‘Cats’ to be Presented at UT Tyler Cowan Center

The longest running show in Broadway’s history will take the stage at The University of Texas at Tyler R. Don Cowan Fine and Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, Sept. 21, and Wednesday, Sept. 22.

“Cats’’ will open the Cowan Center’s 2004-05 Broadway Series, with each performance scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Vaughn Auditorium.

Tickets are $36, $46 and $56 and can be purchased at the Cowan Center Box office, open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The show is sponsored by Jodi and Bill Martin.

Winner of seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, “Cats’’ features 20 of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s timeless melodies, including the hit song “Memory.’’ The show is based on T.S. Elliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.’’

“Cats’’ introduces Rum Tum Tugger, Bustopher Jones, Grizabella, Rumpleteazer, Skimbleshanks and others of the Jellicle Cats clan in dance and song as they prepare for the Jellicle Ball when one among them will be chosen to ascend to the mystical Heaviside Layer.

The multi-talented designer John Napier has recreated his Tony Award-winning costumes for the musical’s new tour. In fashioning the costumes, the designer followed hints in Elliot’s text to blend human and cat traits into the wondrous composite creatures that materialize on stage.

Since its opening in 1981, “Cats’’ has been presented in 26 countries and more than 300 cities and has been translated into 10 languages.

For more information, call the Cowan Center box office, 903- 566-7424.