How long did Cats the Musical run on Broadway in New York?
Premier: October 7, 1982 Theater: Winter Garden Theater Music by: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics by: Based on T.S. Eliot Book by: Based on “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” by T.S. Eliot Directed by: Trevor Nunn Choreography by: Gillian Lynne Produced by: Cameron Mackintosh, The Really Useful Theatre Company Ltd., David Geffen, and The Shubert Organization Before “Cats” had its 1981 West End premiere, it was viewed with immense skepticism: here was composer Andrew Lloyd Webber working solo, setting a series of children’s poems about kitty cats written decades earlier by the revered T. S. Eliot for a bookless show staged by an esteemed Shakespearean director, Trevor Nunn. Yet producer Cameron Mackintosh believed in the show, and its opulent effects and dancing felines enchanted what are euphemistically called “children of all ages.” Broadway producers sat up and took notice: here was a show that required no stars and had a West End cachet, a pre-sold market, and a known hit composer. Se
