Broadway Production/Winter Garden Theatre

The Winter Garden Theatre was home to the original Broadway production of Cats from 1982 until the production closed in 2000. Cats is the theatre's longest ever tenant.

Cats History
The Winter Garden famously went through a massive multi-million dollar renovation when Cats moved in, resulting in the musical becoming the most expensive show in Broadway history at the time. The entire exterior of the theatre was painted black to match the aesthetic of the musical.

Inside the Winter Garden, the proscenium arch was torn down and the first seven rows of seats were removed so that the stage could be extended into the audience, with the seats bent in rainbow formation around the now circular stage. This allowed for an intimate and immersive experience with an average depth of only twenty-two rows. Additional seats were also removed so as to create wide aisles, each taking up the space of several rows, that cut wide paths through the seats such that no audience member was very far from an open performance space.

A hole was also cut into the roof of the theatre and a dome was added over it, to allow for Grizabella's journey to the Heaviside Layer. The set also had "catwalks" (platforms) that ran through the closed off box area into the theater balcony - a feature that would be replicated in the London and Broadway revivals. These catwalks enabled the performers to access the balcony and interact with the audience there as well.

Because of Trevor Nunn's insistence that the Cats orchestra be located backstage and out of the audience's sight, television monitors were installed on the overhanging ledge of the balcony so that the performers could see the backstage conductor.

The Winter Garden was restored back to its original state after Cats closed. The "Heaviside Layer" attic still remains in the theatre, however, and this was parodied by the 2019 Broadway cast of Beetlejuice in a video that features cameos by Betty Buckley and Ken Page. In the parody, Maj (a fictional usher played by Leslie Kritzer) goes into the attic and accidentally lets a bunch of "Jellicle Cats" (played by ensemble members) loose into the theater.

For the history of the Winter Garden Theatre beyond Cats, see its corresponding article on Wikipedia.