Purr-fectly 'timeless': Rejuvenated 'Cats' national tour comes to Ohio Theatre Jan. 11-16

“Cats,” Andrew Lloyd Webber’s feline fantasia, is back on the prowl with a few new pounces and purrs.

The national tour, based on the Tony-winning musical’s Broadway revival, will open Jan. 11 at the Ohio Theatre.

"This ‘Cats’ incorporates a grounded and edgy style including funk and hip-hop," said Kim Craven, resident choreographer of the revival and associate choreographer on tour.

Her work mirrors the 2016-2017 revival’s choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler (a Tony winner for “Hamilton”). His work, in turn, was based on Gillian Lynne’s original choreography for the London and New York blockbuster, the latter of which ran a record-breaking 7,485 performances from 1982 to 2000.

“For Gillian, it was all about being a cat first. For Andy, it’s all about having sensational dance, so we really had to marry the two,” Craven said.

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Craven’s goal was to set the dancing to reflect Blankenbuehler’s contemporary approach.

“When everyone is going, going, going and swiping screens, Andy had to update the dancing with a little punch to the tempo of today,” she said.

'Cats' set a musical standard

Going beyond most dance musicals, “Cats” was the first mega-hit to use movement, along with costumes and makeup, to define animal characters.

“Every cat has a different personality and voice. ... Andy wanted to juice that up and bring his street style to it,” Craven said.

Yet, updating Lynne’s choreography was like “changing the 'Mona Lisa'" because it’s worked so well for so long, she said.

Lloyd Webber initially conceived a song cycle based on T.S. Eliot’s poems in “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.” Additional lyrics were added later by Richard Stilgoe and director Trevor Nunn, who worked with the original cast to develop the story about a tribe of cats gathering to choose who will ascend to the “HeaviSide Layer” to be reborn.

“’Cats’ reflects the genius of Lloyd Webber’s layered, brilliant music, and of Nunn, but also the genius of the exciting and sexy dance,” Craven said.

Even so, the revival received mixed reviews.

In The New York Times, critic Charles Isherwood wrote: “A few tweaks have been made.... But this ‘Cats’ is fundamentally the ‘Cats’ you knew and loved when you were first bit by the musical theater bug. Or it’s the ‘Cats’ you knew and snickered at when you first encountered it.”

Craven takes such barbs in stride.

“Let’s face it: ‘Cats’ is a bizarre musical. People are being cats and we have to buy into it, but that’s the magic of theater: suspension of disbelief,” she said.

“Cats” — which has earned more than $3.5 billion in productions worldwide — opened Broadway’s doors to other epic British-invasion mega-hits, including “Les Miserables,” “Miss Saigon” and Lloyd Webber’s still-running “The Phantom of the Opera,” which surpassed “Cats” longevity in 2006.

With its immersive theatricality and movement-driven narrative, “Cats” also paved the way for Disney’s “The Lion King,” the other Tony-winning mega-hit about animals.

“’Cats’ is spectacular musically and visually, but it also was a novel idea: For the first time they allowed dance to tell a story for two hours straight,” Craven said.

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Choreography distinctly feline

The choreography incorporates balletic leaps and pirouettes, while arched backs and twisting necks evoke feline movements.

“It’s about how you move as a cat, how it listens and moves. ... Cats sense things differently, with their ears, neck and back,” Craven said.

One distinctively feline movement, especially at the show’s start and end, is the “pounce” — a sudden jump forward and throw of the arm, as hands claw forward and eyes glare, Craven said.

“It challenges the audience, and shows that cats can be dangerous, not just soft and cuddly. ... It’s like ‘don’t forget,’” she said.

With the cast in unitards, the raw physicality is exhilarating, Craven said.

Few characters embody that physicality with more swagger than Rum Tum Tugger.

“For the past 40 years, he’s been iconic. ... the epitome of sex, drugs and rock and roll,” said Zach Bravo, who plays the role on tour.

Inspired by rock stars such as Elvis Presley and Mick Jagger, the cat makes his strutting, hip-swiveling entrance with the song “The Rum Tum Tugger.”

“The song has a hook and such drive. You hear in the lyrics that he’s mischievous, eccentric and out there, enjoying a ‘horrible muddle,’” Bravo said.

The challenge of the signature role, he said, is showing the cat’s naughty and nice sides.

“It’s so easy to portray him like a jerk. I try my best every night to show he actually cares about the tribe of cats. ... But I very much take inspiration from rock stars of the past, like Jagger, Prince or even Elvis,” Bravo said.

Tayler Harris plays Grizabella the Glamour Cat.

“She’s the outcast of the tribe, but she perseveres,” Harris said.

“Grizabella walks with dignity and pride, but you see the hurt in her eyes. She just wants to be part of the community again. ... ‘Cats’ is about unity, community, acceptance and giving everyone grace as the Jellicle tribe comes together,” Harris said.

Grizabella sings Lloyd Webber’s most-recorded song, “Memory,” about aging, loneliness and happiness.

“That’s Grizabella’s big shining moment to share her wisdom, but she feels hope and uncertainty. She’s withering away, singing all alone and turning her face to the moonlight, wondering ‘Do they hear me?'” Harris said.

Growing up watching the 1998 direct-to-video version, Harris and her cousins “drove our parents crazy” singing ‘Memory.’”

Ever since, she’s found “Cats” captivating, with “everyone moving with such grace and felinity,” she said.

As the generation that grew up with the stage musical returns to see it with their children, Harris believes the memorable musical maintains its feline allure for families today.

“’Cats’, such a timeless piece, introduced the magic of theater to millions,” she said. “It never gets old.”

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At a glance

Broadway in Columbus and the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts will present “Cats” at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 11-13; 8 p.m. Jan. 14; 2 and 8 p.m. Jan. 15; and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Jan. 16, at the Ohio Theatre, 39 E. State St. Masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test required. Patrons are encouraged to use the Bindle check-in app. Tickets cost $34 to $114 at CBUSArts Ticket Center (614-469-0939, www.cbusarts.com)

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 'Cats' musical national tour comes to Columbus at Ohio Theatre