CATS on Oasis

From Royal Caribbean Blog: "Broadway fans will rejoice in Royal Caribbean's big announcement this week that one of the longest running Broadway shows of all time, Andrew Lloyd Weber's CATS, is coming to Oasis of the Seas. As part of the ship's refurbishment later this year, Royal Caribbean will swap out Hairspray and replace it with CATS."

I have never seen Cats, but I do not think I would like it that much. They should go with a classic like Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, etc...

Any thoughts on this, or has anyone seen it?

Hated It! (In my best 'In Living Color' impersonation)

Existing thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2020061

Existing thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2020061

Thanks, sorry but there is a ridiculous amount of threads and its hard to find anything anymore. Wish it was somehow more organized by ship or something!

Cats is okay. I like Starlight Express better, if you are talking about Weber shows. And the skating ramps wouldn't work on a cruise ship. :D:):D

All the jokes about Cats are true. It's not a great show.

I don't see Les Miz as a good fit for a vacation. It's a real downer, and I think lighter, more upbeat shows would be better for a vacation venue.

Hairspray was a great choice, as is Mama Mia. Maybe La Cage, Priscilla, Kinky Boots, or something similar that is fun would work. It just has to have some good music and be fun.

I guess I'm old school...

I still love Cats. It's been awhile, but if it were playing nearby, I'd go see it in a heartbeat. Ditto, and maybe even more so for Les Mis (and have recently)!

For a cruise ship, many of the newer, better, musicals are not family friendly. That's fine with me, but maybe not for RCI. I'd take The Producers, Spamalot, or Jersey Boys in a heartbeat, but all deal with very adult themes (as does Chicago, admittedly). Loved Wicked, and the audience on Broadway is very heavily skewed to younger attendees.

Now, if you really want to have fun, bring on "Book of Mormon"! That's not happening...

I'm with markeb. I love Cats. Love the music and staging. Will be a nice change from Hairspray.

Cats is not a fun show and most people are only familiar with one song. I am a Broadway fan and enjoy it, but mass audiences might not. So many people have still never seen a professional musical outside of a cruise ship.

I think good cruise shows are Grease, Jersey Boys, and Mamma Mia, because people know the music. And of course Wicked because it's fun and the music is great!

Would agree CATS would not be my choice for a ship, but then again I am not sure any broadway play is what my kids would want to watch or listen to.

I loved CATS when seen in London and took my kids to see it on one trip there. They read 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats' which is a collection of poems by T. S. Eliot before we left on trip, so they had read the words and knew that the poems had been put to music.

I agree I think for the masses, Grease would have been a better choice, but I do hope people will enjoy and get exposed to CATS. It ran for a long time on Broadway for some reason.

All the jokes about Cats are true. It's not a great show.

 

Then why did it last so long? I'm sure the cast didn't play to empty theaters

Then why did it last so long? I'm sure the cast didn't play to empty theaters

I posted this in the other thread, so please forgive me for repeating myself.

In 1983, the show was groundbreaking and the sets were spectacular. The choreography set the stage for shows to come. However, over the years it hasn't held up, especially compared to the shows being offered today. Some say it was the original triumph of spectacle over substance.

I loved Hairspray. Hated Cats. Saw it twice once on Broadway and once with the touring company. Didn't enjoy it either time.

At least that will be one thing I don't have to worry about trying to do while on vacation.

kathy

I loved Hairspray. Hated Cats. Saw it twice once on Broadway and once with the touring company. Didn't enjoy it either time.

 

At least that will be one thing I don't have to worry about trying to do while on vacation.

 

kathy

I think RCCL is in for a rude awakening when the comments start coming in after switching shows. Based on prior postings, at least 75% of all people liked Hairspray compared to less than 50% who have stated that they enjoyed Cats.

In my opinion, they are trying too hard to be "family friendly" in this case.

From Royal Caribbean Blog: "Broadway fans will rejoice in Royal Caribbean's big announcement this week that one of the longest running Broadway shows of all time, Andrew Lloyd Weber's CATS, is coming to Oasis of the Seas. As part of the ship's refurbishment later this year, Royal Caribbean will swap out Hairspray and replace it with CATS."

 

I have never seen Cats, but I do not think I would like it that much. They should go with a classic like Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, etc...

 

Any thoughts on this, or has anyone seen it?

I have seen CATS several times, love it :)

Then why did it last so long? I'm sure the cast didn't play to empty theaters

It was a case of style over substance, which people will buy until they catch on.

My brother worked with ALW on CATS in London and played in the band and on the soundtrack..... saw it numerous times.... in fact was pregnant with DD1 the first time I saw it.....1981.... it's a UK classic and during its run broke box office records. It's captivating and a real family show..... Phantom is brilliant but cannot be similarly described. Building the set will be interesting.... the cast will be extraordinary. Fabulous. I'm delighted.

I didn't open the other threads..... only commenting on this one because the title drew me in.... glad it did.

All the jokes about Cats are true. It's not a great show.

 

I don't see Les Miz as a good fit for a vacation. It's a real downer, and I think lighter, more upbeat shows would be better for a vacation venue.

 

Hairspray was a great choice, as is Mama Mia. Maybe La Cage, Priscilla, Kinky Boots, or something similar that is fun would work. It just has to have some good music and be fun.

Do really think a Broadway show like La Cage, Priscilla, and Kinky Boots would go over with a cruise ship crowd that wants to include older children? I do not think so.

Do really think a Broadway show like La Cage, Priscilla, and Kinky Boots would go over with a cruise ship crowd that wants to include older children? I do not think so.

If they can do Chicago, why not any of these? Shows can also be dumbed down, as Grease usually is when a high school performs it.

Saw it on Broadway in NYC and loved it! If you are a cat person, you would enjoy it!

Never liked it on Broadway and I certainly won't rush to see it on Oasis. If one can interpret RCL it will present any play that has music and plenty of dancing. So we will never see classis such as Phantom, Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Man of La Mancha, South Pacific, etc.

My brother worked with ALW on CATS in London and played in the band and on the soundtrack..... saw it numerous times.... in fact was pregnant with DD1 the first time I saw it.....1981.... it's a UK classic and during its run broke box office records. It's captivating and a real family show..... Phantom is brilliant but cannot be similarly described. Building the set will be interesting.... the cast will be extraordinary. Fabulous. I'm delighted.

 

I didn't open the other threads..... only commenting on this one because the title drew me in.... glad it did.

I agree about the set. I am not sure how well they are going to multipurpose the stage. They must be doing some significant redesign of the set.

Cats has some enjoyable music, but it hasn't aged well since the early 80s. I have seen it 3 times and it has been almost 20 years since I last saw it on stage. I am not sure I would want to sit through it again.

As for some early comments about trying to do Starlight Express, well, that would just be a major disaster waiting to happen. There were plenty of injuries on a non-moving stage, I would hate to see what would have happened on a stage at sea.

If the point of choosing Cats was to be more Family Friendly, I think that was a mistake. Disney has the market cornered on Family musicals. Anything else that is popular is going to be a little more mature.

Little Shop of Horrors could have been a great choice, and it would have even continued with an early 60s theme.

If they can do Chicago, why not any of these? Shows can also be dumbed down, as Grease usually is when a high school performs it.

Or like the Movie. Most people have no idea how Adult the original Grease Musical really was.

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS would be a great choice. BYE BYE BIRDIE, THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE or ANNIE GET YOUR GUN are shows that aren't currently touring and would not require specialty or extensive set work. I'm not a fan of CATS, but will certainly see it next time we are on OASIS. The other production shows were fantastic... Who knows, maybe RCCL can give CATS a 10th life.

Hate is such a strong word to be used flippantly in describing most things including a HIGHLY successful Broadway show!

People can dislike it or disagree with RCCL's choice to introduce the show onto Oasis, pretty easy to fix, if you don't like it, don't go and see it. Don't force your negative opinions on others. My 2 cents worth :)