‘Cats’ leaps back into our lives with national tour at the Peace Center

A musical about cats? Singing and dancing felines?

Some critics scoffed at its premiere in 1981, but Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cats” became one of the most successful and influential musicals in history, revolutionizing Broadway and running for a then-record of 18 years.

The blockbuster musical leaps back into our lives as a national tour arrives at the Peace Center for eight performances, April 4-9.

The show centers on two dozen cats who gather together every year for a big celebration in which one cat will have the honor of ascending to the Heaviside layer, a sort of feline heaven, to be reborn.

The musical is propelled by Lloyd Webber’s spirited pop-and-jazz score, which includes the mega-hit “Memory.” The lyrics are based primarily on T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.”

This production spotlights the classic choreography of Gillian Lynne with some contemporary moves by Andy Blankenbuehler, the choreographer of “Hamilton.”

“This is still the ‘Cats’ everyone knows and loves from the 1980s, but Andy Blankenbuehler gives it a modern update,” said Brendan Moran, who plays Tumblebrutus in the show.

‘Flippy Cat’

Moran affectionate calls his role “the Flippy Cat.”

“He doesn’t have a solo song, but the name (“Tumblebrutus”) is very descriptive,” he said. “I do all of the flips in the show. Anytime you see a cat flipping on stage, that’ll be me.”

Moran, 22, who spent a few of his high school years in Greenville, graduated from Pace University in 2022 and was almost immediately cast in this show.

“It’s a dancer’s dream,” he said. “If you’re a dancer, this is the show to be in.”

Revolutionary show

Premiering in the West End in 1981 and on Broadway a year later, “Cats” set new standards for makeup, costumes, scenery, technological wizardry and theatrical spectacle.

“It’s a musical that transports the audience into a complete fantasy world that could only exist in the theater,” Frank Rich of The New York Times wrote in his 1982 review of the Broadway opening.

Uniquely, the show featured almost nonstop dance. That’s why the musical traveled so well throughout the world: Audiences didn’t have to understand English to enjoy the music, dance and simple story.

The show also gave Broadways producers a new appreciation for the possibilities of a musical for the whole family. “Cats” was followed on Broadway by many other family-friendly shows such as “Aladdin” and “The Lion King.”

Great time in Greenville

Moran loves the opportunities for improvisation in the show.

“It’s the reason that ‘Cats’ stays fresh,” Moran said. “There are several moments in the show that aren’t choreographed. The actors have the chance through movement to interpret their characters on stage and their relationships with each other.”

As a former resident of the Upstate, Moran has been preparing his fellow cast members for a great time in Greenville.

“I’ve been bragging a lot about the restaurants and the places,” he said. “I tell them there’s a wonderful waterfall park (Falls Park) right in downtown Greenville. I can’t wait to return.”