MENDOTA - Auditions are now scheduled for this summer's Mendota Education Foundation (MEF) 3M Musical Production of “CATS.”

Try outs will take place at the Mendota High School auditorium on Saturday, May 20 from 9 a.m. to noon and Sunday, May 21 from 1 to 4 p.m. Call back will be at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 22. There are adult and teen roles; teens must be entering high school and adults have no age limit. The performances will be on Aug. 4, 5 and 6 at the MHS auditorium.

The Jellicle Cats come out to play on one special night of the year – the night of the Jellicle Ball that takes place in a junkyard. The felines that inhabit the junkyard tell their stories and exhibit their many qualities in a series of song and dance to Old Deuteronomy, the wise old cat who must select one of the cats to ascend to the Heaviside Layer to be reborn into a whole new Jellicle life.

CATS is based on the setting of “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” by T.S. Eliot, whose nickname was Possum. The play opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden where it ran for 7,485 performances before closing 18 years later – one of the most beloved musicals. CATS won a total of seven Tony Awards that included Best Musical, Book, Direction and Original Score.

Detailed information is available on the Mendota Education Foundation Summer Stock Facebook page. Any questions, please contact Christine or Stephanie Benson at (815) 434-0705 or mefsummerstock@gmail.com.