I was one of those oh-so-pretentious theater kids so I felt I had an obligation to see this, especially before the aforementioned 'digital update'.
I know all the songs and have seen Cats a few times in theaters both on Broadway and in travelling casts. I feel eminently qualified, therefore, to State the following:
This is an abomination. It is pain. I was literally squirming in my seat as if listening to 2 solid hours of Vogon poetry. Just when you think you've grown acclimated to it and managed to, somehow, innoculate your brain against any further horrors something even more unthinkable happens to send you screaming into the abyss. I half expected the end credits to read :
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn
I don't know our society did to deserve this, but we need to find out and set that shit straight NOW.