Cats NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (3,419)
See it if You like the TS Eliot based book and it's story. It is consuming for children but can be confusing at times for kids
Don't see it if This production was not as good as the one in the 80's. It doesn't have the same feel to it and I do not recommend it. Should have never ope
See it if You've never seen Cats before. The cast is great. There are some really good songs and dance numbers.
Don't see it if You've already seen Cats. At times it can be really repetitive. Is more of a musical revue, no real story. Would work better as 1 Act.
See it if you want exceptional dancing, singing & staging. I hated original-loved this. Somehow without reimaging, it feels full of life, new & fresh.
Don't see it if you've just GOT to have a plot. For all it beauty & charm there is still 0. Leona Lewis is no Betty Buckley, but who is! She's worth seeing!
See it if I went for I love cats, but you do not need to like cats to see this. The makeup and staging are great.
Don't see it if No real story line, base on poets
See it if you're nostalgic for the original production. This mindless, grating, hokey show is as creaky as museum piece, yet somehow still entertains.
Don't see it if you think of Cats as a low point in musical theatre, as this revival/re-creation only reinforces the claim that ALW set back the art form.
See it if You love a Webber score and/or want to see a show that's terrifically choreographed. There's nothing more to it than that.
Don't see it if You want a show with a plot. This is a dance musical. If you go in thinking it's going to be sophisticated, you won't like it.
See it if you've never seen it before. It's a classic. The sets, lighting, costumes, and choreography are terrific and certainly elevate the show.
Don't see it if you care much for story. It's a series of vignettes with a loose through line. I was bored at times.
See it if you dare. I really can't figure out the appeal of this one.
Don't see it if you value clear storytelling (or really any kind of storytelling) or dramatically compelling songs or your time.
Critic Reviews (47)
“The overriding spirit of the revival appears to be the familiar motto: Don’t mess with success...The most significant nod to the intervening decades and changing tastes is the hiring of Andy Blankenbuehler...The felines prance and romp and occasionally hiss at one another as they introduce themselves in songs that provide the show’s greatest allure, as well as its variety. Mr. Lloyd Webber is a musical magpie...The cast for the revival is largely excellent."
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“This was a lost opportunity. Rather than lamely re-creating the original, why not orchestrate the score for acoustic instruments, redo the costumes and dances, and find fresh drama underneath the tacky, dated pageantry? Instead we get a taxidermied pet. If there is heart to the piece, it’s Grizabella, the faded, outcast 'glamour cat.' British crooner Leona Lewis has a big, yearning voice, but even her (heavily amplified) yowling of 'Memory' can’t make the past worth revisiting.”
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“The wan revival at least gets the lighting right...No greater ambition seems to have animated the revival as a whole. Other than Katz’s spectacular lighting, the design and staging are at best equivalent to the original’s, even after decades of adjustments and second thoughts...Seeing it 34 years later, in a Broadway environment that has recently produced the likes of ‘Hamilton’ and ‘Fun Home’, is to experience something milder and less dangerous than it once seemed.”
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"Only hardcore fans will be able to spot the differences in this new version...The biggest change is the new choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler...More athletic and stylistically diverse than before, the dancing here is particularly spectacular...Lewis reveals her lack of acting experience with her less than galvanizing Grizabella, but her powerful singing is not to be faulted...Enough time has passed for a new generation of theatergoers to embrace the show."
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"'Cats' and its litter of quirkily named felines hold an undeniably beloved place in many theatergoers’ hearts. Perhaps that’s why director Trevor Nunn, who helmed the first 'Cats' on Broadway and the West End, has taken the unsurprising — and uninspiring — if-it-ain’t-broke approach...If you know 'Cats,' this is essentially the 'Cats' you know and either love or hate. If you don’t know 'Cats,' prepare for a trip back to the ’80s. "
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“Memories could be fatal to this revival—specifically, the memory of Betty Buckley as Grizabella, singing ‘Memory'...Leona Lewis isn’t in her league. Happily, nothing as catty can be said of the rest of this fabulous revival of the 1981 musical phenom...A corps of brilliant dancers leap with feline agility through every style of dance, from toe-tapping Broadway jazz steps to the classic ballet moves...The genius of the show is in the dancing...The dancers are in perfectly splendid form."
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“Most of the musical numbers are ballads that describe the appearance and personality of the characters but suggest no particular stage action...Andy Blankenbuehler has brisked up Gillian Lynne’s steps with touches of hip-hoppery, but they’re still dullish...Mr. Napier also designed the cat suits...They held my attention when nothing else did, which was usually...If you loved ‘Cats’ as a child and long to let your memories of ‘Memory’ live again, you certainly won’t be disappointed."
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"A slavishly faithful revival...'Cats' remains precisely what it always was, a tuneful ball of coiled dancers’ energy and the useful vehicle for a discovery of the wonder of musical theater...The cast assembled for the revival is gangbusters. Andy Blankenbuehler has been recruited to tweak the dances of 'Cats’s' original choreographer, Gillian Lynne. His refinements inject precision and verve...Lewis, for her part, is blessed with power to spare but is emotionally inert."
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