André De Shields on Why Cats: The Jellicle Ball Worked

Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner André De Shields was in London last week and delved into his lengthy stage history.

Known for his defining roles in Hair, The Wiz, and Hadestown, he has just wrapped up in Cats: The Jellicle Ball off-Broadway. Inspired by the Ballroom culture in New York City, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, was reimagined by director Zhailon Levingston and PAC NYC artistic director Bill Rauch.

“The phenomenon known as New York Ballroom culture has influenced demographics all over the world.” De Shields told our sister site WhatsOnStage, “The Jellicle Ball was so successful because of what I call the intersection of history and evolution.

“Prior to The Jellicle Ball, there was not enough of a unified ballroom culture with theatrical talent that could release the story between the lines of the original Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber and T.S. Elliot.”

Featuring a company of artists from Broadway (Emma Sofia Caymares, Sydney James Harcourt, Antwayn Hopper) and New York’s ballroom floors (Baby, Robert “Silk” Mason), the immersive experience took place on a long runway, as the cats we know and love become contestants competing against each other in categories like “Butch Queen Realness” and voguing.

Recognizing that Lloyd Webber’s music, inspired by the poems, was “serious” — it is about a chance of rebirth, after all — De Shields said: “I do think that T.S. Elliot was dealing with all kinds of different levels of meaning, but he didn’t live long enough for the LGBTQ+ culture to, the best word for it is exegete it, that’s a word that’s usually used for biblical scripture but that’s what we did in Cats.”

Speaking with Musical Con host Shanay Holmes during his artist spotlight, De Shields explained: “We delved into Cats… got rid of the whiskers, got rid of the fur, got rid of the tails, and put it on human beings of all colors, types, ethnicity, religions, politics, and bought it together and made this beautiful stew, this beautiful combo. Life is a potluck supper.”

When the original production of Cats opened in 1981, the mantra was “now and forever” and that’s the mentality that De Shields says the revival inherited.

Despite this, the show only enjoyed an extended, but limited, engagement in New York. “Every show that gets produced on any stage anywhere in the world has a dream that it’s going to Broadway,” De Shields said. “So I’m not listening to the gossip or the rumors because the proof of the pudding is in its eating and we were a sensation off-Broadway.”

The good news is that Lloyd Webber saw the show and was “powerfully positive” about it. As for whether the theater giant mentioned setting the London transfer, De Shields laughed, “He’s the billionaire, so we’ll see.”

In addition, fans at Musical Con were treated to special renditions of “So You Wanted to Meet the Wizard” from The Wiz, and “Road to Hell”, and “We Raise Our Cups” (with the West End cast) from Hadestown. You can watch them below:

@theatermania

André De Shields brings The Wiz to London’s Musical Con! #MusicalCon #AndreDeShields #Musicals #TheWiz #Theatre

♬ original sound – TheaterMania

@theatermania

André De Shields is in London at Musical Con! Here he is performing “Road to Hell” – reprising his Tony Award-winning role in Hadestown 👏 #Hadestown #AndreDeShields #MusicalCon

♬ original sound – TheaterMania