Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical CATS is now showing in Singapore at Marina Bay Sands Mastercard theatre.  I heard of CATS because of its reputation as being one of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history and this musical also have been shown in over 300 cities since its premiere in London in 1981.  There must be something in this CATS the musical that has made it one of the must see shows around the world.

We checked the CATS musical out in Singapore at the Marina Bay Sands Mastercard Theatre last week.  I really like the performers’ awesome costumes – the over 30 “cats” performers on stage sure looked like cats and they behaved like cats when they are not dancing and singing.

I think CATS the musical can be quite a good experience to check out if you manage your expectations on the story plot of CATS.  The CATS musical is after all based on a 1939 book – T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book Of Practical Cats and revolves around a group of felines living in a rubbish heap.  CATS the musical’s storyline is very thin – don’t expect thick story plot from musicals like Wicked or the Lion King.

The story plot for CATS is very simply a bunch of 30+ cats (they call themselves Jellicle Cats) gather together for one night for the Jellicle Ball (that’s why you will see a lot of cats dancing) and at the end of the night, the oldest cat and also the leader of this Jellicle tribe (old Deuteronomy) will choose one cat to be reborn.  In between, a number of cats will dance and introduce themselves and their unique lives.  For the detailed synopsis, see this Wikipedia link on CATS the musical.

I am not sure if it is just my ears but I can only hear about 10% of what the various CATS performers are singing so the story of the CATS musical (while relatively simple) is quite hard to follow.  To enhance your experience in seeing this CATS musical, I suggest reading up on the synopsis so you know what is going on e.g. what each of the different cat represents (from the old theater cat to the bad Macavity cat).

The Act II (after the intermission) of CATS musical is a more dynamic one and has a lot of actions going on – personally I like the magical cat – Mr. Mistoffelees – see his act for yourselves 🙂

The stage set is quite elaborate with a lot of moving parts but the background set itself (i.e. the rubbish heap where the cats reside) is fixed.  Don’t expect elaborate set changes with CATS musical.

The best part of CATS musical is the dancing and the singing (not quite on whether you can hear and understand what they sing but more of the soprano singing type – powerful voices).

There is quite a fair bit of audience interaction so if you are sitting on the first row or along the aisles, you can expect to be “disturbed” by the cat performers.

So in summary, great costumes and awesome singing and fun dancing by the cat performers.  Manage your expectations as to the story plot of this CATS musical (as it is quite thin).  Read up on the synopsis so you know what they are singing and doing (optional – don’t do it if you are concerned about spoilers).  Then you will have a great time enjoying CATS musical at Marina Bay Sands Mastercard Theatre (Singapore).

Where to see CATS musical in Singapore: MasterCard Theatres, Marina Bay Sands

When will the CATS musical in Singapore be showing: January 9 to 25 2015. Tuesday to Friday, 8pm; Saturday, 2pm and 8pm; Sunday, 1pm and 6pm

How much are the tickets to CATS musical in Singapore: $65, $95, $135, $165 and $195 from Sistic (call 6348-5555 or go to www.sistic.com.sg)