Apr 7, 2026 6:00pm PT

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‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’ Broadway Review: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Musical Gets Fresh and Fierce Update as an Ode to Queer Ballroom Culture

Frank Rizzo

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Frank Rizzo

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Broadway is burning — and that’s something to celebrate.

“Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” a refreshed version of the downtown 2024 hit, blazes anew, having made the trek uptown with its extravagance, pride and sense of joy intact.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s now-and-forever musical adaptation of T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” has been transposed to the world of Harlem’s Black and Latino queer ballroom culture — the same scene as the 1990 documentary “Paris Is Burning” and television’s “Pose.” But here, “Jellicle Ball” has a different human breed of cool cats across the binary spectrum. They are part of the underground community of drag houses whose members compete for trophies in runway categories such as realness, fashion and opulence.

What resonates in this production is not just a vibrant twist on a legendary musical but the power of transformation. As the kitty-littered junkyard of the long-running 1982 original is re-set into a new world of wonder, so too reimagined are the music, choreography, design and characters. Even the audience seems to be fresh and fierce, with a diverse mix of theatergoers continually engaged in the strutting on stage as they flutter their oversized fans to signal their gleeful approval.

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But there’s a subtext to the spectacle. The queer predecessors of the characters on stage lived through a devastating epidemic, amid racism, poverty, and violence and discrimination in their gay and trans community. But these defiant drag houses offered safety, acceptance and glamour which were celebrated in these urban spaces. Outside, the world may be raging but inside, it’s raving.

The show begins with DJ Jen Ard thumbing through a box of old LPs and taking out the original cast album of the musical with its classic cat-eyes logo. Bringing it to his deejay deck in one of the theater’s box seats, he places the disc reverently on the turntable. The first iconic notes from the score — now played live — sweep over the theater. Though the tune is familiar, the sound is something else.

Over the years Lloyd Webber has embraced new generations of artists reinventing his works in dramatic and dark ways, such as “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Sunset Boulevard” and “Evita.” However with “Cats,” the immersive reimagining is bright with its score rearranged to reflect the percussive and synthesized heart of house music. (The dynamic orchestrations are by Lloyd Webber and David Wilson under the music supervision and direction of William Waldrop.)

Because the show’s text is largely limited to Eliot’s 1939 volume of light verse, it remains essentially a long revue overlaid with thin narratives. This new queer concept could easily wear out its initial welcome — as its previous concept did for many in 1984. But here it’s rooted in a real — rather than feline — community and its humanness is essential.

In Rachel Hauck’s magnificent design of an industrial space repurposed as a makeshift ballroom, a catwalk extends from center stage into the orchestra (and shortened from its previous run to accommodate Broadway balcony sight lines.) But the vibrancy and hearts of these characters whose new identities and senses of self are on the line is just as thrilling.

Co-directors Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch keep things in a constant state of fabulousness, presenting entertaining design diversions, creating a bit of drama from the outside world, and introducing a few glittering special effects, too. (A giant swirling disco ball descends mid-show from the rafters above the audience, bringing to mind the grand chandelier effect from another Lloyd-Webber show.)

Another fun sideshow: At this performance, comic Billy Eichner and comedian, actress, and jazz singer Lea DeLaria were the “guest judges.” But their roles were playfully incidental with the focus on the zhuzhing more than judging — and the dazzling sights, moves and performances. Choreographers Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles have these confident contestants sh

'Cats: The Jellicle Ball' Broadway Review: Andrew Lloyd Webber's Musical Gets Fresh and Fierce Update as an Ode to Queer Ballroom Culture