Curtain Goes Down On <i>Cats</i>

Cats, the longest-running production in Broadway history, will close on June 25, ending its run after 7,397 performances, the New York Times reported in its Sunday edition.

The final curtain for the first of the blockbuster musicals was confirmed with the Times Saturday by Peter Brown, the United States representative for Andrew Lloyd Webber, the musical's composer.

The closing has been rumored for months and according to the Times the theater has been half full on some nights.

Lord Lloyd Webber in London told the newspaper that the closing was bittersweet. "Obviously, I am sad that Cats has to close on Broadway at the end of June, but it is also a day of great celebration," he said.

"Eighteen is a great age for a cat."

In those 18 years, the musical at the Winter Garden Theater was a theatrical spectacle and crowd pleaser for both kids and adults, raking in $380 million in sales and seen by more than 10 million people.

The musical has also been produced in 30 countries around the world and seen by an estimated 50 million people.

Cats opened in New York on Oct. 7, 1982 after a sold-out run in London where it is still playing.

The musical, based on T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats is the story of a group of alley cats, one of whom ascends to kitty heaven.

CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Reuters Limited contributed to this report