{"id":28020,"date":"2026-04-08T23:05:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T23:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hunthow.com\/?p=28020"},"modified":"2026-04-08T23:05:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T23:05:05","slug":"inside-the-raucous-opening-night-of-cats-the-jellicle-ball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hunthow.com\/?p=28020","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Raucous Opening Night of \u2018Cats: The Jellicle Ball\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The production opens with support from a host of big-name coproducers, including Cynthia Erivo, Law Roach, Lena Waithe, Jeremy Pope, and Andrew Lloyd Webber himself, who walked the yellow carpet in a structured white jacket and black tee. \u201cIt means a lot to be here,\u201d he told Vogue<\/em>. \u201cI\u2019m just delighted to be part of something which is this daring coming to Broadway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing how much the cast, the crew, the costume designers poured into the production is mind-blowing,\u201d Roach said. Of the costumes, created by Obie Award\u2013winning Qween Jean<\/a>, he added: \u201cExpect a reimagining of what we thought Cats<\/em> could look like\u2026. A modern interpretation of the original, which I love.\u201d<\/p>\n

After curtain, the cast, crew, and a host of high-profile attendees made their way to Pier 60, where more voguing was in store, albeit on the dance floor this time. From the bar, I spotted Dylan Mulvaney, comedian Michelle Buteau, and actor Den\u00e9e Benton, who told me: \u201cThe dolls deserve all the love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Out on the Pier 60 patio, I caught up with the actor Peppermint, the first trans woman to originate a principal role on Broadway<\/a> in 2018. Looking out over the river, with the skyline shimmering on its surface, she told me that Jellicle Ball<\/em> was revolutionary not just for its vision but also for its casting decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not lost on me that this show has a different meaning this time around,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are trans people who have not been able to do Broadway because they\u2019ve been told that this is not where they belong. I\u2019m fortunate to have had a prominent moment on Broadway, and I was the only one at the time. To see an entire stage of people who are queer and trans\u2026in front of a crowd of people who might never otherwise be concerned with their lives\u2026it\u2019s so beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back inside, Andr\u00e9 De Shields, who plays a wily, imposing Old Deuteronomy in the show, was just arriving, dressed in a powder blue paisley suit and a set of silver rings. \u201cIt was life reassuring,\u201d he said of Jellicle Ball<\/em>. \u201cEspecially in today\u2019s brutal world of mayhem and mendacity and machinations, to spend two hours onstage with joyful people\u2014it\u2019s healing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of the magic of Cats: The Jellicle Ball<\/em> is that it puts titans like De Shields, Tempress, and LaBeija onstage with more than a dozen cast members making their Broadway debuts, creating an intergenerational conversation full of reverence and respect.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not acting at all\u2014I\u2019m actually starstruck when I have my moment with Andr\u00e9 De Shields,\u201d says Teddy Wilson Jr., who plays Sillabub. \u201cIt\u2019s baffling to me\u2026. I strive to attain that level of security in myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a thought echoed to me throughout the night by many members of the cast, ready to show the world their gifts. As Dava Huesca, the acrobatic dancer who plays Rumpleteazer, put it, tucking her pink hair behind her ear: \u201cI just feel like I\u2019ve arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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The production opens with support from a host of big-name coproducers, including Cynthia Erivo, Law Roach, Lena Waithe, Jeremy Pope, and Andrew Lloyd Webber himself, who walked the yellow carpet in a structured white jacket and black tee. \u201cIt means…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fashion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hunthow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hunthow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hunthow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hunthow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hunthow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hunthow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hunthow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hunthow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hunthow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hunthow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}