> Which Broadway musical was inspired by a book by T. S. Eliot?And the answer: Cats. Published in 1939, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats is a collection ofwhimsical poems by T.S. Eliot. Several of the poems inspired Andrew LloydWebber's 1981 musical Cats, including "The Song of the Jellicles," "Mr.Mistoffelees," and "Old Deuteronomy." Photo credit: fair use.What began as silly poems soon grew into a worldwidephenomenon that continues to mesmerize audiences today. Cats the musical comesin just behind The Lion King as the fourth-longest running show on Broadway, andhas been adapted to the screen as recently as 2019. The show is performedentirely in song, and the set is constructed to appear 2 to 3 times larger thanits performers — surely a show told entirely in the world of whimsical catsrequires its quirks. Over its decades of existence, Cats has amassed seven TonyAwards, and has been translated into 15 languages. The cat's meow, indeed.Interestingly, the musical's best known song "Memories" is based off of a T.S.Eliot poem that was never completed. When Webber approached Eliot's widow torequest her blessing for the project, she provided him not only a resounding"yes," but plenty of notes and letters left behind by her late husband. In them,Webber discovered a half-finished poem called “Grizabella, the Glamour Cat.” Bycombining the poem with lines from another Eliot poem, “Rhapsody on a WindyNight,” the famous melancholic ballad we know now as "Memories" was born.Thankfully, Eliot received a posthumous Tony for his contributions to thisproject. Watch Elaine Paige perform "Memories" below.