Demeter is a main character in 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 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...

. 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 productions she has larger patches of red. She has a few tabby markings around her face and legs. Demeter is one of the main queens, and her role is considered a major one in the show.

Demeter is the cat who unmasks Macavity when he tries to disguise as Old Deuteronomy.

She is very skittish and cautious of Macavity. Some believe she had a past with him and is now paranoid as she always seems to know when he is around. This seems to be confirmed by Cats Choreographer Gillian Lynne

Gillian Lynne

Gillian Barbara Lynne , CBE, born , is a British ballerina, dancer, actor, theatre director, television director and choreographer noted for her popular theatre choreography associated with the iconic musicals Cats and the current longest running show in Broadway history, The Phantom of the Opera.-...

 in behind the scenes footage seen in on the Cats special edition DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

. In most productions, she is portrayed as the mate of Alonzo

Alonzo

Alonzo or Alonso is the name of:*Alonzo Babers , a U.S. athlete.*Alonzo Bodden, a U.S. comedian.*Alonzo Church , a U.S. mathematician.*Alonzo Clemons, a U.S. autistic savant clay sculptor....

. In far fewer, Munkustrap is seen as her mate, and this pairing is really only well known because it seemed to be used in the movie version of the show. Demeter sings in the backing group in "The Gumbie Cat" with Bombalurina

Bombalurina (cat)

Bombalurina is a fictional character in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats. She's a flirtatious red Queen with a white chest and black spots.Bombalurina plays a large role in the musical, dancing and singing several solo and duet parts...

, with whom she is very close, and also with Jellylorum

Jellylorum

Jellylorum is one of the characters from the musical Cats. She is generally a mature female role, principally a vocalist.-Actresses to have played the part:Susan Jane Tanner, Anissa Hartline, Lucy Horton, Lindsey O'Neil, Bonnie Simmons...

. Her biggest part is in "Macavity", which she sings with Bombalurina.

She is one of the few adult queens to attempt to welcome 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...

 and sings part of Grizabella the Glamour Cat, but cannot bring herself to fully accept her until the show is almost over. She seems to know Grizabella and may have been good friends with her in the past, or simply identifies with her remorse. Many fans have speculated that Grizabella at some point also became involved with Macavity, which might explain the look of disgust on Demeter's face in the recorded version of the show. She usually runs off to Bombalurina in uncomfortable situations, such as when Grizabella or Macavity are nearby. It is possible that their time spent with Macavity simply overlapped. Demeter has little or no interest in the Rum Tum Tugger

Rum Tum Tugger

Rum Tum Tugger is one of the many feline characters in the poetry book Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot, published in 1939, and in the musical Cats which was based on Eliot's book....

. She shows no interest in the outgoing, vain toms; this may explain her interest in Macavity.

She is usually played by a mezzo soprano singer.

Demeter's dance takes on some complicated movements in the Jellicle Ball along with the Rum Tum Tugger, Alonzo, 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:...

, Rumpleteazer

Rumpleteazer

Rumpleteazer is a character in T. S. Eliot's book Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats.-The Poem:...

 and Bombalurina.

The part of Demeter was originated by Sharon Lee-Hill 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...

 production and by Wendy Edmead in the original Broadway production. In the Cats video she is played by Aeva May.

Vicki Noon

Vicki Noon

Vicki Noon is an American theater performer, who played the lead role of Elphaba on the Second National Tour of Wicked, a role she had previously covered in various other productions of the musical.-Early life:...

 appeared as Demeter in Cats during a Washington (state) tour.

At this moment in the worldwide tour she is played by Lisa Kuhnen.

Actresses to play the part

• Stephanie Sousa
• Lisa Kuhnen
• Aeva May
• Amy Phillips
• Lisa Karlin
• Rachael Watkins Farnum
• Renee Burleigh