CATS Sypnosis

For all of you who believe that CATS does not have a plot, that it is simply "eye candy," this page was created for you. It is here to prove that CATS *does* have a plot, a deep one that maybe is hard for some people to recognize. This is only my interpertation of the story behind CATS. One of the things that makes CATS so amazing is that it has so many differnet interpertations, a different story for everyone who sees it. That is one of the many things I love about CATS.

CATS opens with all the Jellicle cats singing about what they are, Jellicle cats. They then go on to explain their namesakes and introduce select cats to the audience. Everybody is having a good time and laughing when they notice a shaggy, disheveled, gray cat enter the junkyard. Everyone stops what they are doing and glares at the apparent enemy. Some of the kittens though, Victoria, Mistoffelees (he's really more of a teenager), Electra, and Etcetera, are interested in this guest. Being kittens, they are still innocent and don't know the meaning of hate. They go up to the cat and try to stroke her, make her feel accepted, but before they reach her, they are pulled away by the elder cats, Jennyanydots, and Jellylorum among others.
Demeter, even though she is an older cat (but not an elder), also goes up to the trespasser.. Perhaps she understands her hurt and pain, after a lifetime of going through much of that pain herself. She starts sining about the cat's past experience with the tribe. We learn through this song that Grizabella used to be a Jellicle and was a beautiful cat who lived a truly great life. She was known as the glamour cat. But simply being a Jellicle wasn't enough for Griz, she wanted to see the world. So she did something that is strictly forbidden in any tribe, she abandoned the Jellicles.
Now, all these years later, she is back and asking for another chance. But the cats want nothing to do with her. They turn their backs on Griz and greet an old friend and famous golfer in the cat world,  Bustopher Jones.
While the Jellicles sing songs, introducing various cats to the audience, Grizabella looks on helplessly, remanicing on her days as a Jellicle. Then finally, the Jellicle leader, Old Dueteronomy, comes down from the Heaviside Layer and Munkustrap and The Rum Tum Tugger greet him in the song, Old Dueteronomy.
It's a Jellicle tradition to entertain Old Dueteronomy at the Jellicle Ball. Munkustrap, Old Dueteronomy's grandson (well, that's what I believe anyway) is the future cat leader once Dueteronomy is too old for the job. For now, he is leader of the Jellicles on Earth, and also the storyteller of the tribe. It is his job to explain the Jellicle Ball to the younger kittens who maybe have never experienced one before. So it is Munkustrap's job to tell the story of the Pekes and the Pollicles while the cats act out the parts in the story.
After the Pekes and the Pollicles is over, an ominous laugh is heard throughout the junkyard. Demeter, being the paranoid cat that she is, screams out, "Macavity!" and all the cats run for shelter. Macavity is the "mystery cat," and known throughout the world of cats for his evil deeds and his dissapearance when police reach the scene of the crime. "Macavity's not there!" But, Macavity doesn't come after all and, cautiously, the cats start to come out again while they sing an invitation to all Jellicles for the Ball about to take place.
After the Jellicle Ball is over and more cats are introduced, Macavity's evil laughter is once again heard in the junkyard. The cats, again, are frightened but this time Macavity does appear and he succeeds in kidnapping Old Dueteronomy. Scared by Macavity, and depressed at the loss of their leader, the Jellicles, all except two, scatter off the stage. Demeter and Bombalurina (who are believed to be sisters) stay to sing a song about Macavity the Mystery Cat, the "Napolean of crime." It's been said that Demeter, as a younger queen, was also kidnapped by Macavity but escaped and is now paranoid and scared off by any tom (though she does seem to trust Munkustrap a little) who comes near her. Bomby, who is a female version of Tugger (sexy, flirty, and has been with many queens [or in Bomby's case toms]) is believed to have had an affair with Macavity.
After the two queens finish their song, Old Dueteronomy is seen with Macavity's rats being led back into the junkyard. All the cats crowd around him, nuzzling and purring. All that is, except Demeter. She hisses and chases the other cats away, then proceeds to jump on Old D's back, where the cats discover that it is not their beloved leader, but in fact, Macavity in disguise.
He grabs Demi and tries to take her away but Munkustrap (her mate) grabs her hind legs while Alonzo succeeds in grabbing Demeter away from Macavity. Munkustrap, left alone with Macavity, fights until he no longer can stand, then Alonzo weakens Macavity while the other cats come out and finish up the fight. Macavity runs up a pile of junk and in a flash of electricity, he's gone. "Macavity's not there."
Well, Macavity may be gone, but the Jellicles are still left without a leader. It seems that all hope is gone but then a quiet voice is heard in the distance. "You ought to ask Mr. Mistoffelees, the original conjouring cat." Tugger sings a song about the magic cat, Mr. Mistoffelees and before long, Mistoffelees appears from the sky and with the help of his assistant, another Jellicle cat and friend of Misto's, Cassandra, he brings back Old Dueteronomy.
Finally, with Old D back where he belongs with the Jellicles, it is time for the leader to make the choice of which cat will go to the Heaviside Layer to be reborn into another cat life.
It is at that moment that Grizabella again appears on stage and sings Memory, which is about her past life, filled with joy and happiness, and the grievances that she is facing now. The song is over and Griz is looking at the ground, all hope gone from her face. But Victoria, the small white kitten, who liked Griz from the begginning, runs up to Grizabella and nuzzles her. She then takes her hands and places them in her mate, Misto's hands and she is nuzzled or touched lovingly by every one of the Jellicles until she finally is placed in Old Dueteronomy's hands and the Jellicles start singing Up up up to the Heaviside Layer. They have chosen the cat who will be reborn, given another life, the greatest honor among the Jellicles.