CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL Pushes Us Towards A More Fabulous Future
It works. It works because the ballroom setting lends weight and specificity to a narrative world that previously felt airless, abstract to the point of nothingness. It works because Webber’s songs translate easily to ballroom categories. Most of all, it works because it’s a hell of a lot of fun.
And on Broadway, it somehow works even better. I did worry that something might get lost in the tighter confines of the Broadhurst—a flexible space at PAC had allowed for both a long runway on stage, and bustling actions on all sides. Could the magic survive the transfer?
I needn’t have fretted. On Broadway, Cats: The Jellicle Ball has both sharpened in its staging and deepened in its significance.
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