headrot

I forgot to post for yesterday so I'll just put them together. Also favorite MLM would be Tumblestoffelees but I'm just gonna ignore that for this one.

Electcetera & Coricojerrie!

There both cute. I like Bombalurina and Demeter, but I generally prefer Demestrap. Electcetera is just a really cute dynamic and I love it for them. Coricojerrie has great content for it, and they have a great dynamic. I'm not huge on Tuggoffelees but I don't mind it.

I'm doing two just cause.

Tumblejem & Tumblestoffelees!

I like Tumblejem a bit more, but Tumblestoffelees is not far behind at all, it depends on my mood for the day, and the production. Not enough content for both of these.

Jemima as Simba - I know Simba is a guy, but putting Jemima here works better with a lot of the fanon familial relationships and is better than just throwing Plato or Pouncival in here imo. Also it's cool >:(

Munkustrap as Mufasa - I mean duh. Best Cats dad is of course gonna be best dad.

Macavity as Scar - I know a lot of AUs just default to Macavity as the villain, but I think it really works here with Munkustrap and Jemima in their roles.

Tumblebrutus as Nala - I like Tumblejem, and think it's a cute pairing in this context.

Asparagus Jr. as Timon and Skimbleshanks as Pumbaa - Of course Simba's adopted parents had to go to the other best tribe dads. And the dynamic is just the exact same!

Cassandra as Rafiki - Old Deuteronomy is the obvious pick, but I like this better, and it works better with the fanon between Old D and Munkustrap and Macavity. Alternatively this could be both of the mystic twins.

Mistoffelees as Zazu - I really like Misto as Munkustrap's assistant that has a bit of a stick up his bum. You could also make this Alonzo, but I have him in another role.

Pouncival as the Gopher - Sure, Pouncival does the ballet portion of the Jellicle Ball with Misto, so he can be his assistant here.

Demeter as Sarabi - It just works.

Alonzo as Sarafina - I really like Alonzo as Tumblebrutus's parent, especially in London productions, and I also like his friendship with Demeter.

Rumpleteazer as Shenzi, Mungojerrie as Banzai, and Etcetera as Ed - The chaos twins were obvious picks for the hyenas, and I liked wild Etcetera as Ed.

- Alonzo, Plato, and Tumblebrutus are brothers, Alonzo is two-three years older than his brothers, while Plato is around a year older than Tumblebrutus

- Bosun Tumblebrutus was their great-great-grandfather, and there family has traditionally been very strong

- Gr*wltiger's crew formed a tribe underneath the docks after their boss's demise, Alonzo, Plato, and Tumblebrutus were raised here as kittens

- Alonzo escaped with Plato and Tumblebrutus, who was still a kitten as the tribe was not a great place to be raised in, after Macavity made his fallout from the Jellicles, he took over this tribe

- Wandered for a while in the London streets before finding the Jellicles, Tumblebrutus doesn't remember anything before the Jellicles, but Plato and Alonzo do

- Alonzo and Plato are both Protectors, Tumblebrutus is training to be one

- Tumblebrutus is absolutely best friends with Pouncival and Sillabub, good friends with Mistoffelees, Mungojerrie, and Rumpleteazer

- Tumblebrutus has a Napoleon complex, as he is shorter than both of his brothers, and despite Pouncival being almost a year younger than him, is just a hair taller

- Tumblebrutus has a crush on Victoria, while him and Cassandra have an on-again, off-again relationship for a while, Cassandra views him as a boy toy, and keeps him just at arms length away

- After the Jellicle Ball, he and Victoria are officially an item, Cassandra doesn't take the news too well (I'm basing this exclusively off her scratching Victoria after the intermission)

Okay so a few weeks ago I made two posts covering Broadway Revival Tumblebrutus's personality and how the change in choreography led to Tumblebrutus having a very weird track and inconsistent characterization. Well, recently I went to see the US Tour 6 (December 5th, 2:00 pm show) and wanted to add onto my other posts with some of the changes Tumblebrutus got in this version.

So the first part is the development of US Tour 6, a few important changes were made from the Broadway revival. Elements of the stage and props, like the car hood being able to open were removed, characters like Mistoffelees or Grizabella don't make there entrance or exit from the top of the stage, the prop broom and balls aren't used in Jennyanydots, etc. The choreography is slightly modified to adjust for this, par for the course in tour versions if the show. The show also made the decision to remove the characters of Carbuckety and Electra. Makes sense, these two characters aren't really used in American productions. Electra has only ever been used in the Broadway revival, and nothing else in America. A common misconception is that Pouncival/Carbuckety are like Tumblebrutus/Bill Bailey or Sillabub/Jemima, where it's the same character, but different name (I guess technically Tumblebrutus and Plato are different characters with different characterization than Bill Bailey and Admetus, but the point is they aren't used un the same show.) Instead, what we currently know as Pouncival is a composite character of the original Pouncival and Carbuckety. @sevenkittensinatrenchcoat has a great post covering this and I'll link it here, highly recommend you read it.

But the main points you need to know are that Pouncival and Etcetera were replacement characters for Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer in the original Broadway version of the show, but when they were reintroduced, Etcetera was cut, and Carbucketty for some reason. Pouncival picked up his track, and later the costume that Carbucketty used, making the version of Pouncival used in most American shows.

So tangent about Pouncival and Carbucketty's history aside, with Carbuckety and Electra cut, the show makes some interesting decisions. I think Tumblebrutus and his track actually would have been the easiest guy track to cut, as while he does a good amount, he doesn't do anything that other cats like Pouncival or Mungojerrie can't pick up, and he doesn't really have much characterization like Carbuckety, so he wouldn't be missed that much. American productions like Pouncival and Tumblebrutus as the two male kittens, so maybe they instead should have just given Carbuckety's track to Tumblebrutus. With Carbuckety cut, they also decided to keep Pouncival in his new George-like costume. This also doesn't make much sense, as the Carbuckety outfit is used in almost all productions of the show, and is generally on the youngest male kitten, but no dice, Pouncival still looks like George.

Other tangent aside, with the two cut cats, there track gets picked up by other cats. Carbuckety's gets split by a lot of the cast, Tumblebrutus picks up the jumping jacks during the ball, being the cat Skimbleshanks spooks, and attempting to attack Macavity during the fight, but Pouncival, Alonzo, and a few others pick up various parts here and there. Electra doesn't have nearly as much to be picked up, Tumblebrutus takes her track during elements where the choreography calls for the kitten stack, Tantomile takes some (which leads to weird moments where Tantomile acts like a kitten and Coricopat is an adult), and Rumpleteazer does as well. So Tumblebrutus is more involved than in the Broadway revival.

So as usual, my notes, although note I missed part of Bustopher Jones, and since I was watching this live, I probably missed some things

- First off, Kieran MacDonald didn't seem as comfortable tumbling as the role usually has, so for a lot of parts where Tumblebrutus would tumble, and pretty much every time he'd do multiple flips in a row, MacDonald would instead do a turn, so we don't have a very tumbly version of Tumblebrutus in this show, the choreography doesn't change though. This makes sense as MacDonald was just covering for Sean McManus, who wasn't with the tour for a mental health break, but recently McManus returned, so tumbly Tumblebrutus is back!

- Also the Bill Bailey name is used for Rum Tum Tugger's chorus identity, this means literally nothing though for Tumblebrutus

- Most of Tumblebrutus's track from the Broadway revival is the same, when he's not part of the kitten stack, he's still doing the same things he was in the revival. The only change that took him out of the spotlight was in Gumbie Cat, since they didn't use the prop balls, Tumble doesn't do his flip onto a ball right at the end of the number, and instead stays in the ensemble.

- Pulled away by Skimbleshanks during Tugger's song, but he shows Skimble what he's learned from Tugger, much to Skimble's chagrin

- With Victoria during Grizabella the Glamour Cat, being protected by Jennyanydots

- I still don't know what his interaction with Alonzo is during the romantic part of the ball before the pas de deux. It seemed a lot friendlier than the version during the Broadway revival, and fills my theory that Tumblebrutus is just vibing with Alonzo rather than trying to flirt, but I still don't know what the point of this is

- Tumblebrutus was very close to Skimbleshanks and Jennyanydots during the pas de deux, he wasn't quite paired with them, but considering a previous bootleg had him curled up next to Old Deuteronomy, I thought it was worth noting. Also no Skimbletable

- Tumblebrutus and Pouncival do the second attack on Grizabella after the ball, unlike the revival where Tumblebrutus just pushes her, both of them ran up to her and rubbed there asses on her (I'm not kidding), they still get chided by Munkustrap

- Just vibing with Sillabub and Pouncival during Gus and Peke & Pollicles

- He's with these two during every moment the kitten stack is used together in choreography, except for once I noticed during Old Deuteronomy, where it was just Sillabub and Pouncival

- HE'S DOING CHOREOGRAPHY DURING SKIMBLESHANKS (I was very disappointed that he wasn't in it at all in the revival)

- He's the cat Skimble spooks, and he holds open the umbrella

- Him and Pouncival are Macavity's henchcats, they left before the final group moment in Skimble, left with fake Macavity (I think Alonzo was fake Macavity), and then they both rejoined during the fight

- He's the one who tries to attack Macavity

- Rumpleteazer picks up Electra's part during Mistoffelees, so her and Tumblebrutus interact like this twice

- Second cat to greet Grizabella with Pouncival. Unlike a different person's account of an earlier show, Tumblebrutus was not looking at Grizabella during the entire number, he looked up later just before she fall

- Last bow as usual

So, what do we got? First off, this Tumblebrutus is significantly more involved than the Broadway revival version of him since he's picking up a lot of Carbuckety and Electra's track. He's one of the three youngest cats in the tribe, but seems to be the oldest of the three. He doesn't have original Broadway's Tumblebrutus or Broadway revival's Carbuckety arc of trying to prove himself to the adults of the cats, but he does get the culmination where that cat joins in on the Macavity fight. He's more similar to London's Bill Bailey, but not quite as chaotic or mischievous. Tumblebrutus interacts with Pouncival and Sillabub the most of all the characters, especially Pouncival, those two are next to each other for a lot of the show. Other than the kitten stack, he interacts with Victoria, Rumpleteazer, Alonzo, Skimbleshanks, and Jennyanydots a lot. With Victoria, I honestly got the vibe they were either siblings or really good platonic friends, where as he seemed to maybe have a bit of a crush on Rumpleteazer. I already talked about his interaction with Alonzo and how I still don't know what it means, but they are friendlier to each other than other versions of the show. Skimbleshanks and Jennyanydots seemed to be his parents, which seems to be the way a few Jenny actors play the charactsr as, they interacted a lot, especially compared to Tumblebrutus and the other adults. He had a few interactions with Jellylorum, Old Deuteronomy, and Plato, but I didn't get any real opinion on there relationship. He seems to be a good kid who generally doesn't get into trouble, but still doesn't really know what he's doing. He almost seems like a younger version of the original Broadway Tumblebrutus.

So then we end up with the Broadway revival, which featured new choreography and mixed up the ensemble characters included. Pouncical and Carbuckety both are in this show, with Pouncival using the George costume and being the youngest male kitten, and Carbuckety using the traditional Pouncival costume and being a teen cat. Electra was used in a North American production for once, and Tumblebrutus is there! So I watched the bootleg a few times specifically following Tumblebrutus, and here are my notes.

Seven Kittens in Mr. Mistoffelees

- Sillabub, Pouncival, Electra, Tumblebrutus, Victoria, Mungojerrie, and Rumpleteazer

Kitten Stack

- Sillabub, Pouncival, and Electra

Likely adolescent/teenager cats

- Mungojerrie, Rumpleteazer, Victoria, Carbucketty, Plato, Mr. Mistoffelees

- Tumblebrutus has an interaction moment with Carbucketty, Mr. Mistoffelees, Sillabub, Rumpleteazer, Victoria, Skimbleshanks, Jennyanydots, Bombalurina, Alonzo, Old Deuteronomy, Electra, and Gus that I could see

- Tumblebrutus is neither a mice nor a cockroach, he's an assistant, him, Victoria, and Rumpleteazer are the only ones of the kittens to not be involved as either

- Pouncival and Mungojerrie push Carbucketty to scratch Grizabella the first time, I don't think Tumblebrutus is in this interaction at all

- He's in the line with Munkustrap, Alonzo, Skimbleshanks, and Mr. Mistoffelees during Bustopher Jones

- Part of the kitten stack during Old Deuteronomy but not Jennyanydots, Bustopher Jones, or Pekes and the Pollicles, which all use the kittens together

- I didn't see any of the adults going to protect him during Macavity or Grizabella scares

- In the line with Alonzo, Plato, Coricopat, and Mr. Mistoffelees during the ball

- Interesting interaction with Alonzo before the mating dance? I have no clue what it is, but it was kept in the US Tour

- Tumblebrutus is unpaired for the mating dance, him, Mistoffelees, and Jellylorum are kinda together, but not really, and if anything Tumble joins in late and the other two might be paired here. In fact in the US Tour that followed this show, Tumblebrutus is also unpaired here, and Mistoffelees and Jellylorum are together. Rather than being by them, Tumble is curled up by Old Deuteronomy.

- Tumblebrutus pushes Grizabella the second time she comes back on stage

- Tumblebrutus is not one of the young cats doing the initial choreography in Skimbleshanks

- Tumblebrutus and I believe Pouncival or Carbucketty are the two Macavity Henchcats

- One of the seven kittens in Mr. Mistoffelees

- Fourth cat that touches Grizabella

So what is his personality? Well uh, he kinda doesn't have a very clear and defined one. This isn't an insult to the actor portraying him, but he isn't really given much to work with. The role of the mischievous tom kitten is mostly given to Mungojerrie, while the teen tom trying to prove himself is given to Carbucketty, at least in a less serious way than original Broadway Tumblebrutus. So with the characters previous characterizations taken by other characters, Tumblebrutus is kind of just there. He seems to be an in-between of the kittens (Sillabub, Jemima, and Pouncival) and teens (Mungojerrie & Rumpleteazer, Victoria, and Carbucketty). When the scene needs another kitten, like Old Deuteronomy, he's a kitten. When the scene needs another teen, like Bustopher Jones, he's a teen. The show mostly uses him as a tumbler, pretty much every time he's in the spotlight, he's tumbling (Jennyanydots, Jellicle Ball, etc.) Tumblebrutus is more serious than the London Bill Bailey, but he isn't as solemn as the original Broadway Tumblebrutus. I'm kind of surprised that he was unpaired in the mating dance, based on the way the characters are aged, I'd expect him to be with Electra or Jemima, with Pouncival with the other one, but Carbucketty instead is paired with Electra. The show does have more male characters than female characters, so someone had to be unpaired, and for some reason, it was Tumblebrutus with maybe Mistoffelees and Jellylorum. I'm interested in what the creative process was for the background cats, as for me, it seems it would have made more sense to switch Pouncival and Carbucketty's costume, as the Carbucketty outfit is almost always given to a young tom kit, and the Pouncival outfit is sometimes given to an older tom. I'm also kind of surprised that they sectioned the male tom kits as they did, I would have expected Tumblebrutus to be the teenager tom, Pouncival as the young male tom, and Carbucketty (really George) as the in-between cat who switches when needed.

I also have no idea what his interaction with Alonzo and Old Deuteronomy is in the scene right before the mating dance. I've seen it suggested that he's trying to flirt with Alonzo, who rejects him, and then he gets comforted by Old D. I don't quite agree with this interpretation, as to me it seems a bit more friendly, like Alonzo is his brother, and is messing with Tumble (things like the head turn, and fake punch) but I also have no idea what its supposed to mean, and apparently it was important enough to keep for the US Tour. Considering it's placement in the romantic part of the ball, and the fact Alonzo immediately goes to Cassandra, maybe it is Tumble trying to flirt. I also don't really have a solid interpretation of why they had Tumble do the second male kitten attack on Grizabella, Carbucketty is obviously him being pressured to do it by Mungojerrie and I think Pouncival or Plato, where as Tumblebrutus just kinda does it. I think he's just doing it because the other adult cats very clearly don't like Grizabella, so he thinks he's helping, but I don't really know.

One of my favorite things about Cats is how much personality the characters have, even without traditional dialog. Even the ensemble with very few solo lines, manage to have clear, unique personalities. And as my favorite character in the show, I always watch for Tumblebrutus to see how each production characterizes him. Recently though, when watching the Broadway revival bootleg, a question, popped in my head, wtf is this Tumblebrutus's personality? It didn't seem as clear cut as a lot of other productions.

First though, I think it's important to establish how this character is usually characterized. Tumblebrutus originated as Bill Bailey in the original London run of the show, one of the two male kittens of the tribe with Carbucketty. Bill Bailey is a mischievous little shit, constantly pulling pranks and hijinks in the background. I think this is best seen in the 2013 UK tour, with one of my favorite sequences from a Bill Bailey/Tumblebrutus. In the matter of less than a minute, he manages to piss off Skimbleshanks, Plato, Munkustrap, and Alonzo with his "bright black eyes" and "not too big" lines, shoves Carbucketty away from Jemima so he can swoon over her, and then fall flat on his ass trying to do a cartwheel. If you haven't watched it yet, do it, it's great. But basically, London based productions generally have Bill Bailey as a little punk who likes irritating people, and isn't worried that much.

And then Broadway happened. While Victoria has her coming of age arc, culminating in the pas de deux during the Jellicle Ball, it was decided a male character should have a coming of age arc as well. So Bill Bailey was turned from a chaotic kitten to a adolescent that trys a little too hard to prove himself, with a new name taken from Growltiger's Last Stand to boot. Tumblebrutus spends most of the show trying to prove himself as a big boy to the adults of the tribe, and acting tough in front of the other kittens. He scratches Grizabella, does the pas de deux with Victoria, and in some productions, may even have a little part in the Macavity fight. This Tumblebrutus is a lot calmer than Bill Bailey, but is still one of the younger characters in the show.

And finally, for the 1998 film, Tumblebrutus's characterization gets a little, weird. The 1998 film is mostly based on the London production, but for the dual named characters, all of them but Jemima kept their Broadway name, and their London characterization. Tumblebrutus was played by Fergus Logan, who never played Bill Bailey or Tumblebrutus before. He had exclusively played Mistoffelees. I'm honestly surprised they didn't have Damien Delaney, who had been the London Bill Bailey for about two years, or Randy Bettis, who had 9 years as experience as Tumblebrutus, with 3 years on Broadway, do Tumblebrutus in the show. And Fergus Logan did an excellent job playing Tumblebrutus, but it is a little apparent he hadn't quite finished tinkering with Tumblebrutus's characterization. For example his voice for his line in Jellicle Songs for Jellice Cats is significantly deeper than his two lines in The Song of the Jellicles. Tumblebrutus in this film seems to be more similar to London Bill Bailey than Broadway Tumblebrutus, but he is definitely more mature and calm than the wild Bill Bailey.