The Community Music School, housed in the University of Delaware’s Department of Music, will present Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ever-popular musical Cats at 7 p.m., Friday, July 29, and at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Saturday, July 30, in the Thompson Theatre of the Roselle Center for the Arts.

Tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for full-time students and children, and will be available at the door by cash or check only.

The presentation will set the stage for many community-driven musical theatre productions to come, according to a Community Music School representative.

As the first of its kind, Cats is an exciting debut and offers current students in the music department the opportunity to get hands-on experience in putting together productions and to build future audiences for music events.

Cats is based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Leading the Community Music School team is Tina Sheing, the stage director, with Paul Patinka and Joshua Baker serving as back stage director and pit orchestra director, respectively.

“When we first chose Cats as our inaugural production back in the fall, we were originally just looking for a show that had opportunities to highlight as many students as possible,” said Sheing. “Little did we know the impact these characters would have on these students in today’s climate of divisiveness.”

Sheing has been directing and acting locally for over 20 years, working with the Resident Ensemble Players during the school year as the audience services manager.

Patinka, a UD master’s degree student, has also been involved in the UD Opera Theatre production of The Crucible as Rev. Parris and numerous performances at his undergraduate alma mater, Hartwick College, from which he graduated in 2015.

Baker is a recent UD graduate of the music education program, where he spent his last two summers, and continuing this year, working with the Community Music School.

Through the Community Music School, the young cast members are able to gain confidence on the stage while the crew gains valuable experience in how to direct and manage a musical theatre production, a representative said, and the audience gains a front row seat to watch the magic that is Cats.