Jellylorum is a principal character in the musical ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

''. One of the Jellicle cats, she is usually portrayed as a motherly caretaker and is principally a vocalist. The musical is based on the 1939 collection of poems by

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biogr ...

from '' Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'', and Jellylorum is named after the poet's own cat. The role of Jellylorum was originated by

Susan Jane Tanner Susan Jane Tanner (or Sue Jane Tanner) is an English theatre actress, best known for playing the role of Madame Thénardier in the original London cast of ''Les Misérables'' and Jellylorum in the original London version of ''Cats''. She reprised ...

in the West End in 1981, and by Bonnie Simmons on Broadway in 1982. Freya Rowley played Jellylorum in the 2019 film adaptation.

Origins

Jellylorum was originally the subject of a

poem entitled "

The Naming of Cats "The Naming of Cats" is a poem in T. S. Eliot's 1939 poetry book ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats''. It was adapted into a musical number in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical '' Cats'', and has also been quoted in other films, notably '' Lo ...

". The character's name is believed to mean "lillie cat", "wisdom" or "tradition".

Character

Jellylorum is a practical and motherly older cat. She is one of the adult characters who initially protects the kittens from Grizabella, though she later comes to accept the latter. Jellylorum serves as a caretaker for the elderly Gus: The Theatre Cat, and the two sing a duet in the second act of the musical. Jellylorum is also frequently shown as being close friends with

Jennyanydots Jennyanydots is a fictional character from T. S. Eliot's 1939 poetry book ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats''. She is also a principal character in the 1981 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ''Cats'', which is based on Eliot's work. Jennyanydots is ...

and Skimbleshanks. On stage, Jellylorum is usually depicted as a predominantly yellow calico or tabby cat. The character's age varies according to the production; many productions have Jellylorum near the age of Bombalurina and

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...

, but others portray the character as slightly older. In the 1998 filmed version, Jellylorum is closer in age to Jennyanydots.

Songs

In ''

'', Jellylorum has four main singing parts: * In "The Old Gumbie Cat" Jellylorum is part of the female chorus often called the "Gumbie Trio". * In "Bustopher Jones: the Cat About Town" Jellylorum is one of three female soloists. * In "Gus: the Theatre Cat" Jellylorum sings a duet with

Gus Gus is a masculine name, often a diminutive for Angus, August, Augustine, or Augustus, and other names (e.g. Aengus, Argus, Fergus, Ghassan, Gustav, Gustave, Gustafson, Gustavo, Gussie). It can also be used as the adaptation into English of ...

. * In "Growltiger's Last Stand" Jellylorum performs the part of Griddlebone in most productions. The role of Jellylorum is principally a vocalist part and is played by a

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

who is able to hit

high C C or Do is the first note and semitone of the C major scale, the third note of the A minor scale (the relative minor of C major), and the fourth note (G, A, B, C) of the Guidonian hand, commonly pitched around 261.63 Hz. The actual frequ ...

Notable casting

The role of Jellylorum was originated by

in the original West End production in 1981, and by Bonnie Simmons in the original Broadway production in 1982. Other notable performers to have played the character include:

Iselin Alme Iselin Alme (born 10 July 1957) is a Norwegian singer and stage actress. Alme was born in Oslo, but moved to Stavanger at an early age. She performed in variety shows before getting the role as Maria in West Side Story at ''Det Norske Teatret'' ...

(

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, original cast); Susana Zabaleta (

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, original cast); Sara Jean Ford (2016 Broadway revival, original cast). On screen, Tanner reprised the role in the 1998 filmed version. Freya Rowley played the role in the 2019 film adaptation.The role has also been played by Robyn Chambers.

References

{{Cats navbox Characters in Cats (musical) Fictional cats Literary characters introduced in 1981