In Honour Of May 11th, The Day That Cats The Musical Premiered, I Have Sewed These Two Lovely Cat Plushes

plato ideas (specifically ‘98 plato)

i actually like the fiery kitten portrayal of plato (like in the film) more than the easygoing young adult version of plato, because i think this version of him has tonnnns more personality! his background moments are so silly, like he looks so appalled when misto makes a mistake at the start, he bows all the way down to bustopher jones, and of course he’s absolutely thrilled to participate in tugger’s number. here are two plato ideas :

1. inspired by the fact that bryn walters had a broken hand while shooting the film (mad respect), plato has some kind of disability that hinders his right paw. jellylorum gave him a splint to help him walk, and the splint was worn by gus back when he had an injury during his acting career.

he’s embarrassed of this and gets mad when someone expresses concern about it. he insists that “it isn’t that bad”, and a tiny part of the reason he stepped up for the pas de deux was to show everyone he could still do lifts.

2. he and george are best friends, making the male duo parallel of electra and etcetera (also TALL BOYS WHO DOUBLE AS A MORE PROMINENT CHARACTER). george learned to act as tugger and will occasionally cosplay as him for plato, knowing how much of a fan he is. though, plato thinks george is too endearing to play a convincing tugger (he will haphazardly get cuteness aggression for the boi). plato is very protective of him, especially because of his timidness, and george looks to plato for emotional support.

as for the girls, plato and electra often quarrel and enjoy challenging each other to battles of wits, while he and etcetera bond over their enthusiasm for tugger. the four kittens are the ones who play together most frequently, perfect for team games!

plato being the extrovert friend

I LOVE YOU TUMBLEBRUTUS YOU’RE MY SILLY BILLY

so i was listening to one direction and i realised that their song “hey angel” basically sums up how i feel about phyllida crowley smith and her as victoria, so here’s a collage of phylltoria :

her beauty is ineffable. she is the heaviside layer incarnate. she is the epitome of mystical divinity. she shines brighter than the jellicle moon. she is THE victoria.

jo gibb who?? my heart belongs to philly only

(no homo tho. definitely. i think.)

happy jellicle valentine’s day!! i feed thee, starved tumbletoria shippers (including myself 😄). but i tell you once, and once again: THIS SHIP DESERVES MORE LOVE 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

random but AUGHHH tumbletoria has got to be one of the prettiest ship names ever 😩💗💗

house cat ideas

cassandra :

she’s a model cat who was adopted by one of the models at her company, and it’s why she knows such elegant poses and also why she has a haughty personality.* the two often do photoshoots together and are pretty popular. cassandra is quite the icon in beauty magazines as well as cosmetics and fashion advertisements. she is beloved by many fashionable people for her elegant coat and her moonlit eyes.

she loves her owner very much and is constantly pampered by her. they absolutely see each other as best friends and cassandra’s favourite pasttime is their “girl’s nights” together. she gets to be bathed (unlike other cats she loves it) and brushed, relax and listen to gossip about her owner’s coworkers. this woman is the reason cassandra is in no rush to find a mate and is perfectly happy with her lavish life.

*(also why she stands up and glares at grizabella a bit during “grizabella the glamour cat”. it’s like to say “im better than u. look at what u could’ve been.” (and munk gives her a reprimanding look like “don’t push it”))

cuz… kitten heels. it was too perfect.

I LOVE CASSANDRA SHE IS MY QUEEN I LOVE HER SO MUCH every time she does her pose (she does it like 3.75 times in the whole show) i get a surge of dopamine. like yes feed me

she’s just so cool

i’ve been thinking a lot more about george (the cat who plays rumpus cat) lately, and there’s a really adorable shot during gus’s song where george looks up at old deuteronomy like this

like he’s saying “are you hearing this old deuteronomy?? he actually understudied whittington’s cat??!!”

i have thoughts about this

so george is normally a pretty shy kitten. he’s in the background a lot and hangs around older cats like old deuteronomy and jellylorum, he even flinches when gus looks at him.

but when he’s playing rumpus cat, all of a sudden he’s goofing around and enjoying the spotlight. i like to think acting helps him get out of his shell, and he loves being on stage and performing.

so obviously he admires gus a lot, but after hearing his story he realises that he wants to take acting more seriously, to create a persona that would be worthy of firefrorefiddle, and most of all, make gus proud.

“george the theatre cat”. has a nice ring to it!

p.s. george is literally one of the most underrated cats. like he’s so adorable!! and he has the biggest smile in the world!!

hellooo i’m verdi and i’m a big fan of cats the musical. i’m starting this blog so i can talk about cats and share my ideas.

i love this musical with a PASSION because it’s fun and always manages to bring a smile to my face, even when i’m feeling down. i love the characters, especially the kittens, and i like making up a ton of ideas about all of them. i also love it because i used to do dance and when they dance it resonates with me on such a spiritual level that i can’t explain (i’ve watched the jellicle ball an ungodly amount of times).

my main ships are alonzostrap and tumbletoria, but i also ship demelurina and tuggoffelees. my favourite characters are alonzo, tumblebrutus, george, cassandra, victoria and jemima, but really i love all of them. i consider the 1998 film the definitive version so i’ll mostly be referring to that. i’m also an artist and all of the drawings you see are mine unless i credit others.

i hope you guys like my ideas! :D

jellicle cats are green and young

jellicle cats lived sheltered lives

jellicles dream of growing up

but jellicles are afraid sometimes

tumbletoria

ok guys i NEED to talk about tumbletoria, the ship between tumblebrutus and victoria, because it’s one of my favourite ships ever?? like yk when ur thinking about them and all of a sudden ur heart feels kinda heavy like they were written in the stars?? and you listen to every romantic one direction song ever and think about them??

i ship alonzostrap a TON as well but tumbletoria is on a different level in terms of complexity. it also happens to be one of the only hetero ships i care deeply about. yet it’s constantly being overshadowed in favour of other victoria ships, especially platoria, and tumblebrutus is seen as his little sister or just an immature kitten trying to act tough. and it kinda annoys me.

this time i’ll largely base my reasoning on canon evidence rather than things i thought up of, cuz this isn’t just me trying to justify a rarepair with no canon basis. so if you will not entertain the idea of this ship, feel free to skip this post. if you already ship them like me, read on. and, if this ship has never really crossed your mind, or if you have a different perspective, but are willing to hear me out, get ready for a long rant.

(it has been very nerve-wracking posting this bc i know a lot of you guys will disagree, but i really wanted to talk about them cuz i think they’re a super adorable ship, and i also wanted to know if any of you guys ship them.)

(remember that this is in no way trying to disprove or invalidate other ships or personal interpretations. i’m just sharing my thoughts as usual and putting in my two cents on a topic i feel quite strongly about.)

victoria is an adolescent who was sheltered and pampered her whole life, so she’s very well-mannered and poised (she’s the principal ballerina in the show), but she’s still inexperienced and exploring herself. she dances sensually by herself after “the naming of cats”, and during the pas de deux with plato, showing us that she’s growing into womanhood. but because of her inexperience and sheltered upbringing, she’s inhibited, unsure of herself and held back. victoria is a coming-of-age character, this is obvious and a given.

tumblebrutus is an adolescent who’s actively trying to grow out of his “kitten” stage. he’s a spirited and buoyant cat. he’s adventurous, daring and playful (being the main tumbler of the show, his role requires more gymnastic skill than any other). yet, he has an insecure and unconfident side. he feels the need to try and be cool like older cats such as alonzo or tugger. he’s even paired with mistoffelees, an older cat, during the jellicle ball, instead of someone like pouncival who’s more his age and would also have the ability to do misto’s choreography (pounce is the first understudy for misto). he wants to be a part of them, but he’s not quite there, he’s still seen scheming pranks on grizabella with plato and pouncival. tumblebrutus also happens to be, you guessed it, a coming-of-age character!

now, i know i said i would mostly refer to the 1998 version, but i need to talk about the pas de deux in other productions as well. in a lot of productions, especially recent ones, the 1998 film and older versions (like original london) where the character is named admetus, victoria is paired with plato (i refer to plato/admetus as the same character). out of universe, this is probably because plato doubles as macavity and the role requires him to be able to lift well, so he’d naturally be the first choice to lift victoria. though this made everyone and their pollicle ship them.

however, in a bunch of other productions, and important point here, victoria is paired with tumblebrutus, and this is tied to the fact that they are both coming-of-age characters. they both want to explore more about themselves and be more grown up, but are a bit unsure. tumblebrutus’s fearlessness and optimism helps victoria feel braver and let go of her inihibtions, and victoria’s poise and prudence helps tumblebrutus learn to be more mature and therefore confident. they are each other’s comfort and balance. see the dynamic?

victoria’s “mates” were mainly either plato or tumblebrutus, so i don’t understand how platoria is so much more popular while tumbletoria gets kicked under the couch. heck, ships that have less canon basis like victeazer or jemtoria get more attention than this ship. (no offence btw i think these ships are cute too.)

even though it’s not obvious in the ‘98 version, tumble and vic do have a certain dynamic during their parts in the jellicle ball. when misto and tumble do their ballet part after bombalurina’s section, victoria’s at the back with some other girls, and the camera cuts to her doing a little head tilt at the two boys. she’s also between them when they all do the lean and the music swells and stuff. this is super vague but, we know that victoria’s sexuality is a big part of her character, so maybe it represents her considering her relationships with the toms as she’s growing up, struggling to figure out who she sees as a brother, i.e. misto, and who she’s attracted to or wants something more with, i.e. tumble. she is literally and figuratively caught between them. (also i love the little moments where tumble looks at her during this sequence IT’S SO CUTE.)

just imagine all the adorable possibilities for tumbletoria scenarios. secretly admiring each other from afar while they perform ballet/tumbling moves? trying to impress each other with their skill? getting caught in a compromising position by an adult (like alonzo)? reassuring each other when they feel insecure? secretly dancing together? their friend groups teasing them or shipping them? or even trying to set them up?? affectionate moments becoming a little bit awkward because of their feelings???

i think “juvenile delinquent” is a bit unfair for tumblebrutus, and the depth of victoria’s character shouldn’t be forgotten either. i think vic and tumble are good friends who might have something more going on underneath that they’re figuring out together. i think there’s something really special about complex coming-of-age characters and romances that i really really love. (and i think the principal ballerina x main tumbler thing is noteworthy as well.)

i’ve been working on this post for a while. again, not trying to invalidate anyone’s ships. hopefully now some of you can understand my perspective, and if you disagree, that’s ok. if you do like this ship, please respond and tell me your thoughts or headcanons so i know i’m not alone in this 😭.

tumbletoria is a terribly underrated, beautiful ship, and it truly deserves more attention. thank you for listening to my ted talk.

alonzostrap ideas

what!!! am i finally making an alonzostrap post for once??? no freakin way…

this is my first post about them so it seems like i don’t ship them a lot, but ohohhh, i ship them a lot.

the fact that alonzo is meant to be an unsure cat, who hides his insecurities by putting up a front and acting vain and overconfident, is part of what made him my all-time favourite cat in the show. and munkustrap, especially gruberstrap, just has this really safe and soothing aura to him. like whenever michael gruber sings, it just feels like a big brother comforting you. their complimentary personalities combined with their close relationship and BOOM it’s one of my (two) favourite ships.

i have this idea that alonzo is actually really, like really terrified of lightning and thunderstorms and electricity and stuff (it’s why mistoffelees only uses lightning powers subtly around alonzo). no one is really sure why…. maybe he witnessed his mom get electrocuted or something and that’s how he was orphaned? maybe it’s just an irrational fear? either way, he obviously hates his phobia and doesn’t want anyone to know.

and he’s even more scared of macavity because… yk.

the whole ⚡️⚡️ thing. (and that’s why he was hesitant to hands-on fight macavity only until munkustrap was badly hurt. alonzo my man you are so brave for standing up to him like that <3 even tho u got ur ass kicked)

a little story-time based on this idea: when alonzo was still a stray who wasn’t part of the tribe yet, he took shelter under a trashed bench in the junkyard during a heavy thunderstorm. munkustrap, who had met alonzo but never managed to gain his trust, was worried about him. he knew where alonzo would be, so he led his owners there (much to their confusion at first), and they found him curled up and terrified out of his wits. they gladly took him in and dried him up.

although quite startled and angry at first, alonzo eventually calmed down and warmed up to them with munkustrap’s insistent comfort. they cuddled all night long in a peaceful slumber, with munk’s long fluffy fur as alonzo’s blanket. munkustrap slept quite well that night in satisfaction that he finally got alonzo to let his guard down. and for once in his life, alonzo didn’t flinch or shudder every time he heard the sound of booming thunder.

after that, munkustrap’s owners helped repurpose the old bench to turn it into a comfortable den for the two cats.

URRRHHHHH THEY’RE IN LOVE 😩😩💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

GUYS THE FACT THAT BEFORE “THE OLD GUMBIE CAT”, ALL THE CATS ARE THE ONES TO GO UP TO MUNK AND GREET HIM, BUT ALONZO IS THE ONLY ONE THAT MUNK GOES TO INSTEAD.

beautiful. just beautiful.