The musical Cats is one of musical theater’s longest running and successful shows in both the United Kingdom and here in the States. As of 2022, Cats was ranked the fifth-longest-running New York City Broadway show, having played for 18 years and 7,485 performances. It was also the seventh-longest-running London West End show where it played for 21 record-breaking years and almost 9,000 performances.
Not only was Cats a staple in the theater community for decades, it won many awards here and abroad. The production received eleven Tony Award nominations, out of which it won seven: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical (T. S. Eliot), Best Original Score (Andrew Lloyd Webber and T. S. Eliot), Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (Betty Buckley), Best Direction of a Musical (Trevor Nunn), Best Costume Design (John Napier), and Best Lighting Design (David Hersey).
Across the pond, the musical also garnered six Laurence Olivier Award nominations, winning two awards: Best New Musical and Outstanding Achievement in a Musical (Gillian Lynne).
Given its popularity and long-standing reputation as a musical mastermind on stage, it is no wonder it has become a favorite of community theaters and private theater groups. If your organization is planning a showing of Cats, here are some of our backdrops that can help you set the stage for a successful run!
Background on the Story of Cats
The story of Cats chronicles the lives of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles. The entire thrust of the performance revolves around the idea that the cats must decide annually which one will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back reborn to a new Jellicle life.
Throughout the show, the audience meets several cats who tell their stories and give their best pitches as to why they should be chosen. Some seem as if they don’t need to be reborn while others don’t seem to give a good reason as to why they should be chosen. In the end, the former glamour cat turned disheveled outcast, Grizabella, is chosen by Deuteronomy to receive the prized additional life. Her rendition of Memory makes the other cats who refused to accept her think twice.
One of the overarching themes of the musical involves the idea of accepting one another despite our differences in appearance. Audiences see this as the cats, who once judged Grizabella due to her appearance, eventually see her for who she is and choose her as the one to be reborn.
Backdrops for Cats
Most of the musical takes place in a London junkyard where the cats congregate both during the day and in the late evenings. Here are some of the most popular backdrops for this performance in our inventory.
This Night Sky Stars Backdrop #2560 displays a night sky with a gradient purple to black sky and bright and white stars.
The Night Moon Backdrop #2479 is also a great choice as it shows a night sky with stars and a distant moon flanked by the silhouette of trees.
To show the city landscape, this Under the Bridge Backdrop # 2434 illustrates the underside of an elevated highway or train with a translucent sky.
To view all 22 of our Cats backdrops visit our site. Explore all of our backdrops in the show suggestion section or view all the options for your performance.