For our readers who love their feline friends and have been meaning to learn more about musicals, Cats is probably the best entry point into the world of musical theater: It has cats, T.S. Eliot, and it’s been running off-and-on since 1981, so you know it’s good. Still, there’s one element of the production cat owners might take exception to, and that’s the lack of realism.
Household cats aren’t poetic; They vomit on the carpet and often ignore us. Thankfully, in light of the show’s Broadway revival, Stephen Colbert is here to correct this creative oversight: On last night’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he recruited Sutton Foster, Tony Award winner and star of TV Land’s Younger, to revitalize Cats with a retelling that’s more faithful to reality, that gets into the nitty-gritty of what cat life is all about.
Their two-man production features all new music, including songs about tummy scratches (“Come closer, my dear, and rub my belly”), cats’ seeming lack of affection (“My owner died, three days ago, what was her name again? Oh look, a curtain cord!”), and of course, vomit (“Look how much I threw up, while you were at work”). Thanks to this update, Cats truly is “the number one musical about felines, if you don’t count The Lion King.”
Despite that, we love our cats anyway, but we especially love our Stephen Colbert in a cat suit. Check out a sample of the hot new musical above, and get your tickets early because it’s sure to sell out.
Featured image: CBS
