Oasis of the Seas 2014

The first cruise production of Cats opened on Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Oasis of the Seas on 2nd November 2014.

Production Specifics
This production of Cats is performed "in rep", alternating with a circus-style show, with many of the cast playing in both shows. While this version is produced by Royal Caribbean, the whole show is now based on the UK/European version of Cats with the exception that, like in every American production, the "Ballad of Billy McCaw" is replaced by the Italian aria "In Una Tepida Notte", until the production was revised with Cast 10 in 2019, at which point the song was cut.

The costume designs are UK style, originally the US Troika Tour costumes were to be used, but with the Palladium production combining the properties of the UK Tour and the German Tent Tour, a full set of costumes became available and are used in this production. Troika are still involved with the costume maintenance. The set (NAP 18) is notably similar to the one of the German Tent Tour (NAP 19).

The production still uses the "Rockstar" original version of The Rum Tum Tugger character (instead of the "Street Cat" version that had its premiere in London in 2014). However, the choreography of the Jellicle Ball has been reworked.

The cast consists of 22 cats. The production uses the American names for the kittens: Tumblebrutus, Plato, Syllabub / Sillabub and Pouncival. As the show is "In Rep" on a cruise ship, there are no swings, and wig and costume maintenance is carried out by the cast themselves.

The production used the older Grizabella design between Cast 1 in November 2014 and Cast 13 ending in July 2023. Staring with Cast 14 that opened in August 2023, the revised Grizabella costume is being used instead, bringing the production in-line with other worldwide productions.

Abridged Version 2019
In August 2019, the new 10th cast began rehearsing an abridged, 90 minute edit of the show. In this new version, "Bustopher Jones", "The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles" and "Growltiger's Last Stand" have been cut. This version began performances on 29th November, following a refurbishment of the Oasis of the Seas.

Creative Team

 * Associate Director & Choreographer: Chrissie Cartwright
 * Assistant to the Director & Choreographer: Gavin Eden
 * Casting Director: JP Christensen
 * Resident Director: Michael Clowers
 * Resident Choreographer: JP Christensen (until 2016); David Rosales (from 2016)
 * Associate Set Designer: Alan Walker
 * Associate Lighting Designer: Howard Eaton
 * Associate Sound Designer: Greg Pink
 * Costume Supervisor: Tracy Stiles
 * Wigs Supervisor: Jenny Dean
 * Make-Up developed by: Karen Dawson
 * Music Supervisor: Graham Hurman
 * Production Manager: Jon Shaw
 * Royal Carribbean Music Supervisor: Ben Bryant

Cast
The Casts are known by numbers (eg. "Cast 6"). Official information about the casts for this production is very hard to find as there is no official website or programme.

Cast 1 - November 2014
Erica Hansen, who plays Jennyanydots, is the only actress who has been in a production of Cats (US National/Troika tour) before; all the others are making their debuts in Cats.


 * Opening Night of Cast 1 was ~5 November 2014
 * Final Performance of Cast 1 was ~2 May 2015

Cast 2 - May 2015

 * Opening Night of Cast 2 was ~8 May 2015
 * Final Performance of Cast 2 was ~7 November 2015

Cast 3 - November 2015

 * Opening Night of Cast 3 was ~13 November 2015
 * Final Performance of Cast 3 was ~7 May 2016

Cast 4 - May 2016

 * Opening Night of Cast 4 was 12 May 2016
 * Final Performance of Cast 4 was 29 October 2016

Cast 5 - November 2016

 * Opening Night of Cast 5 was 3 November 2016
 * Final Performance of Cast 5 was 8 July 2017

Cast 6 - July 2017

 * Opening Night of Cast 6 was 15 July 2017
 * Final Performance of Cast 6 was 14 April 2018

Cast 7 - April 2018

 * Opening Night of Cast 7 was 21 April 2018
 * Final Performance of Cast 7 was 4 November 2018

Cast 8 - November 2018

 * Opening Night of Cast 8 was 9 November 2018
 * Final Performance of Cast 8 was 30 March 2019

Cast 9 - May 2019

 * Cast 9 Opening Night was supposed to be in April 2019, but was delayed several weeks till ~2 May 2019 due to unforeseen circumstances.
 * Final Performance of Cast 9 was ~ 22 September 2019.
 * Dance Captain: Domenico Ramelli

Cast 10 - November 2019

 * Following a Refurbishment of the Oasis of the Seas, Cast 10 began performing a new, shortened version of the show on 29th November 2019.
 * Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Cast 10's performances ceased early in March 2020.

Cast 11 - September 2021

 * Cast 11 was due to open in March 2020 with a different cast lineup but was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. It re-opened more than a year later, with rehearsals starting in July 2021 and opening night officially on 10 September 2021, which was pushed back from 22 August 2021. The final show was 28 May 2022.
 * Dance captains: Daniel Cox until late October, then Brittany Tooms Peel.

Cast 12 - June 2022

 * Casting announcements started February 2022, with rehearsals starting March 2022.
 * Opening Night was 04 June 2022; Closing Night was 28 January 2023
 * Dance Captains: Noelani Neal and Samuel Lewis-Wright (assistant)

Cast 13 - February 2023

 * Casting announcements started August 2022, with rehearsals starting November 2022.
 * Opening Night: 03 February 2023; Closing Night: 23 July 2023
 * Dance Captains: Lance Barker

Cast 14 - August 2023

 * Casting announcements started April 2023, with rehearsals starting May 2023.
 * Opening Night: 02 August 2023
 * Dance Captain: Samuel Lewis-Wright, Assistant Dance Captain: Dena Philpott