u/uncdevil

Ok, so a few months ago, I posted here asking whether I should go see Cats: The Jellicle Ball, despite my deep reservations over giving up my animus against the original Cats.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/comments/1otqwb6/question_about_cats_the_jellicle_ball/

Holy shit, were you guys right. I saw it on Friday night, and I loved it. I absolutely adored it. I grinned for over 75% of the run-time. I have a few complaints, but I'll hold those back because I'm here to thank you for encouraging me to see it. If I'm back up in NY again soon, I'll probably return for another night at the ball.

The joy and the enthusiasm were overwhelming. For me, the standouts were Junior LaBeija and Sydney James Harcourt, along with Baby Byrne, the soloist dancer in the white outfit. And Emma Sofia in the Skimbleshanks number. My husband and my friend who came with us also loved the show. We had Laverne Cox as a guest judge, and I loved just getting to bask a little bit in her magnificence.

I still haven't listened to the original version, and I don't think that I will. I will let this be my Cats for a long time. I could hear some of the underlying cheese that this adaptation managed to dance right over. I wanted to prepare a bit, and since I'm a literature guy, I read all the poems before going, and that worked wonderfully as prep. It gave me the extra layer I wanted without having to listen to the original score.

So once again, wonderful subreddit community, you were 100% correct.