Lloyd Webber oversaw orchestration and called on Gillian Lynne, the show's original choreographer, to train the cast members.

It was filmed at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1997, with the cast selected from various past and (then) present international productions of Cats.

Initially released to VHS and subsequently DVD and Blu-ray, the film has since been shown on television channels including PBS, BBC and Ovation TV.

At this moment, Munkustrap, the main narrator, explains that tonight the Jellicle patriarch Old Deuteronomy will make an appearance and choose one of the cats to be reborn into a new life on the Heaviside Layer.

Then, as Rum Tum Tugger's song fades, a shabby old grey cat stumbles out wanting to be reconciled; it is Grizabella.

Hushed giggling sounds signal the entrance of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, a pair of near-identical cats.

A somber moral from Old Deuteronomy is interrupted by a second loud crash, presumably from Macavity, which sends the alarmed cats scurrying.

However, the cats do not understand him, so he has Jemima, the youngest of all Jellicles, sing it in simpler terms ("The Moments of Happiness").

When they are finished, Macavity returns disguised as Old Deuteronomy, but his cover is blown by Demeter and he ends up in a fight with Munkustrap and Alonzo.

Macavity holds his own for a time, but as the rest of the tribe begins to gang up and surround him, he shorts out the stage lights and escapes in the resulting confusion.

[3] The characters and their respective performers include:[4] The film was shot at the Adelphi Theatre in London over the course of 18 days in August 1997.

[5][6] The cast vocals were recorded first, followed by two run-throughs of the entire show that were captured from multiple angles by 16 cameras, ending with a few weeks of close-up and pick-up shots.

[14][6] It has been televised on other channels, including BBC and Ovation TV,[citation needed] and was shown on Great Performances again in November 2014.

[6] In May 2020, Lloyd Webber announced that he would broadcast this film on YouTube with live commentary in honor of his beloved cat Mika, who was hit and killed by a car that morning.