Curtain Falls on 'Cats' After 18 Years of Shows

N E W  Y O R K, Sept. 10 -- “Cats”, Broadway’s longest running show, hung up its whiskers, tails and toe shoes today after nearly 18 years and a record 7,485performances.

It was an emotional weekend at the Winter Garden Theater,starting with the Saturday matinee where the audience includedalumni from the musical’s Broadway and touring productions.

The Saturday evening performance was a special benefit for the Actors’Fund, the theater service organization that takes care ofentertainment professionals. It was also the last public performance. Today’s final performance wasby invitation only.

“Cats” which has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, is based on“Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats”, a collection of poems by T.S. Eliot. Although he died in 1965, Eliot still received a Tony Award18 years later for his contributions to the score. His widow becamea very wealthy woman, receiving royalties from a show that hasgrossed more than $380 million on Broadway alone.

The Show People Loved to Hate

The musical began the dominance of the big British musical onBroadway, an influence that has started to slip — “Miss Saigon” also will close New Year’s Eve — but may never fade away.

“Remember, two others — “Les Miserables” and “The Phantom of the Opera” — are still with us,” theater historian Ken Mandelbaum said. “And one, if not two, may eventually pass “Cats” in longevity. “Phantom” only has six years to go.”

“Cats” was considered quite unusual when it first opened onBroadway, Mandelbaum said. “It wasn’t a book musical. It was all music and very dependent on dance.”

Over the years, the musical became the show people loved tohate, with everyone from Letterman to Leno making fun of its popscore, lavish setting and those furry creatures crawling all overthe stage and the audience.