'Cats: The Jellicle Ball' sets Broadway venue, dates, and cast, including André De Shields

Additional details have been confirmed for the transfer of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical revival, which premiered off Broadway in summer 2024 to acclaim.

Summary

• Cats: The Jellicle Ball will begin Broadway performances on March 18 at the Broadhurst Theatre
• The reimagined revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats sets the action at a queer ballroom competition
• The musical revival transfers to Broadway after a critically acclaimed Off-Broadway world premiere in summer 2024

Cats: The Jellicle Ball has set the cast, dates, and venue for its Broadway premiere, which is now confirmed to play the Broadhurst Theatre beginning March 18, 2026. Opening night is April 7.

An August 2025 statement issued by Webber's production company LW Entertainment confirmed plans for a spring 2026 return, but no further details were shared at the time. The reimagined revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats has sparked buzz about a Broadway transfer ever since its critically acclaimed world premiere wrapped at the Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) off Broadway last summer.

Cats: The Jellicle Ball is set at a queer ballroom competition, where contestants vie for prizes in fashion, dance, and performance categories. As in the original Cats, adapted from T. S. Eliot's Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, the characters compete in the Jellicle Ball for a chance to ascend to a new life.

"Cats: The Jellicle Ball is not only refreshing, but revelatory," New York Theatre Guide's critic wrote of the Off-Broadway production. "It grounds the notion of the 'dance musical' in an expansive history of queer joy, full of potential for nine lives and beyond."

Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch are co-directors of Cats: The Jellicle Ball, and Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles are co-choreographers; all four return from the Off-Broadway run.

Also reprising their roles from off Broadway, the Cats: The Jellicle Ball Broadway cast includes Hadestown Tony and Grammy Award winner André De Shields as Old Deuteronomy, Jonathan Burke as Mungojerrie, Baby Byrne as Victoria, Sydney James Harcourt as Rum Tum Tugger, Dava Huesca as Rumpleteazer, Dudney Joseph Jr. as Munkustrap, Junior LaBeija as Gus, Robert “Silk” Mason as Magical Mister Mistoffelees, “Tempress” Chasity Moore as Grizabella, Primo as Tumblebrutus, Xavier Reyes as Jennyanydots, Nora Schell as Bustopher Jones, Bebe Nicole Simpson as Demeter, Emma Sofia as Cassandra/Skimbleshanks, Garnet Williams as Bombalurina, Teddy Wilson, Jr. as Sillabub, and Tara Lashan Clinkscales as an ensemble member.

The company includes performers from NYC's theatre and ballroom scenes. Additional casting has yet to be announced.

Cats: The Jellicle Ball also features set design by Rachel Hauck, costume design by Qween Jean, lighting design by Adam Honoré, sound design by Kai Harada, projection design by Brittany Bland, hair and wig design by Nikiya Mathis, dramaturgy and gender consultation by Josie Kearns, and music direction and supervision by William Waldrop.

Check back for information on Cats: The Jellicle Ball tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Photo credit: André De Shields in Cats: The Jellicle Ball off Broadway. (Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)