
'Why Will the Summer Day Delay? When Will Time
Flow Away?'
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It's after the
Jellicle Ball, and the cats are resting, contemplating "The Moments of
Happiness" before they resume introducing more cats. "Gus The Theatre Cat"
appears next. He's an aged stage actor suffering from palsy, who worked with the
greatest actors of his day. Gus tells of his greatest theatrical triumphs, and
yearns to do it again. In the fantasy sequence "Growltiger's Last Stand," Gus
relives one such triumph, playing the pirate Growltiger. In this sequence,
Growltiger, a feared feline sea captain and his amour, Griddlebone, meet an
untimely end after battling a crew of Siamese sailors.
We are pulled back to the present as "Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat" introduces himself. A friendly uncle to all of the cats, Skimbleshanks attends the trains he rides, and makes sure every detail is perfect. "For Skimble won't let anything go wrong!" he proclaims.
A third crash interrupts the celebration, and this time the villainous Macavity appears! Two of his henchman invade the proceedings and kidnap Old Deuteronomy! Two felines familiar with Macavity, Demeter (a frightened kitten who had been previously abducted by Macavity) and the older and more sensual Bombalurina (a goodtime girl who gets along with everyone) sing what they know of "Macavity," whose evil deeds have gotten him dubbed "the Napoleon of crime!" Macavity returns, disguised as Old Deuteronomy, but he is revealed, and he battles with Munkustrap and the other male cats. Tired and almost defeated, Macavity rigs an electrical explosion that puts out all the lights, leaving the Jellicles in the dark. "We have to find Old Deuteronomy," they insist.
The Rum Tum Tugger calls in "Mr. Mistoffelees," the original "conjuring cat" to use his magical powers to bring back their leader. Mistoffelees succeeds in getting back all of the lights, relocating Old Deuteronomy, and showing off his magic tricks, including his infamous "conjuring turn."
At last, the time has come for Old Deuteronomy to make the Jellicle Choice and decide which one cat will be reborn into a new Jellicle life. At that moment, Grizabella re- appears. Again she recalls her "Memory" of how things used to be. "Touch me..." she pleads to her brothers and sisters, yearning to come back to them. This time, through a greater appreciation of tolerance, the cats accept her back into the tribe. It is she who is then chosen to "Journey to the Heavyside Layer" and be reborn! On a magical tire, Old Deuteronomy escorts Grizabella "up, up, up to the Heavyside Layer..." The Jellicle Ball has come to a conclusion, but first Old Deuteronomy instructs the human spectators in "The Ad-dressing of Cats." For all of their unique qualities and differences, he says, "cats are very much like you." And thus ends the annual celebration of cats!