If you’ve heard of Phantom of the Opera, Evita or Cats, you know Andrew Lloyd Webber. He is a master at musical theater composition . He has won Countless GRAMMYs and Tonys for his work, along with a Golden Globe and Emmy. He began his production with Cats in 1981 and now the hit Broadway musical is making its way to the screens of Hollywood. He of course had to be a part of that cross-over as he composed the hit Broadway Musical based on the poems by T.S. Eliot.
Taylor Swift will be playing the part of the cat Bombalurina and was invited to Webber’s house to practice her song “Macavity the Mystery Cat.” She had heard they wanted an original song for the movie adaption of Cats and she knows all too well it never hurts to seize an opportunity to go after her dreams. She was well versed on the script and had even thought of where the song might go in the movie. The perfect moment, she thought would be right after the cat Grizabella (played by Jennifer Hudson) performs “Memory” and the white kitten, Victoria reflects on what she just heard. In the Broadway version, Victoria has no solo singing parts, and is well trained in ballet. For the movie adaption however, she was made a central figure and she needed a solo song. Swift described the moment Victoria would sing as thinking that what if she never has those great memories, at least you had them.
The direct of the movie, Tom Hooper reflected on hearing the song, titled “Beautiful Ghosts.”
“What I couldn’t believe was the extraordinary beauty of these lyrics that Taylor had written. It was as if someone had come into the film I was in the middle of making and read the script, met the actors, and seen the world, and reflected back to me a profound understanding of what we’re trying to do with the movie.”
Swift joked, “If you can’t get T. S. Eliot, get T.S.” “Beautiful Ghost” will be sung by the kitten Victoria played by Francesca Hayward and reprised by Judi Dench, as Old Deuteronomy. Swift will also sing the song over the end credits. Could a possible Oscar for Best Original Song be in their future? We hope so!
