Original Broadway Cats cast member Ken Ard, Legendary’s Leoimy and Saturday Church’s Bryson Battle are joining the cast of Broadway’s Cats: The Jellicle Ball.
Leoimy, a dancer known as the “Wonder Woman of Vogue” and a judge on HBO’s voguing reality competition Legendary, will make her Broadway debut as Macavity in the reimagined revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical. Ard, who played Macavity in the 1982 Broadway production of Cats, will return to the stage after 25 years to take on the newly created role of DJ Griddlebone.
Battle, a finalist on season 28 of The Voice who recently starred as Ulysees in Saturday Church at New York Theatre Workshop, will make his Broadway debut in the role of Jellylorum.
The revival, which sets Cats in the underground ballroom world, with each performer competing to win a vogue dancing competition, moves to Broadway after an acclaimed run at New York’s Perelman Performing Arts Center last season.
The musical is set to play Broadway’s Broadhurst Theatre starting March 18, 2026, ahead of an April 7 opening night. Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch direct, with choreography by Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons.
Ard, Leimy and Battle complete the casting for the Broadway production, alongside the previously announced cast members, who took part in the Off-Broadway run: André De Shields as ‘Old Deuteronomy,’ Jonathan Burke as ‘Mungojerrie,’ Baby Byrne as ‘Victoria,’ Tara Lashan Clinkscales, Sydney James Harcourt as ‘Rum Tum Tugger,’ Dava Huesca as ‘Rumpleteazer,’ Dudney Joseph Jr. as ‘Munkustrap,’ Junior LaBeija as ‘Gus,’ Robert “Silk” Mason as ‘Magical Mister Mistoffelees,’ “Tempress” Chasity Moore as ‘Grizabella,’ Primo Thee Ballerino as ‘Tumblebrutus,’ Xavier Reyes as ‘Jennyanydots,’ Nora Schell as ‘Bustopher Jones,’ Bebe Nicole Simpson as ‘Demeter,’ Emma Sofia as Cassandra’/’Skimbleshanks,’ Garnet Williams as ‘Bombalurina,’ and Teddy Wilson, Jr. as ‘Sillabub.’
Sherrod T. Brown (Hugh Jackman: From New York, With Love), Bryce Farris (Janet Jackson’s Together Again tour), Phumzile Sojola (Masquerade), Kendall Grayson Stroud (Broadway debut), B. Noel Thomas (Saturday Church), Kalyn West (The Prom), and Donté Nadir Wilder (Broadway debut) will also join the cast in the ensemble.
Read the full article here
