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"Grizabella the Glamour Cat" is a musical number that introduces the titular Grizabella, establishing her as an outcast who is not welcomed by the Jellicle tribe.

Context[]

As the cats are revelling in a reprise of "The Rum Tum Tugger", Grizabella appears onstage for the first time. Immediately the mood turns hostile - she is not welcomed by the tribe. Undaunted, Grizabella holds her head high and addresses them.

The younger kittens do not understand, but the adults make it clear that she is not to be touched or accepted. To explain, Demeter and Bombalurina relate Grizabella's story. 

History[]

Demeter's verse forms the main bulk of "Grizabella the Glamour Cat" and is taken ad verbatim from an unpublished T S Eliot poem of the same name. Eliot did not include this eight-line poem in Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (1939) because he considered it too sad for children.[1] However his widow, Valerie, showed it to the Cats creative team in 1980. The discovery of this poem, and thus the character of Grizabella, inspired the key narrative framework of the musical, that of Grizabella's acceptance and redemption.

The poem itself is open to interpretation, one theory involving allusions to World War II in mentioning "The Rising Sun", "No Man's Land", and "The Friend At Hand". However the more literal interpretation is that these are references to pub names, often used as geographic markers in London. Tottenham Court Road is well known as a location, "The Rising Sun" and "The Friend At Hand" both being pubs in the area.

The opening four lines of the number, which are sung by Grizabella herself, are lifted from another Eliot poem "Rhapsody on a Windy Night" from Prufrock and Other Observations (1917), and concerns a prostitute walking the streets in the early hours of the morning.

Originally in the 1981 London production, Demeter's verse accompanied Grizabella's second entrance after the "Jellicle Ball", and led straight into "Memory (Act 1)". When the show transferred to Broadway in 1982, Demeter's verse was moved up to its current spot at Grizabella's first entrance. In return, a reprise of "Grizabella the Glamour Cat" was added to the start of "Memory (Act 1)".

Music[]

As Grizabella enters for the first time, we are introduced to her cello ground bass motif, setting the dark and gloomy mood that surrounds her. An English horn soon joins in with a forlorn tune, a very loose interpretation of the melody of "Memory", and finally Grizabella herself joins in, singing about herself in the third person. The ground bass line dissolves as Grizabella is overcome with intensity and the music turns harsh. This introduction is set to a 4/4 meter and composed in the key of A minor.[2] Grizabella's vocals span from A3 to C5.

Grizabella the Glamour Cat sheet music excerpt

Grizabella's bass motif and the English horn solo open the number

Grizabella's opening gives way to a poignant yet sultry bluesy segment sung mainly by Demeter.[2] This section is set to a tempo of 68 beats per minute, with the 4/4 meter occasionally flitting to 6/4.[3] It was written in the key of Bb minor in the original London score, but has been transposed to A minor in the modern score. Demeter's vocals span from G3 to C5 in the modern score.

Grizabella the Glamour Cat music sheet excerpt original

Excerpt from the original London score

Grizabella the Glamour Cat music sheet excerpt modern

Excerpt from the modern score

Lyrics[]

Grizabella:
Remark the cat who hesitates towards you
In the light of the door which opens on her like a grin.
You see the border of her coat is torn and stained with sand,
And you see the corner of her eye twists like a crooked pin.

Demeter:
She haunted many a low resort
Near the grimy road of Tottenham Court;
She flitted about the No Man's Land
From The Rising Sun to The Friend at Hand.
And the postman sighed, as he scratched his head:
"You'd really have thought she ought to be dead
And who would ever suppose that THAT
Was Grizabella, the Glamour Cat!"

Bombalurina:
Grizabella, the Glamour Cat!
Grizabella, the Glamour Cat!
Who'd have ever supposed that THAT
Was Grizabella, the Glamour Cat?

International Versions[]

Audio[]

Without Demeter's verse:

With Demeter's verse:

Video[]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. The Poems of T. S. Eliot Volume II: Practical Cats and Further Verses. Faber & Faber, 17 November 2015. Page 43. Quote by Eliot in a 1959 interview with Donald Hall for the Paris Review: "There's one about a glamour cat. It turned out too sad. This would never do. I can't make my children weep over a cat who's gone wrong. She had a very questionable career, did this cat."
  2. 2.0 2.1 The Megamusical, Indiana University Press (2006). Pages 157-159. ISBN 978-0-253-34793-0.
  3. Cats: Songs from the Musical, Hal Leonard (May 1, 1982). Pages 56-58. ISBN 978-0881882001.
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