A complete guide to all the songs in 'Cats'

Paws for thought and get to know the Cats songs ahead of the exciting musical revival at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.

Summary

• Cats is getting a major revival at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre next summer
• The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical will be directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie
• Learn all about the songs in the show such as "Macavity" and "Memory"

It’s not just a memory: Cats is returning to London! Another day is dawning at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, where Andrew Lloyd Webber’s inimitable musical is getting a brand-new production next summer directed and choreographed by the venue’s artistic director, Drew McOnie.

Based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, the iconic musical has an unusual structure. Instead of following one main character, it moves between multiple different cats as they tell their stories, based on Eliot’s witty poems. At the end of the show, one cat is chosen to ascend to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn.

Ahead of the hugely anticipated Regent’s Park revival, get to know the indelible songs of Cats.

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“Prologue: Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats”

The company of cats introduces themselves to the audience with this teasing number. If you can see in the dark, land on your feet, and if you were there when the pharaohs commissioned the Sphinx, then you might just be a Jellicle cat. There’s also some winking fourth-wall-breaking as the cats observe their astonished audience.

“The Naming of Cats”

We move on to how cats are named, and according to our Jellicle crew, they have at least three different names: the one their family uses every day, a fancier one, and a cat’s hidden name. This fun song continues the theme of the show: that we’re being clued into the secret life of a cat.

“The Old Gumbie Cat”

Our main narrator Munkustrap has explained that tonight Old Deuteronomy will choose the cat to be reborn on the Heaviside Layer. This song gives us our first contender: Jennyanydots, a lazy tabby cat who springs into life come nightfall and teaches the mice and cockroaches. It’s a bouncy, goofy number in the style of the Andrews Sisters.

“The Rum Tum Tugger”

Enter the cat who is probably most recognisable to exasperated pet owners: the Rum Tum Tugger. This swaggering feline simply loves to be contrary, singing “When you let me in, I want to go out / I’m always on the wrong side of every door”. But he’s so charming, and this is such an irresistible jazzy song, that you can’t possibly get cross with him.

“Grizabella: The Glamour Cat”

The show strikes a mournful note with the first appearance of Grizabella, an older grey cat who has lived an eventful life, haunting some grimy places, and is now seeking reconciliation. But at this point in the show, the other cats recoil from her.

“Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town”

We’re back to fun as we meet another colourful figure. Bustopher Jones is a cheerfully plump, well-to-do cat in a fastidious black coat who frequents the clubs on St James’s Street. His number is an appropriately snooty one for this self-satisfied gentleman in white spats.

“Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer”

Meet the devilish double act of Cats: Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, the near-identical pair who love causing trouble and stealing from their neighbours. They’re usually played as mischievous cockney chancers, and they get a rollicking music hall number to suit. But at the end of their song, the other cats confront them and they flee.

“Old Deuteronomy”

We’ve heard lots about him, and now the great, wise patriarch of the cats joins his tribe. We learn more about him from the company in this deferential number, such as that he’s “lived many lives in succession”. Finally Old Deuteronomy himself sings: he “must go slow”, but he’s still evidently revered by his fellow cats.

“The Jellicle Ball”

It’s party time for our assembled cats as they launch into the Jellicle Ball, lit by the Jellicle Moon. This number is mainly renowned for the incredible dancing: it’s an opportunity for the choreographer (originally Dame Gillian Lynne) to really let loose and demonstrate the “terpsichorean powers” of these lithe felines.

“Grizabella: The Glamour Cat (Reprise)” / “Memory (Prelude)”

Grizabella tries to join the other cats at the Jellicle Ball, but she can’t keep up. She sings a little teaser of her mighty ballad, “Memory”, as she sadly watches the younger cats – and Old Deuteronomy observes her, setting up his later decision.

“The Moments of Happiness”

Act II begins with Old Deuteronomy asking his tribe to think about moments of happiness where “we had the experience but missed the meaning”, most likely referring to Grizabella. Young cat Jemima poignantly responds in kind, echoing Grizabella’s lines about moonlight and memory – and hope for a new life.

“Gus: The Theatre Cat”

The next feline we meet is the very appropriate theatre cat: Asparagus, or Gus for short. He’s now an elderly cat, so this gentle, wistful number is more about him reflecting on his glory days, when he played “every possible part”. He grumbles that younger cats nowadays don’t get trained properly – a perennial thespian complaint in our world too!

“Growltiger’s Last Stand” or “The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles”

The latter number has generally replaced the former in recent productions of Cats, though it remains an option. They are both propulsive, outlandish fables that allow for inventive staging: one about a notorious pirate captain, the other a legendary fight between two warring dog tribes, who keep at it until a cat scares them away.

“Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat”

Back to our present tribe, and a chirpy rhythmic number that evokes the beloved trains of Skimbleshanks the railway cat. As he relates, he proudly patrols the Northern Mail, protects the sleeping passengers from mice, and is an integral part of their rail experience.

“Macavity: The Mystery Cat”

While Skimbleshanks is among the more helpful and obliging felines in the show, Macavity is an entirely different prospect. This mysterious cat, known as “the Hidden Paw”, is a master criminal who always evades the law – because when they reach the scene of crime “Macavity’s not there”. This fabulously slinky jazz number, sung by two female cats, is one of the highlights of the show.

“Magical Mr Mistoffelees”

Next up is another cat with special powers, but there’s nothing to fear from Mr Mistoffelees. This legendary conjuror gets the admiring refrain “Oh! Well I never! Was there ever / A cat so clever as Magical Mr Misoffelees”. This showman’s final trick is to bring back Old Deuteronomy, who had been captured by the dastardly Macavity.

“Memory”

The extraordinary 11 o’clock number in Cats is one of Lloyd Webber’s most famous breakout hits. In this stirring ballad, Grizabella looks back over her life, from her time as a young beauty to her difficult years leading to her ostracisation. Lloyd Webber originally wrote the lilting waltz music as a homage to Puccini, but it’s the emotional gut-punch delivered by the despairing Grizabella that makes it a classic.

“The Journey to the Heaviside Layer”

Grizabella’s plea to her fellow cats works. She is chosen to journey to the Heaviside Layer, where she will be reborn into a new Jellicle existence and have a second chance. Grizabella and Old Deuteronomy rise towards the sky, and Grizabella continues into the heavens.

“The Ad-dressing of Cats”

Old Deuteronomy gets the final word, leading his cats in this majestic number about how to address a cat, based on everything we’ve learnt in the show. We move from the basics (“A cat is not a dog”) to bowing and bribing a cat with food, and finally to treating a cat with the utmost respect. Quite right.

Main photo credit: Cats at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre (courtesy of the production). Inset: Cats at the London Palladium (photos by Alessandro Pinna)