CATS: What is this musical about??

With the recent release of the 2019 Cats film adaptation, I have had to answer this question a lot: "What is the musical Cats about?" Even my own sister, who was forced to watch the 1998 film recording of the musical with me many times, had no idea how to explain the plot. In fact, she was pretty sure it had no plot at all! Before I go see the new movie featuring oddly famous actors like Judi Dench, Taylor Swift, and Idris Elba, I will take a stab at explaining the basic story of the Cats musical as I know it from the 90's. This is because the stage version of the show changes based on the production, so I will go with the version I am familiar with.

To start off with, it helps to know that Cats the musical is based on the poetry work of T.S. Elliot in the form of his book Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (1939). This explains why the lyrics and explanations throughout the whole musical are hard to understand and follow. They are old English words being sung by a crowd of dancers with raucous music accompanying. There is so much sound going on that you have to experience Cats more than understand it most of the time. I think it is this physical experience that makes people keep coming back to Cats even though it gets mocked for being hard to follow and seemingly pointless.

This also helps to explain why the actual story, once broken down, is extremely simple. Most of the show is episodic, a series of stories being told to the gathering over the course of one night. This makes sense considering the original book was mostly for children and was telling children about fun characters rather than a grand plot.

So, let's get into the plot. We start off with several songs explaining that on this one night a year, all the Jellicle Cats get together for a gathering called the Jellicle Ball where the kittens learn about their history and meet the famous cats among them.

What is a Jellicle Cat? According to writer Andrew Lloyd Webber who adapted the book for the stage, all cats are Jellicle Cats and all dogs are Pollicle Dogs. It is a name they use for themselves, but is not important to understand fully.

Munkustrap is the storyteller of the group. He leads many songs and explains who the new characters are, presenting this information to the cats, kittens, and audience. In the 1998 interviews, he is described as being a mentor and protector to the kittens.

The kittens are represented most notably by pure white Victoria, who has no songs of her own but whose perspective we follow. She stands out on the dark stage of dancing cats, night skies, and piles of trash in the alleyway. The kittens' reactions guide the audience as they are walked through the world of cats. Together, the cats act out scenes that help portray the stories Munkustrap tells them. They dress up as dogs and mice as needed, and provide backup to the song leaders. Throughout the show, the Jellicle Cats sing about:

• Skimbleshanks, the lively train cat who helps the conductor

• Bustopher Jones, the fat tuxedo cat who loves to dine on fancy feasts

• Jennyanydots ("Gumbie Cat"), the soft yet philanthropic tabby cat

• Gus the Theater Cat who knew a long, eventful life and is now old and frail

• Rum Tum Tugger, the sexy bad boy cat who can't make up his mind

A few others are introduced, such as a pair of mischievous twins who join the party late.

Munkustrap also introduces the cats to Old Deuteronomy, a huge shaggy cat who is their leader. This is where we get into the plot lines of Cats.

There are three story lines to follow: (1) the kittens learn about their community of cats, as mentioned before, (2) there is a villainous cat named Macavity who haunts and terrifies them, and (3) Old Deuteronomy has the mystical power to choose one special cat each year to be sent to heaven and reborn into a new life. On top of being about anthropomorphic cats, the musical suggests multiple times that there really is magic in the world.

The first story line is an anthology: we learn about the cats and some of their famous community members. Most of the songs are about these characters. The second and third story lines bleed into the first a little, since the cats being focused on have songs about them or songs that they sing. They are also part of the anthology of characters listed above.

The second story line follows the cats' fear of Macavity, who seems like he may once have been one of them but now is an outsider with dark followers. He is scraggly and sneaky like a shadow and seems bent on disturbing everyone, going so far as to start a fight with Munkustrap while his minions kidnap Old Deuteronomy. The Jellicle Cats are devastates, until they are introduced to a young magical cat called Mr. Mistoffelees. This magical cat is indeed able to miraculously bring Old Deuteronomy back!

The third story line seems to be the basis of the 2019 film adaptation: anticipation for finding out who Old Deuteronomy will choose to send to heaven to be reborn anew. It is not talked about through most of the show, only mentioned by Munkustrap at the beginning to indicate just how important the cats' leader is to them. There are many old or worthy cats among the group, but one stands out. Singer of the most famous song from Cats, Grizabella is an old, ragged cat who left the community to live a glamorous life and is now looking for love and friendship. Unfortunately, all the cats are put off by her age and her bedraggled appearance. Only the kitten Victoria attempts to get anywhere near her and all the others bar her way. Her song is incredibly sad and pleading, desperate for the warmth of someone's touch. After Old Deuteronomy is returned from Macavity and the cats are ready to hear who will go to heave, their minds are more open and they hear Grizabella's pain. It is possible she expects to die tonight, tired and old as she is. Victoria is the only one who dares go forward and discovers that Grizabella's hands are soft and worth holding. She is welcomed into the fold, and then Old Deuteronomy invites her to join him on his high seat so he can see her off to a new life.

The show pretty much ends after that with a big choral number that seems to represent dawn and the end of this year's gathering.

Why did I love this musical so much as a kid? Well, there are several reasons. First of all, the costumes are a ton of fun and the weird, fluid movements meant to emulate but not imitate a cat can be captivating if you let yourself just enjoy it. Secondly, the music is great. There were a ton of songs I hardly understood, but the tune and the chorus and the dances kept me wanting more. I think there is also something to be said for a little bit of early sexual awakening. Both the magical cat Mr. Mestoffelees and the bad boy cat Rum Tum Tugger are extremely attractive male dancers doing fun, athletic, sometimes erotic dances that I did not experience anywhere else. (To those questioning my parents, I was allowed to watch pretty much anything because I was such an oblivious kid that they didn't need to worry. Innuendos went totally over my head and the sexy dancing in Cats made me blush or look away for a long time.)

I also love the behind the scenes love and work that goes into a musical production like this with everyone in costume, singing, dancing, and performing tons of choreography. It was especially difficult to adapt the stage play for TV when it was filmed in 1998, and it is still difficult to put a spectacle like it on the big screen.

Images were found on Google Images.