Victoria is a principal character in the 1981 musical ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

'', written by

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 theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

based on T. S. Eliot's 1939 ''

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

''. Primarily a dance role with no solo singing parts, the role demands extensive

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

training and a high degree of flexibility. The character is featured in a ballet solo ("White Cat Solo") as well as a

pas de deux In ballet, a ( French, literally "step of two") is a dance duet in which two dancers, typically a male and a female, perform ballet steps together. The ''pas de deux'' is characteristic of classical ballet and can be found in many well-known ...

in the musical, and leads most of the ensemble dance routines. The role was originated by

Finola Hughes Finola Hughes (born 29 October 1959) is a British actress, best known for her role as Anna Devane on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC soap operas ''General Hospital'' and ''All My Children'', and her portrayal of Laura in the 1983 film '' ...

in the West End in 1981, and by Cynthia Onrubia on Broadway in 1982. In the 2019 movie adaptation, the role is played by Francesca Hayward. Unlike her stage counterpart, this version is made the de facto protagonist of the film and has more of a singing role. She performs the film's sole new song " Beautiful Ghosts" as her signature song, as well as taking over Jemima's part in "

Memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembe ...

". Victoria also appears in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 2001 Beijing concert as a white

silhouette A silhouette (, ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhouett ...

Character description

Within the Jellicle tribe, Victoria is a naive and shy white kitten who is known for her beauty and poise. She is a very quiet cat and has no solo singing parts; however, she is frequently spotlighted as a dancer and opens with a ballet solo near the beginning of the musical. ''

Dance Magazine ''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' is currently part of Dance Media, led by longtime arts publisher Joanna Harp as president, and has mu ...

'' described her "iconic" solo as "filled with endless développés punctuated by twitches and swerves, ending in a Pilates-teaser–like seat." According to ''Cats'' choreographer Gillian Lynne, the "White Cat Solo" represents the character's

coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

. After her solo, Victoria's dancing continues to feature heavily throughout the show; she leads most of the group numbers and takes part in a ceremonial mating dance (

) with

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

. At the end of the musical, Victoria becomes the second cat — after Jemima — to fully accept the outcast Grizabella, which leads to Grizabella's re-acceptance by the Jellicles and ascension to the Heaviside Layer.

Appearance

Victoria is known for her distinct white coat, which stands out among the multi-coloured markings of the other cats. Her white coat is meant to symbolise the character's innocence. Although her costume is designed to give the impression of a pure-white cat, due to the limitations of

stage lighting Stage lighting is the craft of lighting as it applies to the production of theater, dance, opera, and other performance arts.

(a pure white costume would wash out all costume details under stage lighting), she has light gold, tan, or grey markings on her costume. Her distinct appearance also makes her a frequent subject for advertising for the musical. She also wears a

pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

bejeweled collar around her neck in the stage musical.

Notable casting

The role of Victoria was originated by

in the original West End production in 1981, and by Cynthia Onrubia in the original Broadway production in 1982. The character was played by Georgina Pazcoguin in the 2016 Broadway revival and Baby Byrne in the 2024 Off-Broadway revival. On screen, Phyllida Crowley Smith portrayed Victoria in the 1998 filmed version of the musical, and Francesca Hayward portrayed the character in the 2019 film adaptation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Victoria The White Cat Characters in Cats (musical)