Cats NYC Reviews and Tickets

81%
(3437 Ratings)
Positive
80%
Mixed
14%
Negative
6%
Members say
Entertaining, Great singing, Delightful, Enchanting, Clever

About the Show

One of the longest-running shows in Broadway and West End history, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical is an ode to felines, inspired by T.S. Eliot’s poems. 

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Show-Score Member Reviews (3,437)

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127 Reviews | 15 Followers
100
More fun than a ball of yarn.

See it if dance-centric musicals--featuring plenty of spectacle and one iconic show tune after another--make you purr like a newborn kitten.

Don't see it if you prefer substance over fluff, and you believe that even a hit show like "Cats", which premiered in 1981, has nothing left to offer. Read more

95 Reviews | 31 Followers
100
Clever, Delightful, Entertaining

See it if You're a fan of the show already or have been curious to see it - this is a great revival. Everyone seems to give 100% and it's infectious.

Don't see it if You already hate the show or are for some reason are already convinced you'll hate the show. Many people just hate the musical. Read more

54 Reviews | 22 Followers
100
Entertaining, Great singing, Great staging, Must see

See it if I went kicking and screaming! thought YET I think i enjoyed most out of everyone in the audience. Amazing Talent. Awesome Dancing/Singing

Don't see it if IT's all songs about cats. If you looking for a musical with scenes and a story line, this isn't the show for you

62 Reviews | 11 Followers
100
Clever, Delightful, Entertaining, Exquisite

See it if you adore cats.

Don't see it if you don't like cats

61 Reviews | 82 Followers
100
Delightful, Entertaining, Superb dancing!!!

See it if You love electric dancers, amazing sound design, and superb lighting. I was entertained the entire time! :)

Don't see it if You are a purist and expect to see the show in its original form or you need to have a deep plot line.

76 Reviews | 25 Followers
100
Confusing, Entertaining, Dated, Indulgent, Overrated

See it if You like Andrew Lloyd Webber's work.

Don't see it if You don't like Cats.

50 Reviews | 28 Followers
100
Must see, Delightful, Entertaining, Great singing

See it if you loved the Original , you will absolutely love this .

Don't see it if Not fond of Cats, animals in general.

64 Reviews | 11 Followers
99
Delightful, Clever, Entertaining, Great staging, Great singing

See it if You enjoy shows in which the characters sing all the dialogue. Costumes are fabulous! One of my favorite all time shows! Great music!

Don't see it if You prefer spoken dialogue along with some musical numbers. This is all singing all the time.

Critic Reviews (47)

The New York Times
July 31st, 2016

“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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Time Out New York
July 31st, 2016

“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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New York Magazine / Vulture
July 31st, 2016

“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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The Wall Street Journal
August 4th, 2016

“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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New York Daily News
July 31st, 2016

"Watching the lively yet enervating revival staged by Trevor Nunn, who directed the original 34 years ago, you can’t help but wonder how its first run lasted 18 years. Plotless, repetitive, nonsensical, the ’80s relic quickly turns tiresome enough to make you wish for a catnap. So much energy spent, so little impact...At least the talented litter of hoofers and belters under gobs of makeup and in stretchy, body-hugging catsuits offers some saving grace...'Cats' 2.0—now and whatever."
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Variety
July 31st, 2016

“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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The Hollywood Reporter
July 31st, 2016

"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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The Washington Post
July 31st, 2016

"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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