Cats…the Musical
One of my favorite poets is T.S. Elliot. He wrote many poems, even winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. Funny thing is, he really wanted to be known for his theater writing, as initially he never intended to be published as a poet. As an ironic twist of fate, his collection of Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, published in the 1930’s, was turned into a work entitled Practical Cats in 1954 by Alan Rawsthorne. It set six of the poems to an orchestra along with a speaker. This work then became the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats. The musical introduced several additional characters from the original Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, most notably Grizabella. As stated, Elliot loved writing for the theater. If only he’d of known it would come out of his poetry!
Please note, I do not agree with some of Mr. Elliot’s personal views on life and its inhabitants. That said, I find Mr. Elliot’s work full of symbolism, and in the case of his beloved cats – lot of fun. Check it out for yourself! Go wild! And if you haven’t seen CATS, just do it! The stage production is incredible, which is why we own it as a movie too.
I know this will seem weird, but we have four cats, and guess where they all got their names?! Yep! We have Mistoffelees, Electra, Tugger (Rum Tum Tugger) and Victoria. Click on each name to see their song and character videos.
Some pictures to get you hooked on wanting to see the real thing!
The following poem would later become the basis for the Broadway musical CATS theme song. The word jellicle comes from Mr. Elliot’s niece and meant dear little cats.
Jellicle Cats come out to-night
Jellicle Cats come one come all:
The Jellicle Moon is shining bright -
Jellicles come to the Jellicle Ball.
Jellicle Cats are black and white,
Jellicle Cats are rather small;
Jellicle Cats are merry and bright,
And pleasant to hear when they caterwaul.
Jellicle Cats have cheerful faces,
Jellicle Cats have bright black eyes;
They like to practise their airs and graces
And wait for the Jellicle Moon to rise.
Jellicle Cats develop slowly,
Jellicle Cats are not too big;
Jellicle Cats are roly-poly,
They know how to dance a gavotte and a jig.
Until the Jellicle Moon appears
They make their toilette and take their repose:
Jellicle Cats wash behind their ears,
Jellicle dry between their toes.
Jellicle Cats are white and black,
Jellicle Cats are of moderate size;
Jellicle Cats jump like a jumping-jack,
Jellicle Cats have moonlit eyes.
They’re quitet enough in the morning hours,
They’re quitet enough in the afternoon,
Reserving their terpsichorean powers
To dance by the light of the Jellicle Moon.
Jellicle Cats are black and white,
Jellicle Cats (as I said) are small;
If it happends to be a stormy night
They will practise a caper or two in the hall.
If it happens the sun is shining bright
You would say they had nothing to do at all:
They are resting and saving themselves to be right
For the Jellicle Moon and the Jellicle Ball.
T. S. elliot
