Critics Weigh In on Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Broadway's Bold Drag-Infused Revival
The reimagined revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical transforms its Jellicle cats into drag ball contestants walking down the runway.
Broadway's reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber's iconic musical Cats has arrived, and this time the Jellicle cats are walking the runway. Cats: The Jellicle Ball transforms the beloved — and oft-ridiculed — classic into a vibrant drag ball spectacle, drawing on ballroom culture to give the production a fresh, electrifying identity.
The revival, directed by Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, sets the action inside a Harlem drag ball, with each cat competing for the title of most magnificent Jellicle. The staging leans heavily into the visual language of vogue and ballroom, with spectacular costumes, fierce runway walks, and an ensemble that brings raw charisma and physicality to every number.
Critical reception has been largely enthusiastic, with many reviewers praising the production's audacity and its success in breathing new life into material that had grown culturally stale. The New York Times called it a thrilling reinvention, noting that the ballroom framework gives the show's famously abstract narrative an emotional grounding it never previously had.
Standout performances have drawn particular attention, with reviewers singling out members of the ensemble for their commanding stage presence and technical skill. The choreography, rooted in vogue and house dance traditions, has been widely described as a highlight, transforming the show's movement vocabulary into something urgent and contemporary.
Not all reviews have been unconditional raves. Some critics noted that the production occasionally struggles to reconcile the grandeur of Lloyd Webber's score with its new conceptual framework, and that certain songs feel awkwardly grafted onto the ball setting. A few reviewers also questioned whether the reimagining fully honors the depth of ballroom culture or risks aestheticizing it for mainstream audiences.
Despite those reservations, the consensus points to Cats: The Jellicle Ball as one of the bolder creative swings of the current Broadway season — a production that dares to ask what a classic can become when handed to artists with a genuinely different vision.