- Jennyanydots
In the
musical play "Cats", Jennyanydots is the old Gumbie cat who teaches the mice music, crocheting andtatting . During the day, the family thinks she is lazy because she sits around doing nothing ("She sits, and sits, and sits, and sits. And that's what makes a Gumbie Cat...") but when they go to sleep, she goes to work. She even thinks the cockroaches need employment so she created a Beetles Tattoo teaching them how to tap dance. She is also very protective of the kittens and she won't let any of them touchGrizabella when she shows up. Jennyanydots andSkimbleshanks are often portrayed as mates.The song about Jennyanydots is entitled "The Old Gumbie Cat" and is sung mostly by
Munkustrap . Near the end of the song, before the tap dancing, Munkustrap removes Jennyanydots's "fat suit", revealing a bright orange and yellow flapper style costume underneath.Jennyanydots was portrayed by
Myra Sands in the original West End Production inLondon . The role was to have been played byJudi Dench along with Grizabella, but when Dench had to withdraw, Sands as her understudy took over Jennyanydots. On Broadway she was created by Anna McNeely. Jennyanydots is portrayed bySusie McKenna in the "CATS" video.
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