Posted in: Movies, Musical | Tagged: Andrew Lloyd Webber, cats, cats 2019 film, cats musical, james cordon, jennifer hudson, Sir Ian McKellen, taylor swift, Universal Pictures

Cats Film Adaptation Coming in December 2019

Published Fri, 31 Aug 2018 12:55:34 -0500

by Jeremy Konrad

Last updated Fri, 31 Aug 2018 14:56:03 -0500

Comments

Cats, a film adaptation of the Broadway sensation, will be hitting theaters in December 2019. The film will be released by Universal and will star Taylor Swift, James Cordon, Jennifer Hudson, and Sir Ian McKellen. The film will release on December 20th, 2019, a date also occupied by an obscure film called Star Wars: Episode 9. Cats will be directed by Tom Hooper.

Based on T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, the show is set amongst a larger- than-life junkyard playground and is alive with our favorite feline characters including Rum Tum Tugger, Mr. Mistoffelees, Macavity,Jennyanydots, Old Deuteronomy, Grizabella and Skimbleshanks.

The Jellicle Cats come out to play on one special night of the year – the night of the Jellicle Ball. One by one they tell their stories for the amusement of Old Deuteronomy, their wise and benevolent leader, who must choose one of the Cats to ascend to The Heaviside Layer and be reborn into a whole new Jellicle life.

CATS, one of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history, received its world premiere at the New London Theatre in 1981 where it played for 21 record-breaking years and almost 9,000 performances. The ground-breaking production was the winner of the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical. In 1983 the Broadway production became the recipient of seven Tony awards including Best Musical, and ran for 18 years.

Since its world premiere, CATS has been presented in over 30 countries, has been translated into 15 languages and has been seen by more than 73 million people worldwide. Both the original London and Broadway cast recordings won Grammy Awards for Best Cast Album.

The magnificent musical score composed by the legendary Andrew Lloyd Webber, includes the poignant hit song 'Memory', which has been recorded by over 150 artists from Barbra Streisand and Johnny Mathis to Liberace and Barry Manilow.