NEW YORK _ Those eyes ... those ears and, for that matter, those tails. "Cats," which promised it would be with us "Now and Forever," broke that vow when it closed in 2000 after 18 years on Broadway. But now the show, based on T.S. Eliot's children's book, "The Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats," is getting its first revival, opening Sunday, July 31, at the Neil Simon Theatre in a production inspired by the ongoing success of last year's London revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's megahit.
The slogan now is "Let the Memory Live Again." Before we reanimate our nostalgia buttons, here are 10 things you might not remember _ or perhaps never knew _ about the show.
THE FIRST MEGA-MUSICAL
"Cats," with its spooky eyes-in-the-dark logo, ushered in an unprecedented marketing era, introducing sophisticated publicity techniques into a business that had previously behaved like a cottage industry, making it a hit before it ever opened. Those yellow cat-orbs were glowing and branding themselves on the theater marquee six months before the opening. The theater was conspicuously being gutted for a $2 million transformation into a high-tech garbage dump. Months early, souvenir shops were stocked with posters and an unprecedented variety of merchandising tie-ins. Tiffany was even selling a special "Cats" charm. And Barbra Streisand and Joni Mitchell recorded "Memory" months before a note was sung on Broadway.
CAT SCRATCH
The result of the intense marketing campaign was a record $6.2 million advance sale. This may be kitty litter compared to the $57 million advance that "Hamilton" had three months into its run, but it was historic for its time. In 1983, the show won seven Tony Awards, including best musical. More than 10 million people saw "Cats" on Broadway, which reported a total box-office gross of more than $383 million. Multiply that by around-the-world tours, and you see how the blockbuster was born.
CASTING A STAR
The casting of Grizabella, the aging glamour-puss who sings a bit of "Memory" in the first act and the whole thing near the finale, has had a twitchy history. First Judi Dench, of all unexpected theater royalty, was to take the role. But she tore an Achilles tendon in rehearsal and ended up in the hospital. Elaine Paige agreed to step in on short notice. Betty Buckley won a Tony as Broadway's Grizabella, but the part _ which basically has just that one song _ has also been played by virtual unknowns without a disturbing a whisker on the grosses.
WHAT'S NEW, PUSSYCAT?
Nicole Scherzinger, formerly a Pussycat Doll, was the lead cat in the 2015 London revival and was expected to make her Broadway debut. But she dropped out before rehearsals _ depending on whom you believe, either because she insisted on star billing or wanted to be a judge on a British reality-TV show. Whatever the reason, this infuriated Lloyd Webber, who told Rolling Stone, "Never mind. There will be another girl on Broadway and Nicole will not get her Tony Award." Instead, Leona Lewis, a British pop singer, will get under Grizabella's scraggly ears.
CAT-DANCING DUST-UP
Although the new production will have a few changes, Trevor Nunn, the original director, will again be in charge. The big difference for this dance-driven show is that British choreographer Gillian Lynne has been replaced by Andy Blankenbuehler (who just won a Tony for "Hamilton"). Representatives of the show are politely evasive about the change. One said, "This is very much Gillian's 'Cats,' with Andy overseeing _ and putting his impression on _ this production." Another said that Lloyd Webber and Nunn "wanted to give themselves the luxury of looking at the piece with fresh eyes, if necessary, which they did." In other words, presumably, the felines will not do hip-hop. Lynne, who choreographed the London revival, has chosen a different tone. In an interview with London's The Stage, she described herself as "very angry ... . It makes me feel like I'd like to murder. I have had a rotten time because of it. I did create the show. I really did."
MEMORIES OF 'MEMORY'
At least 150 artists, including Elaine Paige and Betty Buckley, have recorded the show's only hit song. In addition to Barbra Streisand and Joni Mitchell, you may have hummed along with Barry Manilow, Celine Dion, opera tenor Jose Carreras and Liberace. Susan Boyle sang it on "Britain's Got Talent."
'MIDNIGHT. NOT A SOUND FROM THE PAVEMENT'
What you probably don't know is that T.S. Eliot did not write the lyrics to "Memory," though he did, hilariously, get a posthumous 1983 Tony as the show's lyricist. In fact, director Trevor Nunn wrote the memorable words. He is said to have cobbled the words and atmosphere from two of Eliot's earlier poems, "Rhapsody on a Windy Night" (about moonlight on a windy midnight) and "Preludes," plus an eight-line unpublished poem about Grizabella that Eliot's wife showed him. The character wasn't even in Eliot's original book.
WHAT'S A JELLICLE CAT ANYWAY?
It's what this tribe of felines is called. The show, after all, is about the annual Jellicle Ball, the one night a year when one cat is picked by Old Deuteronomy to ascend to the Heaviside Layer and be reincarnated as another jellicle. Most grown-ups have eagerly embraced the drama and the joys of furry characters with such gibberish names as Rum Tum Tugger, Griddlebone and Macavity. Anyone with a low threshold for whimsical baby-talk is advised to walk down a different alley.
HOW DO YOU SAY JELLICLE IN JAPANESE?
The abundance of untranslatable words, minimal content and zowie spectacle has helped make this the first global blockbuster. In its first nine lives, "Cats" was translated into 20 languages. No doubt, this reincarnation will find new tongues in which to entertain.
TALK ABOUT NOW AND FOREVER
Marlene Danielle can match her "Cats" memories against anybody's. She is an original, the only cast member who did the show for all 18 years of the original Broadway run. Most of those years, she was Bombalurina, whom she describes as "carefree. She got along with everyone. She was fun loving and fearless." Danielle lives now in Northeast Pennsylvania, in one of the three pieces of real estate that her years with "Cats" bought her. The original big tire from the set is on her lawn. She is bringing her sons and grandchildren to see the show, at which time more memories will begin.
