Revisions To The Show
Cats has undergone several revisions since its London and subsequent Broadway openings. The most current version, licensed by The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, is based on the recent UK Tour. This score contains several small cuts, transpositions, additions, reassignment of vocal lines, and a reduced orchestration.
The original London version of the song "Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer" was in 12/8 time and had a jazzy accompaniment. Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer sang their song themselves. For the Broadway production Andrew Lloyd Webber later wrote a new melody for Mr. Mistoffelees (also called Quaxo) to sing about Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer in the third person. The point of the scene on Broadway was to entertain Bustopher Jones, with Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer as puppets being magically controlled by Mr. Mistoffelees/Quaxo. This version of the song was in an upbeat 4/4 time with its middle section in 7/8 time and its mood was similar to the original version. Lloyd Webber's new version was used for all subsequent productions of Cats but now Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer sing their number themselves in all productions. In the 1998 film, one stanza was cut. In the current licensed version, based on the recent UK tour, the 7/8 section is reworked into 4/4 with triplet quavers that simulate the original 12/8 version.
The "Growltiger's Last Stand" sequence was also revised for the Broadway production. In the original London show, the "last duet" for Growltiger and Griddlebone was a setting of an unpublished T.S. Eliot poem, "The Ballad of Billy M'Caw". For Broadway, the Ballad was replaced with a pastiche of Italian opera (reminiscent of Puccini's Madama Butterfly). This new version was subsequently incorporated into most productions of Cats worldwide (A notable exception was the Hungarian production at the Madách Színház in Budapest which opened in 1983 and is still running in repertory as of early 2008 celebrating its 25th anniversary on 25 March 2008, as the longest running musical in Hungarian theatre history. Productions in Helsinki and Prague also used the original version.) The Ballad remained in the London production until some time in the early 1990s when it was replaced with the Italian aria pastiche. "Billy M'Caw" was re-instated for the UK Tours following the show's closure in London. Lloyd Webber has said that he is pleased with the reinstatement of "The Ballad of Billy M'Caw" as he didn't care for the "Italian aria" version. In the video version, the entire scene featuring Growltiger was cut due to John Mills' (Gus) old age. The licensed version of Cats includes both songs, giving individual companies a choice as to which to include.
In recent productions, a lyric in "Growltiger's Last Stand" was changed to remove any racially insensitive language. "With a frightful burst of fireworks the Chinks they swarmed aboard!" became "with a frightful burst of fireworks, the Siamese they swarmed aboard!", although the lyric "Heathen Chinese" remains in the tale of the Pekes and the Pollicles.
The original London cast recording utilised longer versions of "The Old Gumbie Cat", "Old Deuteronomy" and "The Ad-Dressing of Cats" with verses and lines that were cut from later productions.
The US tour continues to use the original Broadway version of the score, including the Italian aria and material cut from newer versions. Only "Pekes and Pollicles" and one verse of "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer" are cut from performance.
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