BROADWAY HIT `CATS' COMES HERE

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical "Cats" is scheduled to be performed in Cape Girardeau April 9-10.

The long-running production, based on T.S. Elliot's "Old Possum Book of Practical Cats" will be presented at the Show Me Center as part of a nationwide tour of sports arenas.

David Ross, Show Me Center director, said about 4,000 seats will be available for each night of the performance. The Broadway musical represents a new variety of entertainment for the Show Me Center and the area, Ross said.

"We've not done a theater play, and this sports arena tour allowed us to do that," he said. "It's an opportunity to bring this type of production to Southeast Missouri."

Ross said promoters of the show came to Cape Girardeau late last year to determine if the Show Me Center could accommodate the production.

"You might say we passed the test," he said.

Ross said the inside of the Show Me Center will be masked off to create an intimate theater setting.

Tickets are expected to go on sale the first part of March, Ross said. Ticket prices have not yet been finalized, but will probably run in the $25-$30 range, with less-expensive seating available, he added. The production begins at 8 p.m. each night. Specific ticket prices will be announced later, he said.

Jim Kerber, publicist with the production, said the arena tour will feature the addition of several large video screens to allow those seated far from the stage a better view. He said the video screens have been tested at other sports arenas and have won praise.

"It allows those seated far from the stage to see like they're in the fifth row," Kerber said.

The screens are built onto the set, he said.

The cast will consist mainly of those who starred in the most recent national tour of "Cats."

The two-month arena tour, covering the eastern United States and Canada, will kick off March 22 in Winston-Salem, N.C. The final production is May 25 in St. Johns, Newfoundland.

Kerber said even though the show will be performed in an arena, it will be no different than the theater shows which have drawn record crowds for the last four years.

"We want to stress that they are seeing the Broadway musical, complete and in total," he said. "We're just adding certain elements to the production to make it more accessible to an arena setting."

Starring in the production will be Donna Lee Marshall, the original "Grizabella," the cat who is ostracized from the others and sings the popular song "Memory."

St. Louis native Michael Koetting, who has been touring with the production for several years, will also appear in the arena tour shows, Kerber said. Koetting plays the role of Alonzo/Rumpus Cat.

"Cats" is directed by Trevor Nunn, (director of "Les Miserables" and "Starlight Express") and choreographed by Gillian Lynne ("Phantom of the Opera," "Aspects of Love.")

Set and costumes are by John Napier and lighting by David Hersey.