In February 2015 composer-lyricist Andrew Lloyd Webber appeared on BBC's "The Chris Evans Breakfast Show" to share a first-listen of Nicole Scherzinger's single for "Memory." At that time the creator of Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Sunset Boulevard and more said, "We are going to be taking Cats to Broadway. I just hope and pray that [Scherzinger's] gonna agree to do it there. Because I think she'd take America by storm."
Scherzinger appeared on the "Today" show Oct. 20 to confirm that she's still in talks, and asserting, "I can't wait to come here." She discusses Cats starting at the 1:19 mark:
In a subsequent interview with UK's Telegraph, Lloyd Webber spoke a bit more about a possible Broadway production of the feline-themed musical, explaining, "[The London revival] did three times better than we thought it would. Thirteen weeks at the London Palladium. I know that building and that’s almost impossible. It has kicked it off again all round the world. Everyone now wants to take the production. It has a new face and is seating a completely new audience. That’s very exciting to see."
When asked whether Cats would arrive on Broadway in spring or fall 2016, the composer said, "It’s a big ask for my small company to go straight in [after mounting School of Rock]. I think we will lean towards the Fall. But it’s a lovely problem to have." An official announcement for the show's NYC return has not been made.
Based on T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats," the musical became an international phenomenon and has continuously toured the U.S. for 30 years in various union and non-union productions. In 1991 Cats became the longest-running continuous tour in U.S. history. The show produced the standout single "Memory."
Cats opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre Oct. 7, 1982, where it ran for 7,485 performances before closing Sept. 10, 2000. It held the title of Broadway's longest-running musical, but was surpassed by Lloyd Webber's other hit, The Phantom of the Opera, which currently holds the title. Cats won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Lighting and Best Costumes. Betty Buckley won a Tony for her performance as Grizabella on Broadway.
