Cats is a
musical composed by
Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1981 based on
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by
T. S. Eliot.
It was on the stage in the
New London Theatre[?] for exactly 21 years and 8,949 performances, from 11 May 1981 to 11 May 2002, the longest running musical in British musical history. It is also the longest running musical in
Broadway history.