Best known for its unusual story line, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cats” is the senior showcase performance for the University of Utah’s Musical Theatre Program this year.
Based on the collection of poetry, “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” by T.S. Elliot, the show explores a tribe of “Jellicle” cats, a name Elliot assigned his also made up “Jellicle Ball”-attending creations. As described in the musical’s opening number, the Jellicle cats come together once a year to make what is called “the Jellicle choice,” where one cat is selected to rise to the Heaviside Layer.
The characters are as individual as they are diverse, ranging from twin cat burglars to railway assistants to rock stars.