‘Cats’ musical to stream online for free for 48 hours this week

Cast members perform excerpts of the musical “Cats” on Oct. 1, 2015, on stage at the Theatre de Mogador in Paris. Image: AFP/Jacques Demarthon

The award-winning musical “Cats,” composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, will be streaming online for free this weekend.

The stage production can be viewed on the YouTube channel of “The Shows Must Go On!” starting Friday, May 15, at 7 p.m. British summer time or 2 a.m. on May 16 in the Philippines.

It will then be available for streaming for 48 hours in other countries except for the United Kingdom, where it will only last for 24 hours, WhatsOnStage reported on May 11.

The show is being made available for streaming online as part of Lloyd Webber’s initiative “The Shows Must Go On!” in light of theaters being forced to close amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The composer’s effort involves releasing some of his musicals in its entirety on YouTube for set hours.

The first musical he released was an adaptation of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” last month.

Meanwhile, the upcoming production of “Cats” set to be available on YouTube will star Elaine Paige, John Partridge, Jacob Brent, Jason Gardiner and Sir John Mills.

The said musical centers on a group of cats called the Jellicles and is based on the 1939 poetry collection of T.S. Eliot titled “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.” Ryan Arcadio /ra

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