Cats the musical has been living its best nine lives — it has had record-breaking runs at the West End and Broadway (21 years!) and has been staged in 30 countries. And what do you know? The award-winning musical has landed in Singapore, where it’s playing at Marina Bay Sands until Jan 5. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about its cinematic counterpart (it drops in Singapore on Dec 26). There hasn’t been a flick quite as universally panned like Hollywood’s take on Cats, which stars the likes of Taylor Swift and Judi Dench. Kinder critics have bemoaned that it will “haunt viewers for generations”, some say the movie is “nearly as obscene as The Human Centipede”, while others clawed at it, calling it “a descent into madness”. But enough about the movie — we’re here to talk about the acclaimed live musical, which has made audiences and critics feline good since 1981.

So would you be better off heading to the theatres to catch the revered live spectacle instead, which has played to more than 81mil people worldwide since its inception in 1981? Paw-bably. But there are still a few things that Cats first-timers should know about Cats the musical.

On paper, the plotline of Cats is straightforward. Based on TS Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, the story revolves around a bunch of Jellicle cats who’ve gathered in a junkyard for their annual Jellicle ball, where their wise ol’ leader Old Deuteronomy chooses one of them to go up the feline equivalent of heaven, The Heaviside Layer, to be reborn as a brand new Jellicle cat. On stage, the plotline is, at best, a loose one. Like the book of poems it draws inspiration from, the musical comes off more like a wildly campy mish-mash of song and dance performances (it’s a sing-through musical, so don’t expect dialogue). Still a lot of fun, though.

It’s best to just sit back and enjoy the stage production for what it is — a wacky, convivial mega-song-and-dance sesh where humans are decked out in intricate cat make-up, fabulous 80’s-style bombastic hairdos and even more fab skin-tight leotards. None of the movie CGI hot mess, thankyouverymuch (human faces CGI-ed on cat bodies? Weird.) So what if there’s no dialogue? The songs, composed by Andrew Lloyd Weber with lyrics adapted from Eliot’s poems, take you through the journey of the Jellicle Ball (though it may be difficult in the beginning to make out what the ensemble cast is singing if you’re not used to this theatre experience). But sometimes you don’t even need words to best convey messages. The extended dance sequences and evocative choreography spoke much louder than songs. And you don’t even have to be a cat lover or the David Attenborough of cats to get it.

If you’re a Cats newbie, you should know that these feline creatures are big fans of breaking the fourth wall. They’re aware that they’re being watched by a gaggle of humans, and they’re not afraid to say it. At certain points during the show, you may find cats prancing along the aisles and front row, getting up close and personal with you. But unlike most other musicals we’ve seen, one of the cast members doesn’t get a break during the intermission. Nope, the big furry Deuteronomy, the endearing wise old cat, remains on stage for photo opps with audience members. Now, you definitely won’t get that at the cinema, would you?

Cats The Musical: Singapore is on from Dec 17 to Jan 5 at the Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Ave, S018956. Tix from www.marinabaysands.com/ticketing and Sistic. More info at www.catsthemusical.com.

Photos: CATS Tour 2019 Photography by Alessandro Pinna