#macavityxtugger

Family: "They had told us on day one that Munk and Tugger were brothers and were Deuteronomy's sons. And Munk was the chosen prince and Tugger was the rebel. And so I'm not a big Game of Thrones fan, but Andy Huntington-Jones [Munkustrap] was like 'oh, we're like Jon Snow and...' the other guy, I don't know that reference, but I really went with the whole Prince William, Prince Harry thing... we kind of turned into our characters during rehearsals and previews. He's a little more diligent and consistent and I'm just kind of... I can be a hurricane in rehearsals, as far as just trying whatever, trying to get a reaction, and we really created a sort of special relationship. The other element of that family that I went with... there are stories out there that Macavity was the third brother, and he was the middle son.... I was the youngest and Macavity just went awry and went off on his own."

Grizabella: Is Grizabella your mother? "No... I went in the direction that... this is a long story! basically [when I was a kitten] Grizabella was active in the tribe and I very much idol-worshipped her, had a crush on her, whatever. ... Essentially Grizabella is the cat who turned Tugger into Tugger, because Grizabella deflowered Tugger and then broke his heart. And then went off with Macavity and killed the last ounce of his kitten. Between that and... [Tugger's] owner was a little girl who was very much like Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka, just a little brat, who'd just dress me up like that... so I was a punk partially because of her, partially because of being screwed over by Grizabella, and partly because I could! Because I could get away with it because I'm Deuteronomy's son, and nobody's going to do anything."

"Makavity ist nicht dort... Er ist bei mir! 🥂"

"'Macavity's not there' - he's with me!"

Nicholas Li as Macavity and Alex Snova covering Tugger, Vienna revival 16 Sept 2021.

A little snippet from Hyla Mayrose Perillo's insta live on 15 April 2022; plus Nick Davis as Munkustrap, Zach Bravo as Tugger, and a note on their relationship.

(Incidentally, I think this is the first time I've ever heard actors affirm a relationship between Munk/Tugger and Macavity—though it does make sense, given the Broadway redesign of Mac to resemble Tugger.)

2021 US tour, obviously.

Hyla (re. Munk and Tugger): These two are brothers apparently, and...

Nick: We are!

Zach: Brothers.

Hyla: *whispering dramatically* ... same with Macavity. *mimicking Demeter* MACAVITY!!!!

Nick: We're triplets.

Hyla: And then... i don't know where I'm from. I'm from the Jellicle moon. *laughs*

Zach(? out of shot): You theorised that Griz is your mum, right?

Hyla: No, actually...

Zach(?): I thought it was?

Hyla: We theorised... okay everyone, here's my headcanon-slash-backstory.

Zach: *settles in for storytime 👀*

Hyla: I was reborn from the Heavyside Layer and that's why Old Deuteronomy is so amazed by how pure white I came out.

(Zach bursts out laughing.)

Zach: That—so who were you before?

Hyla: I don't—

Nick: You are the Jellicle Moon.

Zach: You are the Jellicle....!? *gasps*

Hyla: Did you guys not know in rehearsal? That's why every single time the Jellicle moon is—like, *singing and miming lifting* 'The Jellicle moon is shining bright...!', that's why I'm lifted, and '...wait for the Jellicle Moon to rise', that's why I'm lifted.

Zach: Ooooh! ..... my mind just exploded.

Hyla: I represent the Jellicle moon.

Nick: Yeah.

Zach: That makes perfect sense.

Hyla: That's why Old Deuteronomy loves me.

Zach: Tumblr, are you writing this down?

Hyla: Yeah, tumblr, you better be writing this dooooown!

Tumblr hath written. 😌

(bonus, later when they have to rush back to get ready for act two:)

Tugger and Macavity are best buds and nothing could ever come between them... right?

27/12/2021: the US tour's 100th performance, and Aiden Pressel (Plato/Macavity) has an important message for Munkustrap. 👀

(Also Max Craven as Mungojerrie, Brianna Kim as Sillabub, and Zach Bravo as Tugger.)

This photo is just after the Macavity reveal (the moment shown in this gifset of the 2019 tour). Before Macavity is revealed, until Demeter attacks him, Tugger is stage right: he hovers, apparently wanting to reach out to Deuteronomy, but doesn't approach. When the cloak is thrown off, Tugger stares at him then runs upstage and leaps onto the tyre (as here); he stays there for a few seconds, then he and Mungojerrie zoom downstage left when Macavity starts enchanting the queens. He stays long enough to see Munkustrap grab Macavity and the two of them square off, then he must dart off into the wings around the moment when the lights flick to red.

None of the footage we have (for the 2019 tour or the 2016 revival) shows the moment he leaves. In fact, he's usually out of shot after he goes up onto the tyre - just a glimpse of a leg or a mane here and there - so he's impossible to gif! But you can see this general pattern by keeping your eyes on Tyler Hanes in this footage from July 2016 (starting at c. 12:45):