'Cats: The Jellicle Ball' Co-Directors Bill Rauch & Zhailon Levingston

Summary

---

Bloomberg Businessweek Podcast Summary

Episode: ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’ Co-Directors Bill Rauch & Zhailon Levingston
Date: May 12, 2026
Host: Carol Massar & Tim Stenovec (with Chris Rouser, Editor at Large, Bloomberg Pursuits)
Guests: Bill Rauch (Artistic Director, Perelman Performing Arts Center), Zhailon Levingston (Co-Director)
Episode Length Analyzed: 02:05–13:58

---

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the creative and cultural transformation behind the Broadway revival "Cats: The Jellicle Ball." Co-directors Bill Rauch and Zhailon Levingston discuss the show's journey from a downtown immersive success to a celebrated Broadway production, exploring their unique ballroom-inspired reinterpretation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic musical. Key topics include building on queer and ballroom culture, challenges of Broadway adaptation, community, and the production’s wide critical acclaim (including Tony nominations).

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Origins & Reimagining of "Cats: The Jellicle Ball"

• Bill Rauch’s Early Inspiration
  • The concept originated 30 years ago when Rauch pondered staging "Cats" in a gay context, envisioning Grizabella as an older gay man singing "Memory" in a bar. This evolved: “Grizabella is not a gay man. Grizabella is a transgender woman. And that is, in fact, what Castello Cabal became.” (03:14–03:40 / Bill Rauch)
• Zhailon Levingston’s Angle
  • Levingston was intrigued by the thought of removing literal "cat" costuming, instead letting characters use "cat" as period slang: “What if there was a production of Cats wherein no one was an actual cat and there weren’t ears and there weren't tails... you just kind of called each other cat in the way that you did in the 20th century.” (03:41–04:01 / Zhailon Levingston)
• Collaboration Spark
  • The casting director connected the two creators after recognizing the synergy in their imaginative approaches.
• Convincing Andrew Lloyd Webber
  • It took a year of discussions to get Lloyd Webber’s approval: “Each person we talked to said, we think it's fantastic… it's gonna be up to Andrew… eventually Andrew said, yes.” (04:32–04:56 / Bill Rauch)

---

2. Ballroom Culture Meets Broadway Structure

• Structural Parallels
  • The adaptation was seamless due to pre-existing similarities: both "Cats" and ballroom events revolve around a parade of unique personalities with an announcer/narrator. “Themes of family, tribe, competition, and one-upmanship, and who's going to get the grand prize by the end of the night... it is all centered around a competition where an identity is made.” (05:28–06:17 / Zhailon Levingston)
• Fitting Each Song to Ballroom Categories
  • Matching musical numbers to ballroom competition categories was a core creative process: “One of the most fun aspects of the whole project was matching each song about each character with different categories in ballroom... so it does feel like T.S. Eliot meant this all along.” (06:38–07:01 / Bill Rauch)
• Audience Reactions Across the Spectrum
  • Both traditionalists and critics of the original “Cats” enjoy the new version. Alumni from the original productions have responded enthusiastically.

---

3. Scaling from Downtown to Broadway

• Immersive Beginnings at PAC NYC
  • The earlier run at Perelman Performing Arts Center used a flexible, cabaret-style space with a 50-foot runway and up-close immersive seating.
• Adapting for Broadway’s Proscenium Stage
  • Challenges arose in moving to a more traditional and less flexible theater:
    “On Broadway, we have twice as many audience members but only half the space… but it forced more focus and allowed us to dig into the story in an even deeper way.” (07:34–08:11 / Bill Rauch)
• Preserving Intimacy and Immersion
  • The creative team prioritized continued audience engagement:
    “What felt life or death… was making sure the audience felt like they were in a different relationship with each other.” (08:11–08:48 / Zhailon Levingston)
• Breaking the Broadway Mold
  • Despite Broadway's constraints, actors move into the audience and maintain the immersive feel.
    “Our job was to break that proscenium as much as we could, with 80 audience members on stage... really make it that everybody’s in one room together.” (10:01–10:29 / Bill Rauch)

---

4. Production Challenges and Future Aspirations

• Financial Risks & Production Scale
  • Mounting a show of this scale is costly, especially with 23 actors:
    “It was not cheap… but there was such passionate belief in the project from the get go.” (09:04–09:26 / Bill Rauch)
• Designing for Longevity
  • Adaptations for the proscenium may allow for future touring or international productions:
    “Means that the show gets to have a longer life… we don't make something so expensive that we can't eventually take it on the road or to another country.” (09:26–09:50 / Zhailon Levingston)
• Inclusive and Broad Appeal
  • The creative team is proud of the show's resonance across diverse audiences:
    “Everybody of all ages loves this show… it is a joy bomb, and we are so proud to be sharing it.” (11:05–11:38 / Bill Rauch)

---

5. Notable Moments and Quotes

• On Grizabella and New Context:
  “Grizabella is not a gay man. Grizabella is a transgender woman. And that is, in fact, what Castello Cabal became.” (03:14–03:40 / Bill Rauch)
• On Ballroom and ‘Cats’ Intertwining:
  “There’s a kind of beautiful marriage between ballroom culture and Cats… themes of family, tribe, competition, one-upmanship...” (06:00–06:17 / Zhailon Levingston)
• On the Audience Experience:
  “What felt life or death for this production was making sure the audience felt like they were in a different relationship with each other… hooping and hollering next to people on Broadway.” (08:11–08:48 / Zhailon Levingston)
• Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Reaction:
  “I've never been in a theater with as much love as I've been in ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball.’” (13:05–13:12 / Bill Rauch, quoting Lloyd Webber)
• On Joy and Rebirth:
  “That's the first thing he mentions is it's just so joyful, isn't it?” (12:49–13:02 / Zhailon Levingston)
• On Tony Nominations:
  “Nine Tony nominations.” (13:36–13:37 / Bill Rauch)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening & Introduction — 02:05–03:13
• Creative Genesis — 03:14–04:56
• Convincing the Rights Holders — 04:56–05:28
• Ballroom Parallels & Adaptation — 05:28–07:01
• Downtown to Broadway: Production Logistics — 07:01–10:29
• Audience, Immersion & Breaking Theater Conventions — 08:48–11:05
• Future Aspirations & Touring — 11:05–12:16
• Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Response — 12:46–13:12
• Tony Nominations & Closing — 13:32–13:48

---

Tone and Style

The conversation is lively, collegial, and full of creative energy. Both hosts and guests display a deep enthusiasm for theater, risk-taking, and thoughtful reimagining of classics. The tone is celebratory—of both the diverse cast and creative team and the wider possibilities for Broadway’s future.

---

Summary

This episode offers a vibrant exploration of how "Cats: The Jellicle Ball" not only breathes new life into a classic musical but challenges and expands Broadway conventions. Through discussions covering creative inspiration, LGBTQ+ and ballroom influences, staging logistics, audience experience, and aspirations for broader reach, the co-directors and team demonstrate how intentional reinvention can create an enduring, inclusive, and joyful theatrical experience—for both die-hard fans and those new to the material.

---

Transcript

[Chase Business Representative]

Being a small business owner isn't just a career, it's a calling. Chase for Business knows how much heart and effort go into building something of your own. Manage all your business finances, from banking to payments to credit cards, all in one place with Chase's digital tools. Plus access online resources designed to help your business thrive. Learn [e-mail] business chase for business make more of what's yours. The Chase Mobile app is available for select mobile devices. Message and data rates may apply JP Morgan Chase Bank Naomi Member FDIC Copyright 2026 JPMorgan Chase Co.

[The Hartford Insurance Representative]

When you're running a business, the best days are the ones where priorities stay on track. For midsize and large companies, risk can affect multiple parts of the organization at once, from property and liability to cyber and regulatory challenges. At that level, managing risk becomes an ongoing discipline. At the Hartford, the focus is on helping businesses manage risk before it turns into something more disruptive. And when losses do happen, that work is paired with insurance coverage shaped by years of underwriting, risk engineering and claims experience. Learn more@the Hartford.com risk mitigation policies provided by Hartford Fire Insurance Company and its property and casualty affiliates.

[Sonesta TravelPass Representative]

Hartford, Connecticut Sonesta TravelPass makes traveling more rewarding Designed to help you get more out of every stay, sign [e-mail] to enjoy instant savings, bonus points and valuable perks like early check in, late checkout, room upgrades and free stays. Over time. With Sonesta Travel Pass, every stay brings you closer to your next reward. Choose from more than 1100 hotels across 13 distinctive brands and unlock the best available rates when you book direct with Sonesta Travel Pass Here today, Rome tomorrow. Join [e-mail] Terms and conditions apply.

[Chase Business Representative]

Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio news.

[Carol Massar]

You're listening to Bloomberg Businessweek with Carol

[The Hartford Insurance Representative]

Massar and Tim Stanvak on Bloomberg Radio.

[Carol Massar]

If you've been paying attention to us over the past couple of years, then by now you've seen Cats the Jellicle Ball. Because close to two years ago, we were having a conversation with Chris Rouser of Bloomberg Pursuits about how the costumes were made. It was based on a story from James Tarmi. If you missed it, be sure to check it out on The Terminal or bloomberg.com but back then our team called it a viral news show. I remember Chris saying to us that we absolutely had to see it.

[Chris Rouser]

He did.

[Carol Massar]

Now the Hollywood Reporter is out calling it, quote this season's must see Broadway revival.

[Chris Rouser]

We've got with us Bill Rauch and Jalen Levingston. They are co directors of Cats, the Jellicle Ball. Bill is also artistic director at the Perelman Performing Arts Center. Also with us is our own Chris Rouser, Bloomberg Pursuits editor at large. Chris, as we said, he's also the guy that we reach out to when we need to go somewhere and figure out where to go see.

[Tim Stanvak]

Welcome, welcome.

[Chris Rouser]

Congratulations. How did this first come together? Did you guys call Andrew Lloyd Webber? Like, how does this happen?

[Bill Rauch]

Eventually.

[Chris Rouser]

But how did it start to. Like, there's always either people sitting around a table thinking, oh, my God, what if we just did this?

[Bill Rauch]

We both have our own stories about that.

[Jaelyn Levingston]

Yeah.

[Bill Rauch]

About 30 years ago, I began to think about Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats in a gay context. I thought about the possibility of Grizabella being an older gay man in a gay bar singing the song Memory, and that was the seed. But over time, we realized, of course, it's not a bar, it's a ball, and Grizabella is not a gay man. Grizabella is a transgender woman. And that is, in fact, what Castello Cabal became.

[Jaelyn Levingston]

Yeah, I mean, it really started with that impulse from Bill, and we were connected after I had started to have some really ingest conversations with a roommate of mine about what if there was a production of Cats wherein no one was an actual cat and there weren't ears and there weren't tails.

[Chris Rouser]

It sounds sacrilegious, but you kind of love it.

[Jaelyn Levingston]

And you just kind of called each other cat in the way that you did in the 20th century. Look at that cat. Look at that cool cat. That's a sly cat right there. And I was like, well, it's already kind of in the American vernacular. I bet there's a cultural context that you could put the show in. But I just assumed Andrew Lloyd Webber would never let such a radical change happen with the show. And then we were connected soon after that because the casting director of that was like, you need to talk to Bill, because Bill is also thinking along the exact same lines.

[Chris Rouser]

So who calls Andrew Lloyd Webber?

[Bill Rauch]

We really. It was a group of us who figured out how to do the show in the context of ballroom. And we began to reach out to people in Andrew's company. And each person we talked to said, we think it's fantastic. We love the idea. It's gonna be up to Andrew. And that was like a good year long process. And eventually Andrew said, yes, can you

[Tim Stanvak]

talk a little bit more about how perfectly the world of Ballroom overlaps with structurally how Cats works? Because Cats, if you've seen it, it's not a linear plot line. It's essentially like a narrator announcer saying, like, and look at this character. And like, that is very much how Ballroom works. And with the additional script work that they did, it maps almost perfectly into it. I've talked to so many people who say Cats has never worked this well, including Elaine Page. Right.

[Jaelyn Levingston]

It's been very exciting. We've had lots of Cats alum, both people who have been on stage and offstage who really relate to the show. There's people who have historically hated the musical and really enjoy themselves, and people who feel a lot of fidelity towards the original musical and enjoy themselves at the show as well. So there's a lot of that happening. It's very fascinating. But, yeah, I do think that there is this kind of beautiful marriage between ballroom culture and Cats. Some of the themes of Cats that have always been there, themes of family, themes of tribe, themes of competition and one upmanship and who's gonna get the grand prize by the end of the night, you know, if you go to a ball. It is all centered around a competition where an identity is made. Pageant.

[Tim Stanvak]

And.

[Jaelyn Levingston]

And I think that the mix between that and just working with the original T.S. eliot poetry and really finding new ways to interpret these humans not as cats, but as humans in the ballroom scene. There are all these ways that the show ended up dancing with ballroom that was really surprising.

[Bill Rauch]

One of the most fun aspects of the whole project was matching each song about each character with different categories in ballroom. And that was from early on. So many of them just completely locked into place and made perfect sense. So it does feel like T.S. eliot meant this all along. And Andrew Lloyd Webber, it was just waiting to be excavated in this way.

[Carol Massar]

How do you take a production like this, that was so successful downtown and bring it to Broadway?

[Jaelyn Levingston]

Well, I think one of the things you have to do first is to make a commitment to not copy and pasting an experience.

[Carol Massar]

Like, is it. Is it a different. I mean, Chris, you've seen it both on Broadway.

[Chris Rouser]

It's different, right?

[Carol Massar]

Is it different?

[Tim Stanvak]

Yeah, it's enhanced. I mean, when you take something to Broadway, you enhance it and it really is amped up. And do you get new.

[Carol Massar]

Do you get new productions?

[Tim Stanvak]

But it's not different stuff.

[Carol Massar]

And like, do there needs to be additional funding and for the costumes, get

[Chris Rouser]

amped up, because that's a big part, right. Of this.

[Bill Rauch]

It's the amping up you're talking about. We have two lead producers who are extraordinary and many, many co producers. But the biggest thing we struggled with was how to make it work in a proscenium. Because at Pac nyc, it's a very immersive space. It's very, very flexible. There are cabaret tables. The Runway was 50ft long. So essentially on Broadway, we have twice as many audience members, but only half the space.

[Chris Rouser]

Yeah.

[Bill Rauch]

And what was great about the exercise of figuring out how to tell this story on a Broadway stage is it forced more focus and it allowed us to dig into the story in an even deeper way.

[Jaelyn Levingston]

And I would say that by the end of Off Broadway, we were able to say what really works about this. What is the thing that if we had to take it somewhere else, people would go, But I can't lose this. And to my surprise, I really would have assumed that it was the 50 foot long Runway. And I think that's the expectation of the thing that you think you might miss. But the truth is, what felt life or death for this production was making sure that the audience felt like they were in a different relationship with each other. And that feels even more amplified on Broadway because you're on Broadway and you can't believe you're hooping and hollering next to people on Broadway.

[Bill Rauch]

Were you hooping and hollering?

[Tim Stanvak]

Well, speaking of life and death, it is not an easy time to take a musical to Broadway. I mean, was this anxiety provoking? Can you talk about how much it was capitalized for or like, you know, how risky it felt to take it from your theater to this huge stage?

[Bill Rauch]

I think the final numbers on the capitalization are not known even to us. But it was. It was not cheap. It's not cheap to do a 23 actor on stage musical on Broadway in today's economy. But it was. There was just such passionate belief in the project from the get go from our producers.

[Jaelyn Levingston]

Yeah, I will say. I mean, you say this all the time. Us being able to accomplish the show in the proscenium means that the show gets to have a longer life. Means that we don't make something that's so expensive that we can't eventually take it on the road or take it to another country or. So there's always the negotiation between, like, what is the budget, what is the scale? How do we accomplish this without an audience ever knowing?

[Chris Rouser]

All right, I'm just gonna. I'm just gonna.

[Carol Massar]

Do not call me out, Carol. Just calling me out. What did I just google?

[Jaelyn Levingston]

No proscenium.

[Carol Massar]

I googled proscenium.

[Bill Rauch]

Yeah. Cause I did.

[Jaelyn Levingston]

No, no, no. But I was like the same thing.

[Chris Rouser]

I was Gonna do it.

[Bill Rauch]

And I'm like, so what exactly is that traditional Broadway? The most of the audience is sitting in what we think of as the audience, and most of the action happens on a stage behind the proscenium arch, behind the picture of the proscenium arch. So our job was to break that proscenium as much as we could with 80 audience members on stage. We have the actors out in the audience all the time. And to really make it that everybody's in one room together.

[Chris Rouser]

Well, and not to go back to the original Cats, but let's go there. But that's how you could actually sit on the side of the stage. And I also remember, like, when it opened, I saw it a couple times.

[Carol Massar]

Yeah, I did too. It's my first Broadway show.

[Chris Rouser]

But, like, the Cats coming down the aisle and stuff, like, so, like, it's really wonderful when you can figure out

[Tim Stanvak]

how to do that.

[Jaelyn Levingston]

And it's embedded into ballroom as well.

[Tim Stanvak]

Right.

[Jaelyn Levingston]

Like, even that element of Cats from the original, in terms of actors everywhere, that's the exact same kind of energy you want to create at a ball. So even down to that detail, we're in conversation with what was already in the event of Cats from the very beginning.

[Bill Rauch]

Jaelyn mentioned taking the show on the road. And I just want to say one of the things we are so proud of is if you are somebody from the ballroom world or if you think ballroom meets waltzing and foxtrotting, like, whatever your degree of knowledge, if you love Cats, if you've never been exposed to Cats, everybody of all ages loves this show, and we can say that it is a joy bomb, and we are so proud to be sharing it. And so we wanted to have a good, long life on Broadway, and we want to take it out on the road and get as many people to see it as possible.

[Chris Rouser]

How many times have you seen it?

[Tim Stanvak]

I saw it twice downtown Chauffeur. Twice downtown, and then once on Broadway. The first time I went, I got a group ticket discount and brought 50 gay guys from Brooklyn.

[Jaelyn Levingston]

Try that on Broadway when Temptress is

[Tim Stanvak]

about to hit, like, the big, you know, the big touch me big moment. And I just looked around the theater, and there were, you know, like, the theater was full of people just waiting for her to go. And so, yeah, I mean, it was really magical. So from the pac, the Perlman Performing Arts center is part of your goal to create shows that move on from there or what? How does this fit into that, that project for you?

[Bill Rauch]

Our mission at PAC NYC is To bring people together in that historic site at the World Trade Center. We want to bring people together from as many different communities as possible to be in community together in our theaters. And we believe in every project we do. So when one can have a longer life, it is an absolute gift. It's not the only measure of success at all, but it is one lovely measure of success.

[Chris Rouser]

I. I can see it. I have to go see it. I feel really good.

[Tim Stanvak]

What did Andrew say? What did Andrew say? Got him on the phone.

[Jaelyn Levingston]

Oh, he. He really was just tick the amount of joy and like he. Often, anytime. At least I'm talking to him and he's talking about the show. That's the first thing he mentions is it's just so joyful, isn't it?

[Chris Rouser]

Has he come to see it?

[Bill Rauch]

Oh, many times.

[Chris Rouser]

Oh, he has.

[Bill Rauch]

In fact, one of his great quotes is, I've never been in a theater with as much love as I've been in Free Cat's the Jellicoe Ball.

[Jaelyn Levingston]

And it's been thrilling to watch him, like, receive the lyrics and the poetry in a new way through this lens of.

[Chris Rouser]

Well, yeah, I feel like that's what arts and culture, like, arts is about. Right? Like, you take something and just. It evolves. Right. And I don't know, a rebirth or an innovative way. I don't know.

[Bill Rauch]

It's pretty cool. A revival.

[Chris Rouser]

A revival. But it evolves.

[Tim Stanvak]

And these guys are nominated for a Tony for it.

[Chris Rouser]

You are. Congratulations.

[Bill Rauch]

Nine Tony nominations.

[Chris Rouser]

That's a pretty big deal. That's a pretty big deal. So, Chris, next time will you take Tim and me?

[Tim Stanvak]

Yeah, you guys will get a group discount.

[Chris Rouser]

Okay.

[Carol Massar]

On Broadway this year.

[Bill Rauch]

Can't wait to.

[Carol Massar]

Bill Rauch, Jaelyn Levingston, co directors of Cats, the Jellicoe Ball. Bill, also artistic director at the Perelman Performing Arts Center.

[IBM Business AI Representative]

The thing about AI for business, it may not automatically fit the way your business works. At IBM, we've seen this firsthand. But by embedding AI across hr, IT and procurement processes, we've reduced cost by millions, slash repetitive tasks, and freed thousands of hours for strategic work. Now we're helping companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off, deep in the work that moves the business. Let's create smarter business.

[The Hartford Insurance Representative]

IBM support for the show comes from public. Lately, it feels like there are two types of investing platforms. Some are traditional brokerages that haven't changed much in decades, and others feel less like investing and more like a game. Public is positioned differently. It's an investing platform for people who are serious about building their wealth on public you can build a portfolio of stocks, options, bonds, crypto without all the bugs or the confetti. Retirement accounts? Yep. High yield cash? Yes again. They even have direct indexing. Public has modern design, powerful tools and customer support that actually helps go to public.com market and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com market ad paid for by

[Bill Rauch]

Public Holdings Brokerage Services by Public Investing

[The Hartford Insurance Representative]

Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors SEC Registered Advisor crypto services by 0/ash all investing involves risk of loss. See complete [e-mail] disclosures being a small

[Chase Business Representative]

business owner isn't just a career, it's a calling. Chase for Business knows how much heart and effort go into building something of your own. That's why they make business growth their priority. The Chase team takes the time to understand your mission, where you are now and where you want to go. Their broad range of solutions is designed with you in mind so you can bring your ideas to life. From banking to payment acceptance to credit cards, you can conveniently manage all your business finances all in one place with their digital tools looking for tips and advice, their online resources are always available to give you the solutions you need to help your business thrive. See how your business can get stronger and go farther with Chase for Business. Learn [e-mail] business chase for business Make More of what's yours the Chase Mobile app is available for select mobile devices. Message and data rates may apply JPMorgan Chase Bank NA Member FDIC Copyright 2026 JPMorgan Chase Co.

[The Hartford Insurance Representative]

When you're running a business, the best days are the ones where priorities stay on track. For midsize and large companies, risk can affect multiple parts of the organization at once, from property and liability to cyber and regulatory challenges. At that level, managing risk becomes an ongoing discipline. At the Hartford, the focus is on helping businesses manage risk before it turns into something more disruptive. And when losses do happen, that work is paired with insurance coverage shaped by years of underwriting, risk engineering and claims experience. Learn more@the Hartford.com riskmitigation policies provided by Hartford Fire Insurance Company and its property and casualty affiliates. Hartford, Connecticut this coffee shop running smooth thanks to genius from Global Payments, instant transactions, effortless inventory and synchronized operations. Big league reliability for any business, that's genius.

[Sonesta TravelPass Representative]

Sonesta TravelPass makes traveling more rewarding. Designed to help you get more out of every stay. Sign [e-mail] to enjoy instant savings, bonus points and valuable perks like early check in, late checkout, room upgrades and free stays over time with Sonesta Travel Pass, every stay brings you closer to your next reward. Choose from more than 1100 hotels across 13 distinctive brands and unlock the best available rates when you book direct with Sinesta TravelPass. Here today, Rome tomorrow. Join now at sonesta. Com. Terms and conditions apply.