EXCLUSIVE: Lena Waithe and Cynthia Erivo are signing on as producers to Broadway‘s upcoming Cats: The Jellicle Ball, the production announced today.
“I am so proud to be joining this production as a producer alongside wonderful creatives such a Lena Waithe,” said Erivo in a statement. “Cats: The Jellicle Ball astounded me and truly was a theater experience unlike any other I have had, so to have the opportunity to support it in its next iteration is an honor. I’m so excited for audiences to have a chance to experience its magic, for the first time or once, twice, three times again.”
Added Waithe, “This musical was introduced to me by the great Cynthia Erivo. I can always trust her taste, so I flew out to see it and was changed. I wasn’t the same person when I walked out of the theater. I understood this musical in a way I never have. Cats needed Ball culture in order for it to finally make sense. And now that I’ve been changed – I want everyone to have the same experience we did. I’m honored to be a part of this historic production.”
Producers Michael Harrison and Mike Bosner are bringing the new Broadway production of the acclaimed Cats re-imagining to Broadway’s Broadhurst Theatre this spring, with previews set to begin Wednesday, March 18, ahead of a Tuesday, April 7 opening night.
Directing are Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch with choreography by Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons. Cats: The Jellicle Ball has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and is based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot.
The musical reimagining, in which Lloyd Webber’s long-running Broadway hit Cats is set in New York’s underground LGBTQ+ ballroom scene, premiered at Perelman Performing Arts Center | PAC NYC in 2024, with the production extended three times due to audience demand.
Actor-singer-author-producer Erivo currently is starring on the West End through May 31 in Kip Williams’ Dracula, a one woman show where she is playing all 23 characters. She won the Tony Award in 2016 for her performance as Celie in the revival of The Color Purple and also produced the Tony-nominated play Fat Ham.
Waithe is an Emmy-winning writer, producer, and actor. She produced Jordan Cooper’s Tony-nominated play Ain’t No Mo’ on Broadway and recently made her playwright and stage debut with trinity at Baltimore Center Stage (that production has been extended through March 15).
The Broadway Jellicle Ball cast includes André De Shields, Ken Ard, Kya Azeen, Bryson Battle, Sherrod T. Brown, Jonathan Burke, Baby Byrne, Tara Lashan Clinkscales, Bryce Farris, Sydney James Harcourt, Dava Huesca, Dudney Joseph Jr., Junior LaBeija, Leiomy, Robert “Silk” Mason, “Tempress” Chasity Moore, Primo Thee Ballerino, Xavier Reyes, Nora Schell, Bebe Nicole Simpson, Emma Sofia, Phumzile Sojola, Kendall Grayson Stroud, B. Noel Thomas, Kalyn West, Donté Nadir Wilder, Garnet Williams and Teddy Wilson Jr.
The Perelman Performing Arts Center production of Cats: The Jellicle Ball is produced on Broadway by Michael Harrison for Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals and Mike Bosner by arrangement with LW Entertainment.
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