Jennyanydots is a fictional character from

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

'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 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 ...

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

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 ...

'', 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 (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its ow ...

routine. The character was originated by Myra Sands in the West End in 1981, and by Anna McNeely on Broadway 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 and producer. After graduating from the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2003, Wilson began appearing in the SBS comedy ser ...

Character

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

Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

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, 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, 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 processes ...

and taught them how to

tap dance Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its ow ...

. 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 music ...

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 and the "Gumbie Trio" ( Bombalurina,

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

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 prominent after the First World War and through the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee length was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their ...

style costume underneath. Jennyanydots is a

tabby cat A tabby cat, or simply tabby, is any domestic cat (''Felis catus'') with a Cat_coat_genetics#Tabbies , coat pattern distinguished by an M-shaped marking on its forehead, stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, along its back, around its leg ...

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 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 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

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. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

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