Robbie Fairchild to Play Munkustrap in ‘Cats’ Movie Adaptation (EXCLUSIVE)

By Justin Kroll

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Robbie Fairchild has joined the cast of Universal Pictures and Working Title’s film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Cats,” in which he will play the character Munkustrap.

Based on “Old Possum’s Book of Practical ” by T.S. Eliot, the musical was one of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history. It received its world premiere at the New London Theatre in 1981 where it played for 21 record-breaking years and almost 9,000 performances. The ground-breaking production was the winner of the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for best musical. The Broadway production ran for 18 years and, in 1983, was the recipient of seven Tony Awards including best musical.

Tom Hooper will direct and also adapted the screenplay along with Lee Hall. Tony Award-winning choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler will choreograph the dances for the film.

Fairchild joins a star-studded cast that already includes Taylor Swift, Judi Dench, Idris Elba, Ian McKellen, Jennifer Hudson, and James Corden.

Hooper and Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner will produce, as well as Debra Hayward, who brought the idea to Working Title. The pic will be produced by Working Title Films in association with Monumental Pictures and the Really Useful Group and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Lloyd Webber, and Angela Morrison.

Fairchild made his Broadway debut in 2015 with his breakout role as Jerry Mulligan in the Tony Award-winning musical “An American in Paris,” which he reprised in London in 2017. He is repped by CAA.