‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’ Milks Exuberant New Life From an Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical Mainstay

“Cats,” Andrew Lloyd Webber’s mawkish adaptation of “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,” T.S. Eliot’s collection of playful poems, has been ripe for parody since it premiered in London back in 1981. A Broadway production opened the following year and ran until September 2000, prompting the marketing slogan “now and forever”; “interminably” would have been more fitting.A 2016 revival was shorter lived, and a film adaptation proved a spectacular dud, despite a starry cast. So the question remained: Could this old mouser be milked for another life, by sapping some of its bombast and just having campy fun with it — or perhaps, though this seemed even more unlikely, finding untapped reserves of pathos?The marvel of “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” introduced two years ago downtown at the Perelman Performing Arts Center and now making its first appearance on Broadway, is that it manages to accomplish both goals. Directors Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch have reimagined the gathering of felines in the original musical — one of them will be chosen by Old Deuteronomy, their patriarch, to rise to the Heaviside Layer (heaven) and begin a new life — as a ballroom competition.The term ballroom here refers specifically to a culture dating back to the 19th century, an early public forum for extravagant cross-dressing. In the 1970s and ‘80s, it gained new momentum in cities, particularly New York, where “Houses” overseen by drag queens provided both recreation and sanctuary for marginalized men and women, many of them Black and/or Latino.Madonna referenced the scene in her bouncy 1990 hit “Vogue”; a film documentary released the same year, “Paris is Burning,” captured it more comprehensively. By then, AIDS had wrought new levels of destruction on a community already accustomed to oppression and violence. While the epidemic isn’t specifically cited in “Jellicle Ball,” mortality looms larger and more hauntingly than it did in the original musical, especially since the characters here aren’t felines; they’re fabulous, flamboyant humans simulating the furry creatures to amuse themselves and others. Thus there’s a particular poignance to the delicate, hesitant movements of Deuteronomy and his fellow elder statesman, Gus, “the theater cat,” respectively played by André De Shields, a stage veteran, and Junior LeBeija, a ballroom icon featured in “Burning,” both of whom also bring droll humor to their roles. “Tempress” Chasity Moore, a member of the Ballroom Hall of Fame, appears as Grizabella, the aging “glamour cat,” offering a soulful take on “Memory,”one of Mr. Lloyd Webber’s more famously maudlin ballads.Act Two opens with a photo montage showcasing ballroom’s real-life “founding mothers” and other LGBT figures, some of whom met tragic fates. In a later scene, actors dressed as police officers try to bust up the revelry onstage. They don’t prevail, of course: “Jellicle Ball” is above all else a tribute to the joyful defiance that defined ballroom culture, at a time when some of its participants were facing bigotry and much worse.That sense of joy saturates every aspect of the production, from Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons’s exuberant, sinuous choreography to Qween Jean’s characteristically vivid costumes, a whimsical, scrumptious feast of bright color and texture that’s enhanced by Nikya Mathis’s hair and wig design. The latter can be giddily over the top, or so silky and shiny you may want to jump onstage and start petting the performers.That would be a bad idea, of course, although “Jellicle Ball” offers close proximity to its vibrantly talented players, who romp through the aisles at points, inviting interaction with audience members, some of whom are also seated onstage. Rachel Hauck’s set has been redesigned to accommodate a proscenium stage while allowing for a runway, a fundamental feature of ballroom events.By the finale, which included a parade of Ms. Jean’s most delightfully immoderate creations, only the most cynical attendee was still sitting down. Might other tacky or creaky musicals benefit from makeovers? It’s a risky proposition, so let’s enjoy “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” while it’s here.

‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’ Milks Exuberant New Life From an Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical Mainstay

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