OSAKA -- Shiki Theater Co. has staged the landmark 5,000th performance in Japan of the popular musical "Cats," the third-longest run worldwide for the masterpiece from Britain's Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The memorable performance, held Sunday at Osaka MBS Theater in the city's Chuo Ward, leaves Japan behind only Britain, with 8,759 performances, and the United States, with 7,485, Shiki officials said.
"Cats" made its Japan debut in Tokyo in 1983 and went on to show in Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sapporo and other cities, drawing some 4.87 million people, the officials said.
The musical is about cats attending a ball at a big city garbage dump and was first staged in London in 1981. It has so far been performed in 24 countries.