André De Shields, Shereen Pimentel & More Join CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL at PAC NYC

Perelman Performing Arts Center has reveald the initial cast for Cats: “The Jellicle Ball” inspired by the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber based on “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” by T.S. Eliot.
 
Cats: “The Jellicle Ball” will feature a company of artists whose musical and dance talents have graced the stages on Broadway and illuminated the best of New York’s Ballroom floors.
 
Featured in the company are Baby (Victoria) two-time winner of Ballroom Women’s Performance of the Year award (Southeast Region); Jonathan Burke (Mungojerrie) from the Tony-winning company of The Inheritance; Emma Sofia Caymares (Skimbleshanks) from the original Broadway cast of Finding Neverland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Tara Lashan Clinkscales (Ensemble) a recent Carnegie Mellon Drama graduate; André De Shields  (Old Deuteronomy) Tony Award winner for Hadestown; Sydney James Harcourt (Rum Tum Tugger) from the original Broadway company of Hamilton; Antwayn Hopper (Macavity) from the Tony-winning company of A Strange Loop; Dava Huesca (Understudy) a dancer-performer and member of Dance Theater Company VIM VIGOR; Dudney Joseph Jr. (Munkustrap) a member of the Ballroom community since 2011; Capital Kaos (DJ) a renowned Ballroom DJ;  Junior LaBeija (Gus) member of the iconic house of House of LaBeija and MC in the documentary Paris is Burning; Ballroom icon Dominique Lee (Understudy); Robert "Silk" Mason (Mistoffelees) the founding mother of the new Kiki Royal Haus of Silk; “Tempress” Chasity Moore (Grizabella)  a Ballroom Icon and the founder and Queen Mother of the house of Maison Margiela; Shereen Pimentel (Jellylorum) from the Broadway revival of West Side Story; Primo (Tumblebrutus) longtime member of the Ballroom community; Nora Schell (Bustopher Jones) from Broadway’s Jagged Little Pill; Kendall G. Stroud (Understudy) a recent NYU Tisch Drama grad and member of the Ballroom community; Frank Viveros (Ensemble) from Broadway’s Camelot and Aladdin; Garnet Williams (Bombalurina) a national concert performer; and Teddy Wilson Jr. (Sillabub) a recent graduate from Penn State’s Musical Theater program.  Additional casting will be announced soon.
 

Performances begin June 13 and opening night is June 20, 2024.  This is a limited engagement through July 14, 2024.
 
Joining Directors Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, Choreographers Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles, and Dramaturg & Gender Consultant Josephine Kearns, in bringing the best of NYC’s Ballroom and musical theater artistry to the PAC NYC stage are:
 
Rachel Hauck (Scenic Design), Qween Jean (Costume Design), Adam Honoré (Lighting Design), Kai Harada (Sound Design), Brittany Bland (Projection Design), Nikiya Mathis (Hair/Wig Design), William Waldrop (Music Supervision and Music Direction), David Lai (Music Coordinator), Trevor Holder (Beats Arrangement), Capital Kaos (Ballroom Consultant), X Casting/ Victor Vazquez CSA and Sujotta R. Pace CSA (Casting).
 
This production will be a radical reimagining of the iconic dance musical Cats based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.  Inspired by the Ballroom culture that roared out of New York City over 50 years ago and still rages on runways around the world, it will be staged as a spectacularly immersive competition directed by Zhailon Levingston (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Chicken & Biscuits) and PAC NYC Artistic Director Bill Rauch (All the Way), with all new Ballroom and club beats, runway ready choreography, and an edgy eleganza makeover.  Come one, come all, and celebrate the joyous transformation of self at the heart of Cats and Ballroom culture itself.

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