Sydney 1985

Sydney 1985
Location	Theatre Royal, Sydney
Opening Date	27 July 1985
Closing Date	1 August 1987

Cats had its Australian premiere at the Theatre Royal in Sydney. The production in Sydney ran from 27 July 1985 (with one preview on 26 July) till 1 August 1987 before moving to Melbourne.

Production Specifics

The Australian Score was somewhat based on the Broadway version of the show, with a cast that consisted of 22 cats (there was no Electra). Also the characters had their American names - Sillabub, Tumblebrutus, Plato and Pouncival. Unlike the Broadway production, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer sang their own song rather than Mistoffelees narrating. Also the costumes and make-up had their own style, which was used for almost all Asian and Australian productions.

The show moved to Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne in 1987 with a partly new cast.

The Australian version of the show was the base for the Hamburg production which became one of Germany's most successful musicals and had the same production team, including David Taylor as the director and Jo-Anne Robinson as Associate Choreographer.

Creative Team

• Director: David Taylor (after Trevor Nunn)
• Choreographer: Gillian Lynne
• Assistant Choreographer: Jo-Anne Robinson
• Set Designer: Raymond Huessy (after John Napier )
• Production Musical Director: Tony Hatch
• Producers: Cameron Mackintosh, Really Useful Company, Adelaide Festive Centre, Challenge Corporate Services and MLC Theatre Royal

Cast

Role	July 1985 (Original)	Replacements
Alonzo / Rumpus Cat	Stephen Holford	Dean Bate
Asparagus / Bustopher Jones	Grant Smith
Bombalurina	Kerry Woods	Edwina Cox
Cassandra	Nadia Strahan	?
Coricopat	Geoffrey Jenkins	?
Demeter	Robyn Forsythe	Linda Hartley*
Grizabella	Debbie Byrne	Kerry Woods (11/86)
Jellylorum / Griddlebone	Marina Prior	Bernadette Robinson
Jennyanydots	Pat Pitney	Julie Williams (07/86)
Mistoffelees	David Atkins	Christopher Hall (07/86) Kim Reeder (late 86)? Christopher Hall (01/87)
Mungojerrie / Genghis	Garry Ginivan
Munkustrap	Anthony O'Keeffe	Michael Grummet (07/86) Richard Pettyfer*
Old Deuteronomy	John Wood
Plato / Macavity	Bruce MacArthur	Sean Hingston
Pouncival	Jess Jiminez
Rum Tum Tugger	Jeff Phillips
Rumpleteazer	Laura Bishop
Sillabub	Anita Louise Combe	Emma Callaghan*
Skimbleshanks	John Hackett
Tantomile	Roula Kanta	? Fo Stamatiou*
Tumblebrutus	Stewart Crowley	? Lorry D'Ercole (07/86)
Victoria	Greta Thomas	Renee Isaacs (07/86) Melinda O'Connor*
Cats Chorus	Mark Bradley
Cats Chorus	Adey Grummet
Cats Chorus	Avigail Herman	Vanessa Fallon*
Cats Chorus	Ian White
Cats Chorus		Gary Jones*
Swing	Edwina Cox
Swing	Graciano Debeljuh	gone by late '86
Swing	Rodney Glenn-Smith
Swing	Marianne Howard	gone by late '86
Swing	Hilton Jones
Swing	Leanne O'Farrell
Swing	Leonie Page	gone by late '86
Swing	Glen Walsh	gone by late '86
Swing		Drew Anthony
Swing		Lee Lawrence*
Swing		Peter Lowrey*

Asterisk (*): theoretical based on Melbourne 1987 cast

Later Casts include:

• Unaccounted from Early 1986 brochure (before 26/07/1986): Lisa O'Dea, Harry Morris
• Unaccounted from Late 1986 brochure (between 07/86 to 11/86): Tracey Boyd, Cat Lawrence, Lisa O'Dea

Cast Recording

A cast recording, conducted by Peter Casey, was released in 1986. It is the only English recording of Cats that includes 'The Awful Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles'.

Gallery

Performance

Jellicle Ball

Backstage

Media

Article on the closing of the Sydney production (p1)

Article on the closing of the Sydney production (p2)

Rehearsals

Trivia

• The premiere was attended by the Australian Prime Minister, the Treasurer, and the Minister for the Arts. It was interrupted by a bomb scare right before the interval.