Int’l tour of ‘Cats’ to hit Seoul stage in September

Though the global musical scene has been put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the international tour production of “Cats” will go on stage from Sept. 9 to Nov. 8 at the Charlotte Theater in eastern Seoul.

“Cats” is a musical created by iconic composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and producer Cameron Mackintosh, inspired by the 1939 poetry collection “Old Possum‘s Book of Practical Cats” by T. S. Eliot. The musical has won numerous awards, including the Laurence Olivier and Tony Awards.

Following its West End premiere in 1981, the musical has been performed in 300 cities in 15 languages, attracting more than 80 million people to theaters over the years. It is known as one of the “big four” musicals, along with “Les Miserables,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Miss Saigon,” having been performed on both Broadway and the West End until recently.

The upcoming tour production will be the same as the 2017 Asian premiere production, helmed by British director Chrissie Cartwright who worked with the original choreographer, the late Gillian Lynne. After the Seoul run, the musical will tour across Korea. Further details have yet to be finalized.

In Korea, it was the first musical to surpass an accumulated 2 million tickets in 2017. It was to open at the Dream Theater in Busan in July, however, due to the recent virus pandemic crisis, the Busan run of the tour has been canceled.

For the past few months, iconic musical districts Broadway and the West End have remained closed. Musicals in Seoul, however, are continuing with their schedules.

The international tour production of “The Phantom of the Opera” is keeping up with its Seoul run until Aug. 7. It be followed by more shows in Daegu. Other musicals “Mozart!” “Rent” and “Broadway 42nd” have opened recently, and “Jamie” will kick off on Saturday.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)