‘Cats’ Just Keeps Going And Going And Coming

Thursday will be a huge day in the history of “Cats,” the musical.

On that day, this Andrew Lloyd Webber kitten-fest becomes the longest running show in Broadway history. Rum Tum Tugger and his little cat pals will present performance number 6,138, which means they will take over first place from “A Chorus Line” which closed in 1992 after 6,137 performances.

Well, that’s all very fascinating, you are saying to yourself, but what does that have to do with me, a person about 2,500 miles from Broadway?

By an amazing coincidence, Thursday is also the day that tickets go on sale for the touring version of “Cats” which comes to the Spokane Opera House, Aug. 29-31.

This isn’t a coincidence at all. The G&B Presents people deliberately timed the ticket sale to coincide with this record-breaking event. None of the other individual shows in the Best of Broadway series go on sale Thursday, only “Cats.”

Tickets will be $43 and $40 for the 8 p.m. shows on Aug. 29 and 30 and the 7:30 p.m. show on Aug. 31; and $39 and $37 for the 2 p.m. matinees on Aug. 30 and 31.

Call 325-SEAT or (800) 325-SEAT to order.

The ‘Fantasticks’ voyage

But wait. How can “Cats” be the longest running musical in Broadway history when “The Fantasticks” has had more than 15,000 performances and has been running continuously in New York since 1960?

Because “The Fantasticks” is an off-Broadway show, that’s how.

More stage events

While on the subject of theater, virtually all of the shows that have been creating a buzz on Broadway in the last two years are now scheduled to play Seattle. Here’s a list of upcoming touring shows in Seattle.

“Victor-Victoria” - Julie Andrews makes her first Seattle appearance in her smash Broadway musical, Oct. 14-Nov. 2 at The 5th Avenue Theatre.

“Bring in Da’ Noise, Bring in Da’ Funk” - The all-dancing tap and hip-hop sensation, Feb. 3-15 at the Paramount Theatre.

“Big” - The kid-pleasing musical based on the hit movie, Feb. 17-March 1 at the Paramount Theatre.

“Riverdance” - The Irish step-dancing extravaganza, May 20-June 7 at the Paramount Theatre.

“Chicago” - The Tony-sweeping revival of the Bob Fosse classic, June 16-28, 1998, at the Paramount Theatre.

“Rent” - Last year’s Tony-sweeping musical, Sept. 1-Nov. 8, 1998, at the Moore Theatre.

Individual tickets won’t go on sale until a couple of months before each show. Watch for announcements, or call Ticketmaster, (206) 292-ARTS for information.

‘Riverdance’ in Spokane?

There’s a good chance that you won’t need to go all the way to Seattle to see “Riverdance.”

This acclaimed Irish show is also tentatively scheduled to play the Spokane Opera House next spring. Nothing is official yet, but it looks like it will happen.

Keep an eye out for developments.

‘Carousel’ connection

One more theater note: “Carousel,” the inaugural show of the new Spokane Theatrical Company, opens at The Met on July 18 and continues through July 26.

And to add to the “carousel” theme, a special presentation will be made from the stage at the first performance. Spokane’s Loof Carrousel at Riverfront Park has been named the recipient of the National Carrousel Association’s Preservation Award. Members of Spokane’s Park Board will be on hand to receive the award.

Tickets for “Carousel” are now on sale through G&B Select-a-Seat. The Spokane Theatrical Company is a group of local theater people who hope to establish a professional summer-stock company in Spokane.

Sweeney on ‘Oprah’

Spokane’s Julia Sweeney will guest on ‘Oprah’ on Monday (4 p.m., KREM-2) to talk about her new hardcover book, “God Said ‘Ha!”’ (Bantam Books, $23.95, 224 pages).

This book is based on her one-woman show of the same name, which had a Broadway run last year. Based on an advance copy of the book, I can say that her story works as well in print as it did on stage, and maybe even better. At least two chapters (including one about Quentin Tarantino and a rock), weren’t in the stage show at all.

By the way, her parents, Bob and Jeri Sweeney of Spokane, were flown to Chicago to be in the audience for the “Oprah” taping on Friday. This is fitting, because the book is, in many ways, about them.

ArtFest success

ArtFest ‘97 at the Cheney Cowles Museum didn’t break any records this year. The hail and rain two weekends ago prevented that. But it did surprisingly well, considering the circumstances.

Attendance was about 20,000, down from the 1996 record of 25,000. The art sales totaled $133,548, just below the 1996 record of $140,000.

This annual festival was helped by a spectacularly beautiful Sunday, which helped make up for the stormy Friday and Saturday.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: Spotlight is a weekly column of news and commentary on the arts and media. To leave a message on Jim Kershner’s voice-mail, call 459-5493. Or send e-mail to jimk@spokesman.com, or regular mail to Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.