André De Shields to Star in Cats: “The Jellicle Ball”

Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) announced initial casting for Cats: “The Jellicle Ball,” a reimagining of the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot. The show runs June 13-July 14.

Inspired by the Ballroom culture in New York City over 50 years ago that still rages on runways around the world, Cats: “The Jellicle Ball” will feature a company of artists from Broadway and New York’s Ballroom floors.

The cast includes Baby (two-time winner of Ballroom Women’s Performance of the Year award, Southeast Region) as Victoria, Jonathan Burke (The Inheritance) as Mungojerrie; Emma Sofia Caymares (Finding Neverland) as Skimbleshanks, Tony winner André De Shields (Hadestown) as Old Deuteronomy, Sydney James Harcourt (Hamilton) as Rum Tum Tugger, Antwayn Hopper (A Strange Loop) as Macavity, Dudney Joseph Jr. as Munkustrap, Ballroom DJ Capital Kaos as DJ, Junior LaBeija (Paris is Burning) as Gus, Robert “Silk” Mason (founding mother of the new Kiki Royal Haus of Silk) as Mistoffelees, “Tempress” Chasity Moore (founder and Queen Mother of the house of Maison Margiela) as Grizabella, Shereen Pimentel (West Side Story) as Jellylorum, Primo as Tumblebrutus, Nora Schell (Jagged Little Pill) as Bustopher Jones, Garnet Williams as Bombalurina, and Teddy Wilson Jr. as Sillabub. The ensemble includes Tara Lashan Clinkscales and Frank Viveros. Understudies include Dava Huesca, Kendall G. Stroud, and Dominique Lee. Additional casting will be announced soon.

The show will be staged as an immersive competition by director Zhailon Levingston (Chicken & Biscuits) and PAC NYC artistic director Bill Rauch. The creative team also includes choreographers Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles, scenic designer Rachel Hauck, costume designer Qween Jean, lighting designer Adam Honoré, sound designer Kai Harada, projection designer Brittany Bland, hair/wig designer Nikiya Mathis, music supervisor and music director William Waldrop, music coordinator David Lai, beats arranger Trevor Holder, ballroom consultant Capital Kaos, and dramaturg and gender consultant Josephine Kearns.