{"id":252462,"date":"2026-06-02T18:18:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T18:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/252462\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T18:18:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T18:18:07","slug":"cats-the-jellicle-ball-is-performing-at-nyc-pride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/252462\/","title":{"rendered":"Cats: The Jellicle Ball Is Performing at NYC Pride"},"content":{"rendered":"

Broadway’s Tony-nominated revival\u00a0Cats: The Jellicle Ball<\/a> will bring some extra fabulousness to this year’s NYC Pride March with a special kick-off performance. This year’s parade is set for June 28 and will feature the cast in a performance that will air live on WABC. The show is working with Heritage of Pride on the performance.<\/p>\n

The Pride March kick-off is just one of several events and initiatives the show has planned to celebrate Pride throughout the month of June, which also includes a collab with queer-owned clothing company Gay Pride Apparel. The limited edition collection will be available at the Broadhurst Theatre and online, with proceeds benefiting Callen-Lorde Community Health Center.<\/p>\n

Other Pride events include June 8’s\u00a0Broadway Is Trans cabaret at Joe’s Pub, organized by Tony-nominated\u00a0Cats costume designer Qween Jean<\/a> and featuring cast members Nora Schell<\/a> and B Noel Thomas<\/a>; masterclasses from cast members Emma Sofia<\/a> and Bryce Farris<\/a> at Ballet Tech June 9 and 11; a screening of landmark Ballroom documentary\u00a0Paris is Burning hosted by\u00a0Cats cast member and Ballroom legend Junior LaBeija<\/a> (who is featured in the 1990 film) and\u00a0Cats co-producer Lena Waithe; a Pride post-performance talkback June 18, given in partnership with the Stonewall Community Foundation and The Center and moderated by Executive Director Elise Crespo; an official Native Son Awards after party hosted by the cast June 19; a Future Icons event held with the Hetrick-Martin Institute June 22; and a performance from the cast at the annual Pride Party June 24\u00a0at The Beekman.<\/p>\n

The show has also partnered with some additional brands on Pride-related collabs throughout the month, including Schmackary’s, Yes Homo, and more.<\/p>\n

In addition to Best\u00a0Revival of a Musical, the production is vying for 2026 Tonys for\u00a0Best Scenic Design (Rachel Hauck<\/a>), Costume Design (Qween Jean), Lighting Design (Adam Honor\u00e9), Sound Design (Kai Harada<\/a>), Direction (Zhailon Levingston<\/a> and Bill Rauch<\/a>), Choreography (Omari Wiles<\/a> and Arturo Lyons<\/a>), Orchestrations (Andrew Lloyd Webber<\/a>, David Wilson, Trevor Holder<\/a>, and Doug Schadt), and Featured Actor (Andr\u00e9 De Shields<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The cast includes Tony winner Andr\u00e9 De Shields as Old Deuteronomy, “Tempress” Chasity Moore as Grizabella, Junior LaBeija as Gus, Sydney James Harcourt<\/a> as Rum Tum Tugger, Jonathan Burke<\/a> as Mungojerrie, Baby Byrne<\/a> as Victoria, Dava Huesca<\/a> as Rumpleteazer, Dudney Joseph Jr. as Munkustrap, Robert \u201cSilk\u201d Mason as Magical Mister Mistoffelees, Primo Thee Ballerino<\/a> as Tumblebrutus, Xavier Reyes<\/a> as Jennyanydots, Nora Schell as Bustopher Jones, Beb\u00e9 Nicole Simpson as Demeter, Emma Sofia as Cassandra and Skimbleshanks, Garnet Williams<\/a> as Bombalurina, Teddy Wilson<\/a>, Jr. as Sillabub, and Tara Lashan Clinkscales<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The cast also includes Legendary head judge Leiomy as Mavacity; Kya Azeen<\/a> (Pose) as Etcetera; Bryson Battle<\/a> (The Voice) as Jellylorum; and Ken Ard<\/a>, who created the role of Macavity in the 1982 original Broadway production, as DJ Griddlebone; along with Sherrod T. Brown<\/a>, Bryce Farris, Phumzile Sojola<\/a> (Masquerade), Kendall Grayson Stroud<\/a>, B. Noel Thomas (Saturday Church), Kalyn West<\/a> (The Prom<\/a>), and Dont\u00e9 Nadir Wilder<\/a>. Casting is by X Casting<\/a>‘s Victor Vazquez and Sujotta R. Pace<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The production, co-directed by Levingston and Rauch and featuring vogueing-infused choreography by Wiles and Lyons, has its Jellicle cats convening for an annual ball to stomp the runway in fabulous duds, with Lloyd Webber’s Tony-winning score (notably including the seminal “Memory”) newly augmented by dance music-inspired beats (by beats arranger and producer Holder). The Broadway bow’s theatre configuration<\/a> includes onstage seating on either side of a ballroom runway. See what critics had to say about the production Off-Broadway here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The creative team also includes scenic designer Hauck, costume designer Jean, lighting designer Honor\u00e9, sound designer Harada, projection designer Brittany Bland<\/a>, hair and wig designer Nikiya Mathis<\/a>, make-up designer Rania Zohny<\/a>, magic designer Paul Kieve, sensitivity specialist Ann James, dramaturg and gender consultant Josephine Kearns, and music supervisor and director William Waldrop<\/a>. Cooper Howell<\/a> and N’yomi Allure Stewart<\/a> serve as associate directors, and Cody Renard Richard<\/a> is production stage manager. Baseline Theatrical<\/a>‘s Nick Lugo, Jessica Fried<\/a>, and James Hickey<\/a> are general managing. Orchestrations are by Lloyd Webber and Wilson.<\/p>\n

READ: In This New Cats Revival, It’s Jellicle Songs for Voguers and Femme Queens<\/a><\/p>\n

Most recently brought somewhat mainstream by the FX series Pose, the Ballroom scene is an underground LGBTQIA+ subculture that arose in 1920s NYC, arguably reaching its zenith in the ’80s. Home to runway walk categories that invited participants to dress in any number of themes ranging from the extravagant to the fabulously commonplace, the Ballroom scene is also where vogue dancing comes from\u2014but real vogueing, not Madonna vogueing. Dominated specifically by the Black and Latino queer communities, the scene has become ingrained in much of queer and popular culture today, particularly the world of drag. Ball culture was most famously memorialized in the iconic 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning.<\/p>\n

But the world of Ballroom is a new take on the Lloyd Webber musical, which debuted in London in 1979 as a dance musical adapted from T.S. Eliot’s book of poetry, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. Largely plotless, the musical follows a tribe of so-called “Jellicle” Cats who gather for an annual ball, presenting themselves for the chance to be reborn into a new life. The first act culminates in an all-dancing Jellicle Ball. While the connections to Ballroom culture might seem obvious now, the original production, choreographed by Gillian Lynne<\/a>, featured quasi-modern ballet-inspired dance and cat costumes comprising ’80s-appropriate leotards and leg warmers. <\/p>\n

The original Broadway production of Cats won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score for Lloyd Webber, and two posthumous Tonys for Eliot (for Best Book and Score). It ran on Broadway from 1982 to 2000, making it the fifth longest-running show on the Main Stem. It enjoyed a brief revival from 2016 to 2017, in a production that largely replicated the original. Cats: The Jellicle Ball is the second Broadway revival of the musical.<\/p>\n

Michael Harrison<\/a> and Mike Bosner<\/a> are producing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Broadway’s Tony-nominated revival\u00a0Cats: The Jellicle Ball will bring some extra fabulousness to this year’s NYC Pride March with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252463,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-252462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}