Alonzo (cat)
Encyclopedia
Alonzo is a character in T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...

`s Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats is a collection of whimsical poems by T. S. Eliot about feline psychology and sociology, published by Faber and Faber. It is the basis for the record-setting musical Cats....

 and Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...

`s musical Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...

. His name is mentioned first in the Naming of Cats. His actor sometimes doubles as the Great Rumpus Cat
Rumpus Cat
The Great Rumpus Cat is a fictional character from T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, Cats. In Cats, the Jellicles put on a small play when their leader, Old Deuteronomy, arrives. The story is about how Rumpus Cat stopped two neighboring dog...

 depending on the production.

Alonzo is a black and white tom
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...

, and is often considered the 'second-hand-man' to Munkustrap
Munkustrap
Munkustrap is a Jellicle cat, named in T. S. Eliot's poem "The Naming of Cats". He is a principal character in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats.-The musical:...

. He saves Demeter
Demeter (cat)
Demeter is a main character in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats. Her name is given in "the Naming Of Cats".Demeter, as costumed in the filmed production, is black and gold with a few patches of white and red or orange, and wears gloves instead of arm warmers, giving her a more elegant touch. In other...

 from Macavity, and is the first to attack him after he defeats Munkustrap.
In the US and the first German Productions, he is depicted as being black and gold.

Alonzo is the most flirtatious of the cats; seen flirting with many of the kittens and queen cats. He acts cocky and arrogant around the male cats, and mischievously calls to the females. He seems to be mated with Cassandra. (Rum Tum Tugger seems to get more female cats attracted to him, but he typically blows them off instead of flirting like Alonzo.)

The part of Alonzo was originally created in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 by Roland Alexander and on Broadway by Hector Jaime Mercado. In the Cats video Alonzo is portrayed by Jason Gardiner
Jason Gardiner
-Theatre:*1987- Cats – Australian Cast - Theatre Royal Sydney*1988- 42nd Street – Original Australian Cast – Her Majesty’s Theatre*1991- West Side Story – USA National Tour – Dance Captain*1992- Kizmet – Miami – Jackie Gleeson Theatre USA...

 who later became a judge on the UK TV show "Dancing on Ice" and currently works for another UK TV Show "This Morning".

In the video, Alonzo can be seen dancing with quite a number of the queens. His duties always come first though, as can be seen when he frightens away Grizabella
Grizabella
Grizabella is the "Glamour Cat" in the musical production Cats. She does not appear in T. S. Eliot's work Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, but she is a prominent character in the stageplay. It appears that she is the feline version of the woman mentioned in T.S...

 in The Jellicle Ball, when he rescues Demeter
Demeter (cat)
Demeter is a main character in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats. Her name is given in "the Naming Of Cats".Demeter, as costumed in the filmed production, is black and gold with a few patches of white and red or orange, and wears gloves instead of arm warmers, giving her a more elegant touch. In other...

, and when he takes over fighting Macavity after Munkustrap
Munkustrap
Munkustrap is a Jellicle cat, named in T. S. Eliot's poem "The Naming of Cats". He is a principal character in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats.-The musical:...

 falls.

Actors to have played the part

Luke McCollum, Jason Gardiner
Jason Gardiner
-Theatre:*1987- Cats – Australian Cast - Theatre Royal Sydney*1988- 42nd Street – Original Australian Cast – Her Majesty’s Theatre*1991- West Side Story – USA National Tour – Dance Captain*1992- Kizmet – Miami – Jackie Gleeson Theatre USA...

, Roland Alexander, Hector Jaime Mercado, John Partridge
John Partridge (performer)
John Partridge is an English actor, singer, dancer, panelist and television presenter, who is probably best known for the role of Christian Clarke in the long-running BBC television soap opera EastEnders, having joined the cast in January 2008...

, Edward Lawrence, Trenard Mobley and Leonardo Wagner.
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