Asia Tour 2020

The 2020 Asian tour of Cats opened in September 2020, produced by Seol and Company. It was based on the 2017 Asia Tour and toured South Korea.

The production was originally supposed to open in July 2020 at the Dream Theater in Busan, South Korea. However due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the production was delayed. Around 40 foreign nationals among the cast and staff travelled to South Korea, taking the necessary preventive measures against the coronavirus such as going through a two-week self-quarantine to prepare for the show.

It was scheduled to tour Taiwan and other potential countries after closing in South Korea, but the Taiwan leg was cancelled before opening, the same day it closed in South Korea - 16 May 2021 - as Taiwan closed its borders due to COVID developments.

Production Team
Associate Director/Choreographer: Chrissie Cartwright

Assistant to the Director: Thomas Inge

Resident Director/Choreographer: Thalia Burt until 2 May 2021, then Fletcher Dobinson

Music Supervisor: Kristen Blodgette

Assistant Music Supervisor: Peter McCarthy

Makeup and Mask Design: Karen Dawson

Dance Captain: Taylor Scanlan

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, when the performers are passing through the auditorium, in close contact with the audience, they wear masks that match the makeup designs and blend in to the overall appearance of the costume.

Cast
Following the cancellation/postponement of the 2020 leg of the International Tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the International Tour cast members instead joined the Asia Tour. All cast members were required to self-quarantine for two weeks upon arriving in South Korea for rehearsals.

Natalie Bennyworth (Cassandra) left the cast in late March, with her final performance being 19/03/2021. Natalie officially announced her departure on 10/05/2021. Thalia Burt's final day was 02/05/2021. No formal changes were made to the cast for the remainder of the South Korean run, but Emily Casey and Caitlin New moved to cover Cassandra and Tantomile respectively.

Planned cast changes for Taiwan before cancellation
On 22 March 2021 it was announced that, following regional touring in South Korea in April and May, the production would be extended for a Taiwan run in June 2021. The extended tour was subsequently cancelled.

The cast changes that would have occurred were as follows:

Kerry Ellis would be replacing Joanna Ampil as Grizabella, Amy Everett would be replacing Holly Willock as Jemima, Nathan Zach Johnson would be Alonzo (with Fletcher Dobinson staying on as resident director and choreographer), and Ashlee Smith would replace Ella Nonini as Demeter. Adam Bailey confirmed on 6 April that he would also be joining the company as Munkustrap with Rafe Watts leaving. Thomas Inge and Benjamin Colley were to leave. Any further cast changes were unconfirmed before the cancellation.

South Korea

 * Charlotte Theater, Seoul - 9 Sept to 6 Dec 2020
 * Keimyung Art Center, Daegu - 11 Dec 2020 to 9 Jan 2021
 * Sejong Center of the Arts, Seoul - 22 Jan to 28 Feb 2021
 * Dream Theater, Busan - 5 March to 4 April 2021
 * Cheonan Arts Center, Cheonan - 9 to 11 April 2021
 * Sori Arts Center, Jeonju - 16 to 18 April 2021
 * Yeulmaru Art Center, Yeosu - 23 to 25 April 2021
 * Cheongju Arts Center, Cheongju - 30 April to 2 May 2021
 * Seongnam Arts Center Opera House, Seongnam - 7 to 9 May 2021
 * Changwon Seongsan Grand Theater, Changwon - 14 to 16 May 2021

Cancelled Taiwan Dates

 * Taipei Arena, Taipei - 16 to 19 June 2021
 * National Theatre Opera House, Kaohsiung - 24 to 27 June 2021
 * Performing Arts Hall, Hualien County - 1 to 4 July 2021
 * Chung-shan Hall, Taichung - 8 to 11 July 2021