#Bustopher Jones the Cat-About-Town | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

white-cat-of-doom · 3 months

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Happy Valentine's day, my dear friend! If you believe the cats celebrate Valentine's or something equivalent, what do you think they'd be doing for their significant others to treat them?

Happy Valentine's Day to you as well, my dear friend!

I do believe that the Cats would celebrate the day in their own way and that different couples would spend some quality time together. I do tend to think that while the day itself may not be exciting, the evening would bring out more of a celebration.

I can see the Tribe getting all together (or as much as possible, maybe some of them have other plans and someone like Old Deuteronomy would be absent) for dinner, courtesy of Bustopher Jones, so that everyone can feel the love from him in his own special way. He wants everyone to be happy and what better way than to get everyone together on his terms for once. A lot of smiles and laughs from the whole group and everyone will leave fulfilled in a multitude of ways. Bustopher would not stay for too long after, maybe he has plans or another group of non-Jellicle Cats to feed, but he makes sure to give Jennyanydots a little token of his appreciation. This would entail something practical that he knows she would use, like a bobbin of fine thread. Once everyone is done with their meal is when the more one-on-one split offs would occur.

However, I think a large portion of the Tribe would stay together and have a smaller party, with Munkustrap and Bombalurina organizing something to do with the Kittens, together with many of the adult Cats. They would have Rum Tum Tugger and Mistoffelees take charge for a dance oriented activity with some fun lighting. Coricopat and Tantomile would have little 'love potions' that they made for fun, with Cassandra swearing that they truly work (you can trust her! She would not lie to you ;) ). Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer would help create Valentine's cards to give to everyone, which would be distributed later on in a very discreet manner so no one knows who sent who anything. I see some of the younger Cats holding affection for each other, with some feeling it quite strongly, but afraid to say it (Electra is a mess inside, but stays collected in front of Etcetera. One day, she thinks to herself.). All in all, the younger Cats would have an evening full of fun while certain adults had their private time with their significant other.

What each couple does depends on who they are:

Plato would be the one to 'borrow' a pink rose (because it reminds him of her pink paw pads and nose) from a floralist to bring to Victoria as soon as he could, along with a smaller gift of some sort, like a bow or a stuffed mouse to play with. Victoria would remind Plato that she does not really need anything, but it will not stop him from trying to give her something special. They would enjoy the dinner with the Tribe and then go for a nice walk together through town to look at the lights, settling down somewhere quiet to eventually look at the stars. A quick dance together under the moonlight, followed by some talking about anything they think of, like how the night sky shines brighter when they are together. They would sit closely, partly facing each other to look into each other's eyes (a lot of comforting slow blinks, all romantic like) until Victoria would get up to move directly beside (and slightly on top of) Plato. Sharing the embrace of one another, they would sit in relative silence, with only their combined purring making any noise. Once it is late enough, Plato would take Victoria home to make sure she arrived safely.

Alonzo and Demeter would also enjoy the group dinner and then go to a higher spot in the Junkyard to sit together quietly after, and perhaps watch the group activities below from afar. I do not see either of them saying much, but they would not necessarily need to. I can see Demeter grooming Alonzo at some point which helps her to feel at ease and grounded, and he appreciates the closeness it affords. Once the activities with the Kittens dies down, they would watch the stars as well together, letting the silence speak to the calm that they now have in their lives and with the Tribe. They would eventually return to the dens below after the others have went to sleep.

Not part of the Tribe celebrations, Asparagus would sneak on to the Midnight Mail with Skimbleshanks to enjoy an unique night of watching his partner in action. Their downtime would involve enjoying any festivities and food found on the train and watching the countryside quickly roll by out of the windows of one of the passenger cars. They would settle in together in the luggage van for a catnap or two, until at least Skimbleshanks would jump into action anytime they reached a new station. Asparagus appreciates the youthful attitude Skimbleshanks displays on the job, and Skimbleshanks would love the company he has, excited to show off how good he is at his position.

Lastly, Jennyanydots and Jellylorum would partake in the group dinner, also making sure that Gus was brought in and included. After getting Gus to bed, the two would rest together in their den, tending to their hobbies and chatting about the day, and getting somewhat nostaglic about the time that has past since they were young Queens. Eventually curling up together in a ball of two Cats as one, they would sleep peacefully until the next morning. No late night activities for the Gumbie Cat tonight!

Thank you so much for the ask, Jemi! <3

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theimpossiblescheme · 1 year

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My new headcanon is that Bustopher Jones and Cat Morgan are brothers, just because the contrast would be hilarious. The boisterous old “sea dog” who teaches the young’uns how to gut a fish and can knock you over with a pat on the back versus the genteel “cat about town” who prefers filet mignon and firm handshakes.... you would never in a million years suspect they were related, and yet.

#The things I realize going back over my Jellicle family tree... XD #cats the musical #cat morgan #bustopher jones #my headcanons #They are both extremely generous especially with their loved ones and would take a bullet for Misto so what counts isn't too different. <3

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jelliclekit · 1 year

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Cats Helsinki 1986

Songs:

Alkusoitto - Overture

Jellikkilauluja Jellikkikissoille - Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats

Kissanristijäiset; Kutsu Jellikkitanssiaisiin - The Naming of Cats; The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball

Vanha Mummakissa Annu Pannunen - The Old Gumbie Cat

Runtunranttu; Misabella - The Rum Tum Tugger; Grizabella: The Glamour Cat

Kerhonen B - Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town

Jengamurri ja Rämppätintti - Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer

Vanha Deuteronomi - Old Deuteronomy

Pekingeesien ja Pollikkien hirvittävä taistelu - The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles

Jellikkitanssiaiset - The Jellicle Ball

Muisto - Memory

Onnen Tuokiot; Muisto - The Moments of Happiness; Memory (moonlight)

Teatterikissa Gus - Gus: The Theatre Cat

Murr-Roopen Totuuden Hetki - Growltiger's Last Stand

Junailijakissa Toppa-Roy - Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat

Macavity, Salakähmäkissa - Macavity: The Mystery Cat

Maaginen Mister Mistofeli - Mr. Mistoffelees

Muisto - Memory (reprise)

Matka Taivasta Päin - The Journey to the Heaviside Layer

Kuinka Kissaa Kutsutaan - The Ad-Dressing of Cats

#zooms in 200% yeah I can read this #jelliclekitposts #cats helsinki #cats the musical #I just wanted the song names to be on this blog #ah those three 'memories' with no distinction whatsoever #okay you can see there are different singers but still #and salakähmäkissa sounds like Macavity is trying very hard to be a great criminal but failing at every turn :D

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sillybub · 1 year

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Can you talk more about Anchovy? He's such a cool OC, and I'd love to know more about him and his relationship with Bustopher!

Yea sure!!

So Anchovy is an ex-henchcat who used to run evil errands for Macavity. He was was scrawny, skittish, flea-bitten scrap of a cat who ran with Macavity's crew out of desperate self-preservation.

One day while he was rummaging through trash bins, a very handsomely rotund gentletom approached him, asking asking directions. He looked way too fancy and clean to have been from around that part of town, and judging by the way he was squinting, Anchovy figured he was probably lost.

The gentlecat spoke very politely and kindly to Anchovy, and they were the first friendly words he'd heard in a very long time. Overcome by emotion at being treated with basic feline decency, Anchovy led Bustopher Jones back to the nicer part of town.

Bustopher remarked on how horribly skinny he was, and insisted on treating him to dinner at one of his favorite clubs. Bustopher's fancy friends helped him get all cleaned up, and he felt like a brand new tom.

See, Anchovy was polite. He was polite to other cats because that's how you generally avoid getting the shit beat out of you if you're lucky. Bustopher was being polite back, Anchovy realized, because he thought that everybody ought to be treated with respect and dignity. Even scrappy strays like himself.

Overwhelmed by the kindness he'd been shown, Anchovy swore to leave behind his life of crime. He starts camping out in Bustopher's giant yard. He gets introduced to the Jellicles. His life turns around completely in 24 hours.

But he shows up at the Junkyard and him and Demeter point at eachother because they have DEFINITELY seen eachother before. And that's actually the first time anyone becomes aware that he used to be associated with Macavity. Before then he was just "a very fine chap who needs more meat on his bones." Everybody kept hearing that Bustopher had a new tomfriend and they were not expecting that roadkill looking dude to show up let alone literally one of Macavity's lackeys.

And since Bustopher seemed to be completely unaware of that part of his history, everybody was grilling him super hard. Like, "how do we know this isn't some trick huh?? What are you lying to Bustopher about your past for?"

And it's not that Anchovy was lying per se; just omitting certain details about where he lived and what kind of business he got up to. See, Bustopher was just being so nice to him, and Anchovy figured if he knew that he worked for Macavity, he wouldn't want to hang out anymore. But he really did quit the gang--just for Bustopher.

It takes a big for the rest of the Jellicles to really warm up to Anchovy, and it helps that Bustopher was so insistent that he was a perfectly fine cat, and how dare they be so uncouth!!

Not to say that Bustopher Jones is naive. After all, Anchovy stopped to help a lost stranger get back home when he really had no good reason to. He saw that Anchovy was jumpy and hesitant and dirty, and figured that life probably hadn't been kind to him. But just because life can be cruel doesn't mean that cats have to be.

I think that Bustopher also sees like. Some of a past life of his in Anchovy. Bustopher has such a blessed life now that surely this is the result of having been the Jellicle Choice in a past life. It's all well and good to become the Jellicle Choice if you truly need it, but Bustopher could help this cat make and better life now, before it was too late for him. And Anchovy was such a clever, funny, well-mannered cat! And, well, quite the romantic, too...

Anchovy hangs out around Bustopher's big house, but he's still uncomfortable going inside, or really interacting with humans beyond eating their food. He's pretty awkward when it comes to talking to other cats (he appreciates manners and politeness because it gives him a script to work from), but on his own? He knows how to rough it like the best of them. He knows how to open bottles and cans that humans need to use tools for, and he knows how to climb into high places that you're not supposed to be able to get to.

All in all, they're definitely a mismatched couple. But Bustopher is very fashionable, and he thinks they look good together, and Anchovy is inclined to agree with him.

#bustopher jones #anchovy

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jellicle-chants · 1 year

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This is me *not so subtly* sliding into your Inbox to ask more about your Speakeasy AU - you had mentioned characters having certain jobs based on archetypes/roles; would you be able to give us more in regards to what the rest of them do as well? (I'm also interested in the bit you talked about regarding their backgrounds, or where they were before the AU!)

Yes, I can totally talk about everyone’s jobs!!

First, there are the littles (AKA kids under 10), which for now consist of Jemima, Pouncival, and Tumblebrutus. Electra and Etcetera might also end up falling under this category, but I’m not sure what to do with them yet.

Old Deuteronomy owns a secondhand story officially called The Jellicle Ball but lovingly referred to by the community as The Junkyard. It has everything one could ever want, from garden tools to antique books to furniture to things you didn't even know you needed until he hands it over to you with a wink and a smile.

Munkustrap sometimes works the register, but he also moonlights as a sort of investigator for the neighborhood — he's not a hired gun, but he will certainly help track down a missing pet or stolen items. Mostly, he keeps tabs on Macavity, who runs a crime ring reaching far and wide across the city. Macavity also owns a range of various illegal businesses from brothels to speakeasies (in fact, the only semi-popular bar that he doesn't own is Deme and Bomba's, a fact he's not too happy about). Munk is also raising Jemima, his niece (Mac's daughter), ever since she was left on his doorstep. Plato is Munk's apprentice, although he's often too busy herding his little brothers Pounce and Tumble to pay much attention to what's going on.

Bustopher Jones is a wealthy expatriate from England who lives in a rather expansive house (for the city, at least). He was involved in some war in his past, although which one, what branch of the military he worked for, and what he actually did are much harder to pin down. He's retired now, and mostly spends his days as a socialite going out with his friends (including Old Deut) and donating to various projects throughout the neighborhood. When he came to the States, he brought Jennyanydots along with him as his long-time housekeeper. Her two kids, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, are technically Bustopher's wards, but they don't listen to him (or their mother) much at all, preferring to spend the remainder of their teenage years refining their breaking-and-entering skills.

Jellylorum and Asparagus run the Queen Victoria Theatre after taking over the reins from their dad, Gus. He used to own many more theatres in both the US and UK after a long and varied career as an actor himself, but myriad accidents and bombed shows have forced the family to give up all but this one. It's sometimes hard to balance the budget, but the community helps the best they can (especially Bustopher, who insists that the siblings are the only ones in town keeping the British theatre tradition alive).

The Magical Mr. Mistoffelees (AKA Quaxo) is a stage magician who has a running show at the Queen Vic. It's not enough to get by on, so he shares an apartment with his sister Victoria, a ballet dancer, and Cassandra, a contortionist who works as his stage assistant. Recently, two of Cassandra's old friends from the circus, Coricopat and Tantomile, have moved to town, so they're staying there for the time being as well. During the day while everyone else is out, they do tarot and palm readings at the kitchen table. (Whether or not Misto and the twins actually have mystical abilities is still under consideration.)

And, last but not least, Skimbleshanks is a local trolley car engineer. No big backstory, he's just a simple railway cat. :)

(Any character I didn't mention here I still haven't decided what to do with yet. I'm also thinking about adding my and/or other people's OCs to fill out the background characters!)

#cats speakeasy au #cate talks cats #'any character' *looks at grizabella 👀*#ride a dromedary #thank you so much for asking!#and sorry this took so long -- i decided to write a novelization for some reason instead of just bullet points #(and i also got distracted lol)#but this definitely helped me iron out some of the things i was still not sure about!#i definitely want to write some stuff for this au soon(tm)

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the-cat-at-the-theatre-door · 2 years

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how did skimbleshanks get to the tribe? Why did the jellicles accept him?

Skimbleshanks breezed into town, ironically or not your choice, on a train with one of his elder sisters and just about nothing else. After his grandparents had died, he saw little reason to stay behind on the farmstead he was born on and, a wanderer by nature, managed to coax his sister (the other two stayed and made families of their own) into it with him (though they separated soon after - they keep in touch). Curiosity being what it is, Skimbleshanks decided to hop aboard one of those trains that he used to wonder about when they travelled through town to see where it went. And he liked it so much, he kept sneaking on - again and again and again until he was a regular presence there.

He happened to be stumbled upon, wandering the platform, by a certain Ms. Jennyanydots on her way back from visiting Bustopher Jones (who often used to send for her by train to visit were he out of town during the summers), who took a shining to him and talked him into coming back to the Junkyard with her (making her his sponsor of sorts - I feel like I talked about Junkyard law in that thread before).

Very much liking the community he was introduced to, he was accepted because he's a charming and enthusiastic bug who made an excellent couple of first impressions. Deuteronomy took a shining to him right away; he got on swimmingly with the other cats his age and slipped into their group effortlessly. Skimble’s a hard worker and very protective, which made him not only an excellent slot in the trainee Protector group at the time, but also a good set of paws to set to work when he was in town (he refused to be “put up” - if he was going to stay, he would make it so he pulled his weight).

#Skimbleshanks #my headcanons #jellicles ask because jellicles dare #westophere

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oh-well-i-never · 3 years

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Cat Dump! Part 2

#my art #i will get through the lot of them #no one will be safe #mr mistoffelees #magical mr mistoffelees #misto #victoria #victoria the white cat #alonzo #bustopher jones #cats 1998 #cats the musical #bustopher jones the cat about town

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hilli98215 · 3 years

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Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town has music that is regal yet humorous. He is a respectable, portly cat whom every one likes and respects. And there seems to be some mutual crushes happening.

The camera is so clear here. Like I can tell they put a lot of thought to make sure the costuming here is perfect. Movable yet shows that he is an upper-class type character. You can also tell by the fact he is the only character here wearing gloves almost as if he doesn't want to get his paws dirty.

#live blogging #cats the musical #Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town #bustopher jones #cats 1998

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is-it-mungojerry-or-rumpelteazer · 3 years

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Jenny is so attracted to Bustopher being fat, it’s delightful. <3

#cats #text posts #liveblogging #jennyanydots #bustopher jones #Bustopher Jones/Jennyanydots #Bustopher Jones the Cat about Town

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goblinlovesmusicals · 2 years

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I'd love to know more about Waltze if you don't mind sharing?

His family own a suit shop, they dress him all snazzy with bow tie collars and such. He’s their official mascot

His family and him are immigrants from Germany, and he’s just recently become fluent in English

George, who I ofc hc to be a pupper, is one of his “sons”

His sons are just a group of dogs who’s owners let them wander around, and they initially just hung around Waltze because his family leaves a big bowl of food outside for Waltze and the other neighborhood cats, but they quickly realized that Waltze loves to tell stories and was ready to give the doggos sm love.

He didn’t intend to become a mob boss, but Macavity wandered in town and tried to recruit some of his sons, which made Waltze quite angry and by affect his sons got angry and chased Macavity away. Mac was like “I can use this” and Waltze became one of the head honchos, known for his army of dogs.

Gattopazzo and Waltze are best friends, or at least in Waltze’s eyes. He was blessed with a s Undyne disposition and believes anyone who doesn’t try to harm him is a friend.

Waltze knows Bustopher Jones well, where do you think Bustopher’s spats come from, hm? They like to sit by the window and eat shrimp while talking shit about everyone-

He has definitely been asked by George why doesn’t join the Jellicles, and Waltze considered it, but he prefers to do his own thing with no rules or pesky protectors to tell him what to do.

His three words are: Eccentric, Fanciful, and Generous.

I imagine he looks like this:

Waltze invites Gattopazzo and Macavity over for dinner parties once a month, they spill tea and give each other snide remarks the whole time. Usually ends like this:

Waltze: Jou have to spill milk to seem like a “mystery”? Zat does not seem very criminal.

Macavity:

Macavity: Your tie is tacky.

Gattopazzo: *Hides under the table because he knows it’s about to get messy*

#cats the musical #cats the musical ocs #waltze the mob boss cat #gattopazzo the mob boss #macavity the mystery cat

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inbarfink · 8 months

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#cats #cats the musical #cats musical #cats 1998 #cats 2019 #cats movie #cats the movie #tumblr polls #my polls #polls #i love polls #fandom polls #poll time

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white-cat-of-doom · 9 months

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Jenny sings about that The Cat About Town.

Rachael Haber covering Jennyanydots, John Anker Bow as Bustopher Jones, and Clara Hevia covering Jellylorum.

US Tour 6.

#CATS Musical #CATS the Musical #CATS US Tour 6 #Jennyanydots #Rachael Haber #Bustopher Jones #John Anker Bow #Jellylorum #Clara Hevia

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junkyard-gifs · 3 years

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Bustopher Jones, the Cat About Town!

Posted on the official CATS instagram in November 2014, as publicity for the London revival (X X X). The actor is presumably Paul Monaghan.

#c: bustopher jones #paul monaghan #2014 london

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sevenkittensinatrenchcoat · 3 years

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You See: Jellylorum’s Arc and Why It’s the Best Grizabella Arc

Yeah, so, I got writer’s block trying to organize and write this properly, so I’m just writing off the top of my head. I can only hope that any of it makes sense.

I said that I might elaborate on Jellylorum’s hatred of pubs and Grizabella, and I decided to go ahead and do it, even though literally no one asked.

So, the general arc with Grizabella for most characters, especially Munkustrap and Bombalurina, is that Griz did something to offend everyone and they still hold a grudge, so they won’t let her back into the tribe, even though she might be literally dying. Then Grizabella sings Memory and everyone’s moved and they learn to forgive and Grizabella goes to the Heaviside Layer, which was probably Old Deuteronomy’s plan all along.

However, many people, even if they like Memory as a song, don’t really follow the Grizabella story. I’ve gotten the feeling that she’s not a popular character on this site, which is not helped by Munk and Bomba, much more popular characters, being against her for most of the show. The main problem with the forgiveness story is that the audience lacks any context. We don’t know what happened, so we don’t know if this is a story about forgiving someone for something petty, or forgiving someone who seriously wronged you. Most attempts to solve this problem fall flat. The 2019 film said that Grizabella went off with Macavity, but the movie had to alter the roles of several characters to get that to work. Mungojerrie worked for Macavity, and the tribe took him back. Demeter and Bombalurina had some sort of relationship with Macavity, and the tribe took them back. So, the movie makes Jerrie and Bomba more villainous and removes Demeter’s connection to Macavity, so Grizabella stands out. If you have to throw out large portions of what’s interesting about three characters to make your backstory make sense, it’s not a good backstory.

But, the show already sort of has a built in solution to this problem. While most of the characters hate Griz because of some past incident, there’s still at least one character arc about accepting Grizabella that’s based entirely on what the audience can see and hear.

This is where Jellylorum comes in.

If you pay close attention to how Jellylorum reacts to Grizabella, as well as to several other characters, you’ll notice that, though I’m sure she’s upset over whatever Griz did too, Jelly is not motivated by a grudge. It’s not about Grizabella’s past. It’s about her present.

Grizabella the Glamor Cat

Jellylorum, for the first few numbers, doesn’t really stand out. She’s always part of a larger group. In Gumbie Cat, she’s in a trio with two other queens. At this point, the audience really wouldn’t know what makes these characters stand out from one another. In Tugger’s number, Jelly is one of four older cats who are shocked and offended by Tugger’s antics, but the reactions of all four characters serve the same purpose. Jelly, Jenny, Skimble, and Asparagus are part of an older generation and they don’t get the things kids are into these days, finding them downright offensive.

If isn’t until Glamor Cat that this starts to change. At first, Jelly’s still the same as Jenny and Skimble, an older cat who stops the kittens from touching Grizabella. What’s different is how Griz reacts. Skimble leads Jemima away and Griz doesn’t comment. Jenny slaps Electra’s hand away and Griz doesn’t comment. But, when Victoria and Etcetera crawl towards her and Jelly runs in to stop them, Griz turns on her. Up until this point, the song has been fairly quiet. This is the first time Griz raises her voice, taking the orchestra with her.

You see the border of her coat is torn and stained with sand

Grizabella is dirty and beaten up by life and she accuses Jellylorum of responding to that, assuming that someone in Griz’s condition must be a threat to the children. This isn’t about a grudge. It’s about judging by appearances, specifically, the appearance of poverty, which will become more clear as we go.

When Demeter starts singing about Grizabella, she doesn’t sing about her glamorous past:

She haunted many a low resort

Near the grimy road of Tottenham Court

Tottenham Court Road, at the time this poem was written, was associated with crime. It’s a street in a lower class neighborhood which was infamous for theft and prostitution. So, Griz has been seen in a place where bad things happen. To think of her as a criminal is guilt by association.

The play decides not to tell us what Grizabella did to become an outcast, but it does tell us about her life as an outcast. From her character design, we can also see that Griz is in poor shape. This is the information the audience is actually given.

Bustopher Jones

Bustopher is easy to compare to Tugger, since the cats that don’t like Tugger all adore Bustopher. But, because we met Grizabella right before this, he can be compared to her too. Bustopher is everything the older cats see as ideal, while Griz is the opposite. Bustopher spends time among the rich in gentlemen’s clubs. Griz spends time in a working class neighborhood with a high crime rate. Even though they’re both probably strays, Bustopher presents as rich and Grizabellla presents as poor.

Just as different cats have different reasons for hating Grizabella, different cats have different reasons for liking Bustopher. For some, it’s his skill and gaining access to good food. Jenny has a crush on him. Misto likes that they look similar and that he’s the mature and sophisticated adult Misto wants to be. But, though Jellylorum’s part in the number is small compared to Jenny’s, the first thing she has to say about Bustopher is:

He doesn’t haunt pubs

Unlike gentlemen’s clubs, which are exclusive, pubs are everywhere and are for everyone. They’re frequented by the working class. Bustopher is only seen in the upper class parts of town.

Meanwhile, some of the locations Demeter mentions in Glamor Cat, The Rising Sun and The Friend at Hand are pubs. Bustopher doesn’t haunt pubs. Grizabella does.

The Glamor Cat Reprise:

So, a lot’s been implied about Jellylorum and how she admires things associated with the upper class and has disdain for things associated with the working class. But, this is where it all comes together. Grizabella accuses Jelly of treating her as someone to be feared and shamed because she’s from the bad side of town and looks it. Here, by repeating Grizabella’s words, Jelly confirms the accusation:

You see the border of her coat is torn and stained with sand

Jellylorum turns to Victoria, the pure white Symbol of Innocence who wears a sparkly pink collar, implying a wealthy owner, and points out that Griz is dirty and is both someone Victoria should avoid and strive not to be like. Victoria ignores her. Victoria is the feline equivalent of the sheltered princess, a proper young lady from a good family who hasn’t seen much of the world. But, Victoria is unaware of the implications of her status and sees someone like Grizabella as an equal. She doesn’t acknowledge class and doesn’t listen when adults try to explain it to her.

When Jellylorum pulls a kitten away from Grizabella, it’s always Victoria. The first time, it was Victoria and Etcetera, but Victoria is always involved. Victoria is never stopped by any other adult either. She seems to be Jelly’s responsibility, which creates and interesting contrast.

Gus: The Theatre Cat

After the Grizabella Reprise confirms that Jelly’s prejudice against Grizabella is based in classism, it would be easy to see her as a villain. The unspoken grudge of Munkustrap and Bombalurina is more sympathetic.

But, very early on in act two, Jellylorum is given the spotlight, and we can see her good side. Gus is a lot like Grizabella. They’re both old and past their prime, but they once were stars of some sort. But, Gus is loved and cared for by everyone. Grizabella is one her own.

Gus meets with his friends at the pub to tell theatre stories. You can tell from Jelly’s delivery when she brings it up that she’s not happy about this. But, she loves Gus anyway. Gus is old, his coat is a mess, and he hangs out in working class pubs, but Jellylorum loves him anyway. She’s perfectly capable of seeing beyond classist prejudice when it’s someone she already likes. She just hasn’t realized that Griz and Gus are the same. She can learn the lesson she needs to learn. She’s not a villain. She’s antagonistic, but she’s redeemable.

Memory

Griz appears one last time, Victoria tries to touch her, Jelly stops her. Same old, same old. Things don’t get interesting until everyone sits down. Jellylorum, along with Victoria, sits with Old Deuteronomy and Munkustrap. She’s right up there with the leaders of the tribe. This puts her on the same level as Munkustrap, who has his own lesson to learn from this.

Memory makes Jellylorum realize how much Grizabella is suffering. She’s not on Tottenham Court because she does bad things. She’s there because she’s in a bad situation and has nowhere else to go. Griz is also caught up in memories of her past like Gus is. Jelly, like everyone else in the tribe, figures it out.

When Victoria gets up to touch Grizabella, she looks back to the adults to get permission. Old Deuteronomy nods, letting her go ahead. But, it looks like all of the adults in that corner consulted each other. Munkustrap, at this moment, makes the decision to forgive Grizabella. Jellylorum, at this moment, makes the decision to accept Grizabella as an equal. She’s no longer beneath someone like Victoria.

Then, when all the cats greet and welcome Grizabella, Jelly looks very guilty, more so than the other older cats do. She’s realized just how petty she was being, that she was even worse to Griz than most of the tribe, because they either had a more emotionally-charged reason, or they just didn’t know any better.

Jelly’s story arc is a classic “don’t judge a book by its cover” story, with the symbols of class being the cover she judged.

In Conclusion:

Everything about this arc is based on information the audience is given. We can see that Grizabella is in bad shape. We know where she’s been spending her time because Demeter tells us. We can confirm Jelly’s motivation with the Grizabella reprise. We can compare how the characters of Gus and Griz are described:

You see the border of her coat is torn and stained with sand

vs.

His coat’s very shabby, he’s thin as a rake

Jellylorum sings the former line with disdain, but she sings the latter line with sympathy.

Jelly’s arc is where Grizabella stands out the most. Griz calls her out on her bullshit, is shown to be completely right in her judgement of her, and then is able to change her mind.

And, the emotional impact is all there, because no important information is hidden from the audience. The arc begins with the words “you see”, because you can.

#cats 1998 #jellylorum #grizabella #cats victoria #gus the theatre cat #bustopher jones #i did an essay #i had a surprising amount to say about that #jellylorum hates pubs #and it's actually important #class consciousness #but with singing cats #don't be a dick to poor people #this isn't edited #so i have no idea what typos it has #and i don't care right now #it's two o'clock in the morning #i give my last fuck at midnight

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sillybub · 3 years

Text

Alright okay I’m shipping Bustopher Jones with an OC now. Meet Anchovy, Bustopher’s scrappy boyfriend.

When the first Macavity scare happens, Bustopher Jones very sensibly and reasonably flees the scene, but we never see him again. That’s because he ran into one of Macavity’s henchcats who was hanging around the junkyard.

Anchovy was supposed to be keeping a lookout. That’s all he was supposed to do, keep his head down and follow orders, and he won’t get hurt. Same as always. So it sure made him jump out of his skin when he bumps in Bustopher, looking like he’s really in a hurry.

So after they’re both done screaming, Anchovy reflexively apologizes and begs for mercy, and once Bustopher realizes that this guy isn’t remotely a threat, all he’s thinking is “Oh dear, this poor fellow is so skinny and dirty. This won’t do.” And before Anchovy knows what’s happening, Bustopher is dragging him to the nicest garbage cans in town and taking him back to his place to give him a nice hat.

And Anchovy is just...speechless. He was just another nameless cog in the wheel, but this handsome charming gentleman is asking him all these questions and being so kind??? Bustopher is in the middle of picking out a hat for him, Anchovy just breaks down sobbing , and Bustopher goes “Egads, whatever is the matter?” and Anchovy just says “Nobody’s ever been this nice to me before, sir.”

Okay. Yeah. This guy is NOT going back to Macavity.

Bustopher walks into the Junkyard with Anchovy the next day and goes “Hello chaps, this one’s joined the tribe, make him feel at home!” And like, who’s gonna say no to the guy? Who’s gonna tell Bustopher Fucking Jones what to do?

To Anchovy’s credit, he IS very well behaved. He remembers to say please and thank you, and he’s actually very gentle? And when somebody asks him if Macavity will be upset, he says, “Oh, no worries! Nobody will even notice I’m gone, they never talk to me anyways!” it’s kinda hard to not wanna take pity on him.

And Bustopher is just absolutely DELIGHTED by Anchovy. He’s a quiet and nervous cat, but he has a beautiful appreciation for things that Bustopher has never really taken notice of, before. He knows a lot of cool bug facts, and hearing Anchovy talk about them...makes them seem a lot less gross and disgusting. And he’d never even DREAM of mucking about in the rain, but once Anchovy convinces him to take a walk, he finds that he quite likes the feeling of cool rain on a warm night. Maybe it’s fine to get a little dirty sometimes if you’re having fun. You can always clean up later.

Anyways they’re boyfriends and they love each other :))))))

#my art #bustopher jones #OC #I’m feeling to self indulgent these days and I’m here for it

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