Cats Musical The longest running musical in Broadway history

Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber based on Old Possum s Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. It introduced the song standard, Memory. The musical first opened in the West End in 1981 and then on Broadway in 1982, in each case directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Gillian Lynne. It won numerous awards, including both the Laurence Olivier Award and the Tony Award for Best Musical. The London production ran for 21 years and the Broadway production for eighteen years, in both cases setting historical longrun records. Actresses Elaine Paige and Betty Buckley became particularly associated with the musical. Cats has been performed around the world in numerous productions and has been translated into more than 20 languages. It was also made into a 1998 video that has been broadcast on television.