Cats cast revealed!

More cast members have been announced for the 40th Anniversary Australian tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking musical CATS, which will play at its original Australian home, Theatre Royal Sydney from 17 June, then head to Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide from 20 September and to Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne from 21 December.

Tickets for the Adelaide season are on pre-sale from today, with General Public sales from Friday 2 May. Final performances for the Sydney season have also been released today – performances up until 6 September have been released for pre-sale, with General Public sales from Friday 2 May.

The coveted role of Grizabella, the former “glamour cat” ostracised by the Jellicles, will be played by Gabriyel Thomas, who currently stars as Michelle and sometimes in the lead role of Deloris Van Cartier in the Australian tour of Sister Act. Gabriyel’s other credits include The Sound of Music, Ragtime and the Australian and US tours of Hairspray. Being cast as Grizabella in CATS is a dream come true for Gabriyel as the show was her introduction to musical theatre.

Most recently seen as Roxie Hart in the sold-out national tour of Chicago and the two-hander musical No Love Songs, Lucy Maunder is taking on the role of Jellylorum, who watches out for the kittens and takes care of Gus the Theatre Cat. Since graduating from WAPPA in 2006, Lucy has performed lead roles in Mary Poppins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Pippin, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Matilda the Musical and Doctor Zhivago amongst many others.

The rebellious cat Rum Tum Tugger who likes to cause mischief amongst the Jellicle tribe, will be played by Des Flanagan. Best known for playing Christian in the Australian tour of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Des is currently starring as Leo Bloom in Mel Brooks’ The Producers at Hayes Theatre Co and Riverside Theatres.

WAPPA graduate Jarrod Draper has been cast as Munkustrap, the tabby tomcat who is the storyteller and protector of the Jellicle tribe. Currently playing Artie Green in Sunset Boulevard in China after performing the role in Melbourne, Sydney and Singapore, Jarrod has also starred in Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Promises, Promises.

The remainder of the company includes Sarah Bourke (playing Tantomile), Olivia Carniato (Demeter), Mia Dabkowski-Chandler (Bombalurina), Tom Davis (Shimbleshanks), Ella Fitzpatrick (Jemima), Charlie Follows (Bill Bailey), Joshua Gordon (Coricopat), Chaska Halliday (Cassandra), Dominique Hamilton (swing), Claudia Hastings (Victoria/ White Cat), Aimee Jones (swing), Savannah Lind (Rumpleteaser), Jake O’Brien (Mungojerrie), Xavier Pellin (swing), Guy Pik (Carbucketty), Rania Potaka-Osborne (Alonzo), Edward Smith (Admetus/ Macavity), Thalia Smith (swing) and Tod Strike (swing).

They join the previously announced principal performers Todd McKenney, who will play the dual roles of Bustopher Jones and Gus the Theatre Cat, classical performer Mark Vincent as Old Deuteronomy, and Leigh Archer as Jennyanydots, also known as the “Gumbie Cat”.

“We have assembled a purr-fect cast for this 40th Anniversary Australian tour of CATS, led by Gabriyel, Todd and Mark. It’s a wonderful clowder of seasoned artists and new performers to the industry,” said John Frost. “CATS was revolutionary when it first opened and to celebrate the production in the theatre where it first played is a real thrill. Australia has an enduring love for CATS and it’s time to let the memory live again.”

Based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats and set to music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, CATS has been captivating audiences around the globe since it opened at the New London Theatre (now known as the Gillian Lynne) in 1981, where it played for 21 record-breaking years and almost 9,000 performances, winning both the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical. Since then, CATS has been presented in over 50 countries, translated into 23 languages and has been seen by over 81 million people world-wide. On Broadway, CATS played for 18 years and won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical.

The musical tells the story of the Jellicle cat tribe. On just one special night of the year, all Jellicle cats meet at the Jellicle Ball where Old Deuteronomy, their wise and benevolent leader, makes the Jellicle choice and announces which of them will go up to “The Heaviside Layer” and be reborn into a whole new Jellicle life.

The timeless musical score includes the hit song Memory, which has been recorded by more than 150 artists including Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Nicole Scherzinger, Johnny Mathis, Liberace and Barry Manilow. With “timeless music, spectacular sets and a superb cast” (Daily Mirror), breathtaking choreography and of course the unforgettable Memory, CATS is a magical musical like no other.