Jennyanydots is a fictional character from

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 Biog ...

's 1939 poetry book ''

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' (1939) is a collection of whimsical light poems by T. S. Eliot about feline psychology and sociology, published by Faber and Faber. It serves as the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical ''Cats''. ...

''. She is also a principal character in the 1981

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musical ...

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 ...

'', which is based on Eliot's work. Jennyanydots is a seemingly lazy Jellicle cat who sits around all day, but at night, she becomes very active as she rules the mice and cockroaches, forcing them to undertake helpful functions and creative projects to curb their naturally destructive habits. In ''Cats'', Jennyanydots' musical number involves her leading a

tap dancing Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...

routine. The character was originated by Myra Sands in the West End in 1981, and by Anna McNeely on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in 1982. In the 2019 film adaptation, she is portrayed by

Rebel Wilson Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson (born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds; 2 March 1980) is an Australian actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. After graduating from the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2003, Wilson began appearing as To ...

Character

The titular character of Eliot's poem "The Old Gumbie Cat", Jennyanydots is an "

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victor ...

do-gooder" who enjoys making sure everything is in order. During the day, her human family thinks she is lazy because she sits around doing nothing. However, she goes to work once the family is asleep, forcing the household pests to undertake productive activities. She teaches the mice music, crocheting, and

tatting Tatting is a technique for handcrafting a particularly durable lace from a series of knots and loops. Tatting can be used to make lace edging as well as doilies, collars, accessories such as earrings and necklaces, and other decorative pieces. ...

, and employs the cockroaches as her "troop of helpful boy-scouts" to counter their destructive habits. She even created a beetles

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing pro ...

and taught them how to

tap dance Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...

. She is also very protective of the kittens and does not allow any of them to touch

Grizabella Grizabella the Glamour Cat is a main character in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ''Cats''. Lonely and decrepit, Grizabella seeks acceptance from the other Jellicle cats but is initially ostracised. She sings the most famous song from the musica ...

initially, though by the end of the musical she accepts Grizabella back into the tribe. Jennyanydots' titular song ("The Old Gumbie Cat") involves her leading the cast in a tap dancing number. It is sung by

Munkustrap Munkustrap is a Jellicle cat from T. S. Eliot's 1939 poem " The Naming of Cats". He is a principal character and the main narrator in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical ''Cats'', which is based on Eliot's poems. Munkustrap is the storyteller and ...

and the "Gumbie Trio" ( Bombalurina,

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 she ...

and Jellylorum). During the song, the character's "fat suit" is removed to reveal a bright orange and yellow

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered accepta ...

style costume underneath. Jennyanydots is a

tabby cat A tabby is any domestic cat (''Felis catus'') with a distinctive 'M'-shaped marking on its forehead; stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, along its back, and around its legs and tail; and (differing by tabby type), characteristic striped, d ...

with a coat that is covered with tiger stripes and leopard spots. Vocally, the role is meant to be 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 ...

Notable casting

Jennyanydots was portrayed by Myra Sands in the original West End production in 1981. The role was to have been played by

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

along with Grizabella, but when Dench had to withdraw, Sands as her understudy took over Jennyanydots. On

, she was originated by Anna McNeely in the original 1982 production, and by Eloise Kropp in the 2016 revival. On screen, Jennyanydots was portrayed by Susie McKenna in the 1998 film version, and is played by

in the 2019 film adaptation.

References

Characters in Cats (musical) Literary characters introduced in 1939 Flappers Female characters in literature {{lit-char-stub