I’ve never cared that much for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cats.” Yes, it ran for 21 years in London after premiering in 1981 and for 18 years on Broadway, where it racked up loads of awards, including seven Tonys. And yes, it became one of the longest-running shows ever in both cities, has enjoyed countless productions all over the world and sparked the mega-musical trend.

But it has always seemed to me that what started as Lloyd Webber’s exercise to see if he could compose for existing lyrics by setting the poems in T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” to music has about as much substance as the fog that “comes on little cat feet” in Robert Frost’s poem. The barely-there plot brings together too many strangely named kitty characters to keep track of; the centerpiece is a mythical event, and I’ve wasted too many minutes scratching my head over the meaning of “Jellicle Cats,” only partly explained in the opening number.

So why spend more than two hours (round trip) driving to the Paramount Theatre in Aurora to see “Cats?” Simple: It’s a circus, and I’m a sucker for circuses ranging from Cirque du Soleil to “Lookingglass Alice.”

Director Trent Stork and his designers have re-imagined “Cats” as Le Cirque du Chat, and the large ensemble of quadruple-threat actors-singers-dancers-circus artists pulls it off brilliantly. Acrobats and aerialists all (or almost), they fly netless on trapezes, straps, ropes and silk streamers suspended from the fly space, as well as slinking and strutting across the stage with catlike ease and grace, thanks to Kasey Alfonso’s choreography. The costumes by Izumi Inaba and fur and makeup design by Katie Cordts make them look fabulous, too.

Multiple, simultaneous circus acts, especially in the first half, show off the skills not only of the cast but also of circus choreographer Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi, clown consultant and associate circus choreographer Amanda Crockett and several flight, stunt and illusion consultants. The pace slows a little in Act 2, but that helps highlight a grand finale with a lucky kitty flying high above the whole auditorium.

That event, which we’re told about from the start, is the reason for the annual Jellicle ball — and the main plot thread. The cats gather to learn which cat will be summoned to the Heaviside Layer (the equivalent of Heaven, though I don’t know why) to be granted another life. The decision is made by Old Deuteronomy (Lorenzo Rush Jr.), the wise patriarch whose cat wives have given birth to many kittens. (The playbill includes a family tree.) The main candidate would seem to be Grizabella the Glamour Cat (Emily Rohm), who’s seen better days (and gets the most memorable song, “Memory”), but she’s shunned by all the other cats for no apparent reason.

Most of the rest of the show involves introducing us to the rest of the cats, and the circus conceit helps us remember who’s who. Sleek Jennyanydots (Kat Hoil) is the contortionist in “The Old Gumbie Cat.” Mr. Mistoffelees (Christopher Kelley) treats us to a magic show to the eponymous “Mr. Mistoffelees.” The elusive Macavity (Matthew Weidenbener) appears and disappears in the blink of an eye. Asparagus (Gene Weygandt) relives his glory days as “Gus: The Theatre Cat.” Two of my favorites are Mungojerrie (Michael Lunder) and Rumpleteazer (Dani Goldberg), petty thieves whose antics are a delightful mix of clowning and acrobatics.

Occasionally, the spectacle goes into overdrive, like when scores of red balloons are released into the audience. And there can be so much going on onstage at once that it’s hard to know where to look.

My main problem with “Cats,” though, is that the sound was loud enough to be distorted, making it difficult to decipher some of the lyrics. Other than that, the show is well worth the trip.