One by one, the curious cats emerge. Tonight is the one special night each year when the tribe of Jellicle Cats reunites to celebrate who they are. In "Jellicle Songs For Jellicle Cats" they emerge singing of their unique abilities and special traits. "We can dive through the air, like a flying trapeze, we can do double somersaults, bounce on a tire," they sing in a fusion of poetry and dance
But the cats are not alone. Humans (the audience) are present in the cats' private world. The cats are at first reluctant and suspicious to include others in their domain. They are proud, however, and in "The Naming of Cats" they explain to their human visitors who they are and reveal that cats have three different names: the one the family uses daily, the more dignified name and a secret name. It is the cat's contemplation of the latter that keeps felines in deep thought.
The young and innocent white cat Victoria performs a solo dance, which signals the beginning of "The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball." Munkustrap, a large grey tabby who serves as the show's narrator, explains that the Jellicle Cats meet once a year to rejoice! He also explains that they are waiting for their leader, the wise Old Deuteronomy, who will choose which one of the Jellicle Cats will this year journey to the Heavyside Layer to be "reborn" to a new life! From this point onward, each of the cats tells his own story in song and dance, hoping to be chosen as the special cat to come back to a different Jellicle life.
Munkustrap introduces Jennyanydots, "The Old Gumbie Cat," who sleeps and lounges all day long. "She sits and sits and sits and sits, and that's what makes a Gumbie cat!" But at night, she becomes a super-active nanny. She instructs the mice in music and crochet work, and keeps the cockroaches busy. The cats take this opportunity to dress up with Jenny and perform an exuberant tap dance.
The second cat we are introduced to is "The Rum Tum Tugger," a playful prankster that the female cats find extremely attractive. Tugger explains how fussy he can be: he wants what he doesn't have, and doesn't want what's offered to him. The one thing that he does enjoy is being the center of attention, which he is throughout the number.
The evening takes a somber turn when the outcast figure "Grizabella, The Glamour Cat" appears. Although she is a Jellicle Cat, the rest of the tribe shun her. She had left the tribe years ago to explore the outside world. The outside world has been hard on her, however, and she who was once a beautiful and glamorous feline is now tattered and torn. Although she wants to return, the other cats are cruel, clawing and hissing at her. But Grizabella is proud, and she vows to return.
The next cat is the hefty "Bustopher Jones." A large "twenty-five pounder," always clad in his signature white spats, Bustopher spends his time eating, eating and eating in one of the many English pubs and clubs that he frequents. Jennyanydots is quite besauntered with him, and helps sing his praises. He responds, to her great delight, by kissing her hand.
Suddenly there is a thunderous crash, followed by the sound of police sirens and flashing red lights. The villainous cat Macavity is on the loose! The cats scatter, leaving an empty stage.
Two off-stage giggles signal the entrance of "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer," a fun-loving, frolicking team of pranksters, always getting in trouble with the family with whom they live. "When the drawers are pulled out from the bedroom chests / And you can't find one of your winter vests / Or after supper one of the girls / Suddenly misses her Woolworth pearls..." the family knows it's the work of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer!
The entire tribe rejoins as their benevolent and wise leader "Old Deuteronomy" arrives. The cats adore and respect him. "And now that the Jellicle leader is here, Jellicle Cats can all rejoice!"
Munkustrap has assembled some entertainment for Deuteronomy. The cats put on a show called "The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles together with The Marching Song of the Pollicle Dogs." In the show, which Munkustrap narrates, the cats dress up as two rival dog factions: the Pekes and the Pollicles. The two groups bark ceaselessly at each other, until they are frightened away by the great Rumpus Cat, a sleek, powerful feline.
The action is intruded by yet another crash from the villainous Macavity, which sends the cats scurrying! Old Deuteronomy soothes them, as they come back one by one. "Jellicle Cats come out tonight..." he beckons. It is time for "The Jellicle Ball," the great yearly dance in which all of the cats celebrate!
Grizabella intrudes once more, wanting to rejoin her family and be a part of the celebration. The cats again scorn her. She is left to contemplate her "Memory" of the time before she left the tribe, when she was once young, beautiful and happy. "I remember the time I knew what happiness was," she sings dejectedly. She yearns to be accepted, and she stretches out her hand behind her hoping another cat will touch her. It doesn't happen. She slinks off into the night.
PART TWO
"Why Will The Summer Delay - When Will Time Flow Away"
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 and the older and more sensual Bombalurina 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 reappears. 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!