Jellylorum
Encyclopedia
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
. She is generally a mature female role, principally a vocalist.
Actresses to have played the part
Susan Jane TannerSusan Jane Tanner
Susan Jane Tanner is an English theatre actress, best known for playing the role of Madame Thénardier in the original London cast of Les Misérables and as Jellylorum in the original London version of Cats and reprising her role in the 1998 video version. She currently resides with her husband in...
, Anissa Hartline, Lucy Horton, Lindsey O'Neil, Bonnie Simmons
Bonnie Simmons
Bonnie Simmons is a California based radio personality. Audio director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she is also a band manager, currently managing or having managed in the past Cake, Noe Venable and Etienne de Rocher.-References:**...
The Little cat
One of the cats named in "The Naming of Cats," Jellylorum is also the subject of a poem written by T. S. EliotT. 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...
. In a letter to his godson, Tom Faber, on January 20, 1930, Eliot wrote:
"I am glad you have a cat but I do not believe it is so remarkable a cat as My cat... There never was such a Little cat.
ITS NAME IS
- JELLYLORUM
and its one idea is to be
- USEFUL
FOR Instance
- ITS STRAIGHTENS THE PICTURES -
- IT DOES THE GRATES -
- LOOKS INTO THE LARDER TO SEE WHAT'S NEEDED -
- AND INTO THE DUSTBIN TO SEE THAT NOTHING'S WASTED -
AND YET
- IT IS SO LITTLE AND SMALL
- THAT
IT CAN SIT ON MY EAR!
Character
On stage Jellylorum is generally portrayed as a calico or tabby, with yellow being her dominant color in most productions.Her age varies from production to production. Many productions have Jellylorum near the age of 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...
and 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...
, but others portray her a little older. In the video version of Cats, Susan Jane Tanner
Susan Jane Tanner
Susan Jane Tanner is an English theatre actress, best known for playing the role of Madame Thénardier in the original London cast of Les Misérables and as Jellylorum in the original London version of Cats and reprising her role in the 1998 video version. She currently resides with her husband in...
plays the role as she did in the original production, which made the character of Jellylorum closer in age to Jennyanydots
Jennyanydots
Jennyanydots is a fictional character in the musical play Cats. She is an old Gumbie cat who teaches the mice music, crocheting and tatting. During the day, the family thinks she is lazy because she sits around doing nothing Jennyanydots is a fictional character in the musical play Cats. She is an...
. Since Tanner was reprising the role seventeen years after she originated it, she was roughly ten years older than the average actress portraying the character.
Part of the perception of Jellylorum as an older cat comes from her maternal attitude towards the kittens. She is one of the adults who gets between kittens and 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...
to "protect" them from her and reminds the kittens that "Jellicles dry between their toes." Jellylorum is also one of the few queens who does not swoon for 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....
.
Jellylorum is one of the few characters in 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...
to have a firmly established relationship with another character. In the second act, Jellylorum sings the female part of Gus: the Theatre Cat in a duet with Old Gus. She is very close with him, and is his close friend, daughter, or perhaps mate.. She is often shown as being close friends with Jennyanydots
Jennyanydots
Jennyanydots is a fictional character in the musical play Cats. She is an old Gumbie cat who teaches the mice music, crocheting and tatting. During the day, the family thinks she is lazy because she sits around doing nothing Jennyanydots is a fictional character in the musical play Cats. She is an...
and Skimbleshanks
Skimbleshanks
Skimbleshanks is a cat character in T. S. Eliot's book of poetry Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats....
.
The Musical
In CatsCats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
Jellylorum has four main parts:
- In The Old Gumbie Cat Jellylorum is part of the female chorus often called the "Gumbie Trio."
- In Bustopher Jones: the Cat About Town Jellylorum is one of three female soloists.
- In Gus: the Theatre Cat Jellylorum sings a duet with Gus.
- In Growltiger's Last Stand Jellylorum performs the part of GriddleboneGriddleboneGriddlebone is a cat character who appears in T. S. Eliot's collection of poems Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and also the musical Cats during the song of 'Growltigers Last Stand.'...
in most productions.
The role of Jellylorum is played by a soprano who is able to hit High C. Dance ability is secondary to vocal ability in many larger productions where there are more characters to fill out dance numbers due to the vocal ability needed for Griddlebone
Griddlebone
Griddlebone is a cat character who appears in T. S. Eliot's collection of poems Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and also the musical Cats during the song of 'Growltigers Last Stand.'...
's part in Growltiger's Last Stand.
Cast
- LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
original cast: Susan Jane TannerSusan Jane TannerSusan Jane Tanner is an English theatre actress, best known for playing the role of Madame Thénardier in the original London cast of Les Misérables and as Jellylorum in the original London version of Cats and reprising her role in the 1998 video version. She currently resides with her husband in... - ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
original cast: Monica Solem - Broadway original cast: Bonnie SimmonsBonnie SimmonsBonnie Simmons is a California based radio personality. Audio director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she is also a band manager, currently managing or having managed in the past Cake, Noe Venable and Etienne de Rocher.-References:**...
- Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
original cast: Sally Spencer - TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
original cast: Tomohisa Hosaka - OsloOsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
original cast: Iselin Alme - TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
original cast: Thea MacNeil - Bueños AiresBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
original cast: Conie Marins - Mexico CityMexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
original cast: Susana Zabaleta - ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
original cast: Pascale Degli-Esposti - HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
original cast: Nancy Nordine - Corpus ChristiCorpus Christi-Religion:* Corpus Christi , a Christian feast day, or solemnity which honors the Body of Christ ,-Places and related matters:* Corpus Christi, Texas** Corpus Christi Bay** Corpus Christi International Airport...
original cast: Polly Reavis - HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
original cast: Riitta Havukainen/Mari Rantasila - West Coast tour (US): Rebecca Raider
- Worldwide tour: Lucy Horton
- BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
Original cast: Sara Sarres
Names
In some non-English language productions Jellylorum goes by other names.- Buenos Aires: Agilorum
- Helsinki: Jellimaari
- Olso: Jadakatt
- Netherlands and Belgium: Antimakassa