Oct. 1, 2018

Contact Shane Rhoades at 608-796-3798 or sarhoades@viterbo.edu

VITERBO UNIVERSITY TO PRESENT TONY AWARD®-WINNING MUSICAL CATS OCT. 12–14

LA CROSSE, Wis. – The Viterbo University theatre and music theatre department will present Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tony Award®-winning musical CATS Friday, Oct. 12–Sunday, Oct. 14 in the Fine Arts Center Main Theatre.

Based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, CATS is the blockbuster Broadway musical that tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles and the night they make what is known as the “the Jellicle choice” to decide which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life.

“CATS is an all-dancing spectacle of a show in which everything comes together to create a visual masterpiece that audiences are just going to love,” said Shane Rhoades, Viterbo faculty member and director of the production. “Our students are extremely talented and they are making me ridiculously proud.”

A huge hit when it premiered on Broadway in 1982, CATS would run until 2000. It won seven Tony Awards®, including Best Musical.

“The entire show is sung in multiple part harmonies and everyone gets a solo,” Rhoades said. “It’s Andrew Lloyd Webber, so the melodies are infectious and memorable. Memory is the best known song of the production, and the student who sings it, Jenna Perock, is phenomenal.”

Rhoades is joined by fellow Viterbo faculty members Nancy Allen, music director, Jeff Stolz, costume designer, and guest lighting director Patrick Strain.

“This is one of the bigger shows we’ve done,” Rhoades said. “It features original choreography, a full orchestra, and costumes and set built by tech and design students. Hair, makeup, wigs—it’s been all hands on deck.”

Performance times are 7:30 p.m. Oct. 12–13 and 2 p.m. Oct. 14. An Artists in Conversation discussion will be held immediately following the Oct. 13 performance.

CATS is part of Viterbo University’s Bright Star season and is sponsored by Cowgill Dental. WXYM Mix 96.1 FM and Fox 25/48 are the media sponsors. The hotel sponsor is Candlewood Suites. This Viterbo production is presented by arrangement with The Musical Company, LP.

Tickets are $24 for main floor, $21 for lower balcony, and $18 for upper balcony seating. For more information or to order tickets, contact the Viterbo box office at 608-796-3100 or visit www.viterbo.edu/tickets.

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