By Chris Murphy
You know those time when the Stones go on tour and they are discovered practicing at a local nightclub or performance hall? Modesto had something similar happen here as the Broadway road show prepared for a national tour following weeks of rehearsal and even casting here in Modesto.
Following two weeks of intense rehearsals and technical preparations right here in Modesto at the Gallo Center for the Arts, one of the biggest hits in theatrical history will be heading out on a new North American tour—and the Center will be presenting the tour’s first two performances! This is a first for the city and the performing arts center. Actors and support team were spotted in Modesto as this touring show was fine-tuned and readied for the road.
“It’s an honor, of course,” said Doug Hosner, director of marketing and communications for the Center. “An official Broadway touring production of CATS hasn’t been on the road in some time. We’re proud to have been chosen. It also speaks to the esteem the Center enjoys within the Broadway producing community.”
Described as a new production for a new generation, the production coming together in Modesto features new sound design, direction and choreography. Two performances will take place at the Center on Saturday, September 17, at 2 pm and 7:30 pm. Tickets priced $49 to $129 are available by calling (209) 338-2100 or online at GalloArts.org.
CATS, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and based on T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,” is the record-breaking musical spectacular performed in more than 30 countries and 15 languages. The original Broadway production opened in 1982 at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre, where it ran for 7,485 performances and 18 years. The Tony Award-winning Best Musical held the title of longest-running musical in Broadway history until it was surpassed in 2006 by Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. The original Broadway production closed on September 10, 2000 and is currently the fourth longest-running show in Broadway history. CATS returned to Broadway in July 2016 in a stunning revival at the Neil Simon Theatre, where it ran through December 2017.
Boyett Petroleum and Cruisers are presenting CATS at the Center.
