Purr-fect premiere for ‘Cats’ creator
NEW YORK — It was a special night for Andrew Lloyd Webber as he walked the red carpet for the world premiere of the film adaptation of his Tony Award-winning stage musical “Cats.”
The 71-year old composer called Taylor Swift “absolutely fantastic” as Bombalurina, and beamed with pride while speaking of the unusual journey his award-winning musical has taken.
“This is a most extraordinary night for me in way, because it’s been nearly 40 years after it got on the stage first,” Lloyd Webber said.
He knew the idea of transforming a series of T.S. Eliot poems into a stage musical with actors playing the feline roles seemed like an unlikely concept. But something clicked, and the musical has become one of his most popular works, playing on stages around the world for the past 40 years. Now, it’s come to the big screen with a star-studded film that includes Swift, Jennifer Hudson, Idris Elba and Judi Dench.
“What’s interesting to me, now, in this new kind of version of it on the screen, is that this is very much (director) Tom Hooper’s ‘Cats.’ I mean, it’s very, very differently conceived to the stage show,” he said.
Tony-winning actor and talk show host James Corden, who plays Bustopher Jones, agrees, calling the concept, “incredibly bizarre,” though “incredibly unique,” and said he was honored to be a part of it.
“It’s a bizarre experience when someone’s asking you to be a cat,” he said. “But, you know, you try your best and you’re surrounded by the finest group of actors you can imagine, and I just found the entire thing very creatively inspiring, I have to say.”
The film, which opens Christmas Day, also stars Rebel Wilson, Jason Derulo, Ian McKellen, and ballet star Francesca Hayward as the star feline.