After announcing the return of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-breaking 2015 Olivier award-nominated musical Cats to Manila, producers have just revealed the full cast for the Manila season. The musical will play for a strictly limited season at The Theatre at Solaire beginning November 6, 2019.
Based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, Cats is set on just one special night of the year, when all Jellicle cats meet at the Jellicle Ball. 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 musical received its world premiere at the New London Theatre in 1981 where it played for 21 record-breaking years and almost 9,000 performances. It is now one of the longest-running shows in West End and on Broadway. In 1983, the Broadway production became the recipient of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and ran for eighteen years. Both the original London and Broadway cast recordings won Grammy Awards for Best Cast Album.
World-renowned theatre star and the Philippines’ very own Joanna Ampil will reprise her role as Grizabella after playing her in European and world tours. Ampil has performed in several West End musicals, including Miss Saigon, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Avenue Q. She has also played the role of Fantine in Les Misérables in London.
Joining her in the cast are Luke Fraser Yates, George Hinson, Gavin Eden, Kirsty Ingram, Elizabeth Futter, Sally Frith, Erica-Jayne Alden, Amy Whittle, Ellie Young, Holly Willock, Danielle Cato, Gabrielle Coca, Cian Hughes, Rhys Batten, Thomas Inge, Mukeni Nel, Lloyd Davies, Abigail Dever, Alexandra Wright, Elly Shaw, Liam Buckland, Lee Nicholson, and Brian O’Muiri. Resident director is Dane Quixall.
Since its world premiere, Cats has been presented in over 30 countries, has been translated into 15 languages, and has been seen by over 73 million people worldwide. The classic Lloyd Webber score includes “Memory,” which has been recorded by over 150 artists from Barbra Streisand and Johnny Mathis to Liberace and Barry Manilow.
Cats in Manila will be produced by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions and Concertus Manila, which also produced Wicked, Chicago, Singin’ in the Rain, Mamma Mia!, Les Misérables, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Lion King.
This story is in partnership with Concertus Manila. The Phantom of the Opera will be staged at The Theatre at Solaire. Tickets are now on sale at www.ticketworld.com.ph. The show is a collaboration between Concertus Manila, Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, and Ticketworld. The show is sponsored by RCBC Bankard. For more information, follow Concertus Manila’s Facebook and Instagram pages, and Lunchbox Theatrical Productions’ Facebook and Twitter pages.