For CATS, I guess it could work if it were done as an on-stage orchestra of cats. But CATS has large dance numbers so there would be no "cats" available to play instruments. And the frequent dance routines are taxing of the actors' energy not to mention that CATS is a sing-through. So, it might have to be a separate cat orchestra who just play instruments or limit the number of dancers and singers for each scene. But that would come close to being "CATS in Concert".

But CATS has large dance numbers so there would be no "cats" available to play instruments. And the frequent dance routines are taxing of the actors' energy not to mention that CATS is a sing-through. So, it might have to be a separate cat orchestra who just play instruments or limit the number of dancers and singers for each scene. But that would come close to being "CATS in Concert".

I will agree about the simplicity of certain shows. CATS has only the barest plot to start with.

Cats has a straightforward plot, but I wouldn't call it bare and I'm not certain that I would call it simple either. I think that what makes it complex is the huge role that dance and choreographed movement play in this show as a tool for communicating things like character, character relationships and even bits of narrative, things that would more conventionally be revealed through the book or the score. The thing that makes people underestimate this complexity is either a misunderstanding of the ability of dance and choreographed movement to communicate these things, which subsequently makes them write off the physical staging of the show as mere "hoofing" for the sole purpose of entertainment, or an underdeveloped ability to read these things when they are translated into the medium of dance and choreographed movement rather than into words and/or music.