‘Cats’ celebrates its 40th anniversary in Australia
On 27 July 1985, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ground-breaking musical Cats had its Australian Premiere at Theatre Royal Sydney, heralding a new era of the British “mega-musical”. Now exactly 40 years later, on Sunday 27 July 2025, this record-breaking musical production will commemorate its 40th anniversary in Australia with a celebratory performance attended by many of the original Australian cast and crew. Be first in line to buy tickets for this special event at www.catsthemusical.com.au
Producer John Frost for Crossroads Live has also announced that the charity partner for Cats will be the Australian Children’s Music Foundation (ACMF), whose mission is to provide every child with a long-term music education that enriches their lives, inspires their imagination and creativity, and achieves positive educational and behavioural outcomes. The partnership will include fundraising for ACMF through bucket collections after performances, and potential for Cats cast to visit schools and children’s hospitals for music education and therapy sessions.
“Australia has an enduring love for Cats. It was revolutionary when it first opened, and now, 40 years later, we celebrate its legacy on its 40th anniversary at the original Australian home of Cats, Theatre Royal Sydney,” said producer John Frost for Crossroads Live. “We are thrilled to partner with the Australian Children’s Music Foundation for the Australian tour. They do an extraordinary job bringing music to children across the country, in a similar way to work being done by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation in the UK and US.”
ACMF Founder Don Spencer said, “The Australian Children’s Music Foundation (ACMF) is thrilled to be the charity partner for Cats in Australia. This initiative is a powerful demonstration of how the world of musical theatre can directly support grassroots music education. By contributing to this collection, theatregoers will directly help ACMF ensure more vulnerable children receive long-term music education, helping them find their voice and a sense of belonging through music.
“The ACMF exists because two in three Australian primary school children lack access to a music education. The synergy with the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation’s commitment in the UK to music education underscores a shared belief: that every child deserves the chance to experience the profound benefits of music.”
The 40th Anniversary Australian tour of Cats has opened in Sydney to rapturous audience response and rave reviews, before it tours to Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane.
The coveted role of Grizabella is played by Gabriyel Thomas, while audience favourite Todd McKenney plays the dual roles of Bustopher Jones and Asparagus the Theatre Cat, and classical performer Mark Vincent returns to the musical theatre stage as Old Deuteronomy, the patriarch of the Jellicle tribe. Recently seen as Roxie Hart in the sold-out national tour of Chicago, Lucy Maunder has taken on the role of Jellylorum, while the rebellious cat Rum Tum Tugger is Des Flanagan. WAPPA graduate Jarrod Draper has been cast as Munkustrap, and returning to CATS after many years is Leigh Archer as the motherly character Jennyanydots, also known among the tribe as the “Gumbie Cat”.
The musical tells the story of the Jellicle cat tribe. On just one special night of the year, all Jellicle cats meet at the Jellicle Ball where Old Deuteronomy, their wise and benevolent leader, makes the Jellicle choice and announces which of them will go up to “The Heaviside Layer” and be reborn into a whole new Jellicle life.
Get your tickets now at catsthemusical.com.au and let the memory live again.
Cast of Cats, Photo credit Daniel Boud