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The Rum Tum Tugger

The Rum Tum Tugger is a curious cat.

If you offer me pheasant I'd rather have grouse.
If you put me in a house I would much prefer a flat,
If you put me in a flat then I'd rather have a hause,
If you set me on a mouse then I'd only want a rat,
If you set me on a rat then I'd rather chase a mause.

The Rum Tum Tugger is a curious cat.
And there isn't any need for me to shout it.
For he will do as he do do,
and there's no doing anything about it.

TUGGER Rum Tum Tugger.
If you offer him something, he wants the opposite.
He's the "ladies man" and every female wants to be with him.

Rum Tum Tugger is one of the few cats
that actually has a human family that treats him like a king.
In the tribe, he has no credibility as being mature.
It's not until the cat-napping of Old Deuteronomy,
that he knows he can show the others that he can be trusted and show some maturity.
When Misto brings back Old Deuteronomy, Tugger is the proudest of all the cats
and makes sure everyone knows that he is one who helped in returning their beloved leader.

His song is a bold rock tribute to his many characteristics,
including "a curious beast"(Bombalurina), and "a terrible bore" (Misto).
With gyrations reminiscent of Elvis and a bearing like Michael Jackson's,
he snatches the stage and makes the most of his song.
By the end, he has every female in his grasp.

Tugger teams up with Munkustrap to sing of Old Deuteronomy's entrace.
He also sings Mr.Mistoffelees song.(Misto and Tugger are very good friends)
In the opening number, he can be heard crooning
"Can you say of your bite that it's worse than your bark?"
and at the Jellicle Ball he sneers, "You would say we had nothing to do at all."
Tugger is one of the easiest to make fun of.
He is basically a big clown and gets into trouble and is never disciplined...by anyone.
He just wants to have what he does not get, and if he gets it
he looses the interest on it.

Tugger is (As I said) a "ladies man" (or cat).
He and bombalurina are wellpaired when they danced together briefly during the jellicle ball.
Unfortunately, he is beset upon by another-Etcetera,
the young white-black-orange tabby kitten, has a tremendous crush on him,
and is by his side through the entire song (watch by his left leg).

The B'way, US Tour and Australia Tuggers (among others) are Rock'n'Roll cats.
They are both charming and devilish, and bear strong similarities to Elvis Presley
and the charactres Greazeball (Starlight Express) and The Pharaoh (Joseph...").

He is played by:

  • Paul Nicholas: Original London cast,1981.
  • Terrence Mann: ????
  • Bela Szerednyei: Original Budapest Cast; c.1983-84.
  • Jeff Phillips: Original Sydney cast, 1985.
  • Fred Butter: Original Hamburg Cast, 1986.
  • Frederic Norbert: Original Paris Cast, 1989.
  • David Hibbard: Broadway cast, 1990's.
  • John Partridge: London; Hamburg; Video, 1997-98.
    Partridge has played in three versions of cats. He can be heard on the 1993
    New Starlight Express cast CD as Electra, the "train of the future."

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