense- meaning has been imbued to it over time thanks to its cult following. Although the score is wall-to-wall bangers, the book barely hangs together, particularly in the back half when things just kind of happen without a lot of motivation or explanation. This production will need to be really killer for it to become competitive for awards. Cats is sort of similar here, at least in a lot of people's opinions, but the wildly successful concept of Jellicle Ball gives it so much power that it actually makes the original material look even better.

I think revival still comes down to Ragtime- a conventional, stately production of a well-loved show anchored by strong performances- and Cats. Chess is an undeniable hit but weighed down by the fact that it was never a particularly cohesive show and the revised book does it absolutely no favors. It is not the redemption arc of Merrily We Roll Along and it is not the transformative lens of Jellicle Ball, it's a well-performed score saddled with some of the hackiest jokes on Broadway.

There are only 3 guaranteed nominations for revival (unless the vote is close enough to get a fourth slot), and in my mind that's pretty firmly going to be Cats, Ragtime, and Rocky Horror. Probably my own bias as well, but while Chess is doing box office success, I think there's enough split over the book/concert format that it would only get in as a fourth unless Rocky Horror really ****s the bed. Cats is also the indisputable winner to me unless on the flip side Rocky Horror manages to somehow completely astound, but I find it hard to believe that something could turn a show as much on its head and still work the way Cats does. Ragtime is a lovely musical with fantastic performances that will be awarded in at least one category, but I found the production itself rather boring and the direction listless, so it might still be my personal bias speaking but I just can't see it winning over something as exciting as Cats.

Ensemble1698878795 said: "I too think Cats will win Best Revival, but note: it did not dominate award season last year when it was nominated for a lot of things. Nothing’s promised. Will be a fun Tony season."

to be honest, this might be the first season in a long time where the musical revivals are more exciting than the new musicals…

malcs98 said: "Ensemble1698878795 said: "I too think Cats will win Best Revival, but note: it did not dominate award season last year when it was nominated for a lot of things. Nothing’s promised. Will be a fun Tony season."

to be honest, this might be the first season in a long time where the musical revivalsare more exciting than the new musicals…"

Fully agree. The majority of Tony nominations this year will be for revivals. It’ll be pretty embarrassing for new works.