The latest entry into the Oscar race is Cats, a feature adaptation of the now iconic Andrew Lloyd Weber musical based on T. S. Eliot. I must mention “The Wasteland” poet because at no time during the state of the art premiere this week at Alice Tully Hall did anyone acknowledge this bona fide cred. Well, the musical is what its audience calls for: spectacularly beautiful to look at, with exceptional voices rendering the musical’s songs –or song. As one wag put it, I have never seen a whole feature devoted to one tune. That song, “Memories,” sticks in the craw, grating in its familiarity and cliché, but Jennifer Hudson as the ousted Grizabella, manages to give it new oomph. It soars.

Director Tom Hooper masterminded this recreation, and got amazing talent from Dame Judi Dench to Taylor Swift, Robert Fairchild to James Corden, IIdris Elba to Ian McKellen, and the hilarious Rebel Wilson in her furry catsuit–you could not imagine a better lineup. But before he brought everyone to the stage, Hooper introduced his discovery, Francesca Hayward in a stunning white sparkly gown. She is a true star, the compassionate ingenue, Victoria, who brings Grizabella back into the good graces of the menagerie. Uplifted in a Wizard of Oz style balloon, her nine lives up, she makes her way to film Heaven.

As no one has seen it yet, Cats may not make the awards season. Taylor Swift, with her beau, Joe Alwyn, left the Tavern on the Green party upon arrival. Idris Elba had to catch a plane. And James Corden didn’t get there at all. Like the cats scrambling for scraps, a competitive spirit may hover. But the rest of us toasted our Piper Heidseck and partied hearty. Cats, at its most sentimental moment, embraces life.