WEST HIGH AIMS HIGH: ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER’S “CATS”

West Aurora High School theater students have decided to take on a considerable challenge and make a little history at the same time. In May, Theatre Troupe 2013 will be the first high school in the Fox Valley area to bring “CATS” to the stage.

The unprecedented challenge comes in the fact that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “CATS” requires nearly all 55 cast members to sing and dance as well as remain on stage the entire show. As a result, the performers will be taking extra dancing and singing lessons to prepare for the show.

The stage crew faces a challenge as well. With the exception of one song, West Aurora will put on the full Broadway production, including the oversized junkyard, pyrotechnics, a pirate ship, and an on-stage locomotive. Each actor will be costumed as a cat and paired up so that they will also create each other’s make-up.

The culmination of this hard work will be three performances - May 4, 5 and 6 – all starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will go on sale April 4 and will be available for purchase at $8 each by calling 630-301-5600.

“CATS” tells the story of a feline tribe, the Jellicles, who come together for their annual Jellicle Ball at a junkyard to make the Jellicle Choice and announce the cat who will be reborn.

Each cat “auditions” and, with some minor complications involving the abduction of the Jellicle patriarch, Old Deuteronomy, the choice is made. With much fanfare, the lucky cat goes to the Heavyside Layer – a sort of cat heaven. The show features RumTumTugger, the rock-and-roll cat; Grizabella, the glamour cat; Skimbleshanks, the railway cat; Mistoffelees, the magical cat, and 50 other fabulous felines.