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Summary: A whole bunch of questions about CATS in story form. Have answers? E-mail me!
I stared stupidly at my algebra book. I had a math quiz tomorrow, and my dad was very strict about one thing: where there's a math quiz, there is studying. However, y-intercepts were not exactly my idea of a fascinating topic. The whole entire idea of algebra is not to interesting itself.
There were so many other things I could be doing. Working on my web page, watching a video, playing music, singing, dancing. Specifically singing and dancing. Or playing with my cat Kashmir. Or both.
Yes, CATS was a source of fun for me, and certainly a lot more interesting than math problems! I had an unrealistic dream to be in a performance someday. I never told anyone about it. I knew exactly what they would say: "Oh, that's impossible. You should be thinking about a real career. Acting is too difficult." My own response had always been, "If everyone listened to that advice, there wouldn't BE any musicals, or CATS. (Scary thought!) Of course, no adult ever listened to that sort of perfect logic.
I got up from my chair and lay on my stomach. Although I took dance lessons, I hadn't been taking too long. However, I was extremely flexible, and I felt that if I could develop that, it would be an asset. My current project was being able to touch my feet to my head. I had been told many times only little kids could do that, but I didn't care.
I thrust my head backward and arched my back, trying desperately to make my bottom touch my top. But it was all to no avail. I got back up and returned to my seat at my desk. I must admit I was a little discouraged, but not too badly. These things took time.
I looked at the algebra problems in my book again. I blinked. I yawned. Bor-ring. I allowed my head to drop onto the book, and I closed my eyes and wondered. About CATS, of course.
First I wondered about little things. Where did they get all those gigantic pieces of junk? Were they specially made? That's some tire. Must use a heck of a lot of rubber. Did they use Growltiger's Last Stand or The Pekes and the Pollicles on Broadway? Or both? I hoped both. I'd never seen Growltiger and I wanted to, but on the other hand, I loved The Pekes and Pollicles. Was Misto supposed to loose his Pollicle shoe in The P&P? That was one of my favorite parts of the movie.
Was my cat a Jellicle? Jellicle cats are black and white... Dark brown is close enough. Jellicle cats are rather small... that's Kashmir. Jellicle cats are merry and bright... yup, and what a purr! And pleasant to hear when they caterwaul... never heard her. We'll just assume it's quite pleasant. Ahem.
Where do people get their other Jellicle names? How did they think up Sootaput and Lynnskittle? My name was taken from my cat's name, so I had no trouble. But did others just make theirs up? Busamakdre might be a good name... Hmmm. Maybe Busamakdre could be my second name. Maybe I should change my name. I can't type my third one. Then it wouldn't be mine anymore, would it?
Are Jellicle's technically cats, or are they cat-people (woah!), or neither? Do they have kittens? How do their genetics work? Or should I not ask?
Those thoughts were kind of silly. I began to wonder about the actors instead. Did they ever get bored with CATS? Wait, maybe that's not the right way to put it. Did they ever have days where they wished they could just go home? Wait, that's stupid, too. Everyone has days like that. What I mean is, they perform the same thing the same way as the same cat every day. Did they ever wish there was a change in routine? I think that's what I mean.
Did the actors have cats? Was there a stage cat that everyone studied and copied? That struck me as an excellent idea, if there wasn't one. It's easier to be a cat if you know what a cat is like. The ultimate in cat training would be to own a cat. But if you couldn't or didn't want to or didn't like cats (?), then just having one at practices to copy as best you could would work fine. Huh. Maybe I should write to the Winter Garden.
Was it really impossible to be a CATS actress? For me, I mean.
And then I wondered about the characters. People made connections between the characters. Did the actors get bios of their characters, to know how they should act toward different cats? Did the actors know whether or not Tugger like Bombalurina? Could they tell us? Who told them? Who decided on those relationships? Oh, for all those reading this... Vicki and Misto all the way!
Why didn't people believe Vicki + Misto anyway? There's so much evidence. The 'Invitation Incident' (hee hee!) for one thing, then the fact the sit with each other all the time. He made her appear during his dance on the video, and Misto was the first cat Victoria took Grizabella to after she touched her? Please tell me... Where on Earth or Heaviside did you get the idea that Misto like Jemima? Jemima likes Misto, maybe, but Misto likes Victoria... Oh, boy. This is getting as bad as a teen's phone conversation. Back to the wonderings.
If T.S. Eliot saw CATS, what would he think? I'm sure I'm not the first to ask that. Probably more like the millionth. But still I'd like to know... Would he be pleased? Unhappy? Indifferent? Did he ever think of the cats in his poems as being connected in any way? Did Old Deuteronomy know Mistoffelees, or were they just characters in a poem to Eliot and nothing more? Did he think about his characters any more after they were on paper and he no longer needed to find a fitting rhyme for 'metropolis'?
How did Misto do his tricks? Oops, getting shallow again. Well, Mistoffelees is my favorite character. Whaddya expect?
What about Grizabella? No, I don't mean whatever happened to Grizabella. I mean, what caused her such pain, and is The Rising Sun really a... you know? I always thought Grizabella was just a performer, running around doing exotic dances for saloons. That's kind of stupid, but it was a first impression. Why is there all this discrimination in the world? But somehow, I found Grizabella's story inspiring, even though I didn't know half of it. She found her happiness in the end.
I got up from my chair and lay down on the ground. Once more I thrust my head back, arching my spine until I thought it would snap. My legs bent backwards, my feet also arched so that they almost cramped up as they reached for my head.
They touched.