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Gus The Theatre Cat
"Gus: The Theatre Cat" is a poem by T. S. Eliot included in ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats''. Known as "The Theatre Cat" due to his career as an actor, Gus is an old and frail, yet revered, cat, who "suffers from palsy, which makes his paws shake." His coat is described as "shabby" and he is "no longer a terror to mice or to rats." Gus, whose full name is Asparagus, is also a character in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical adaption of the book, '' Cats''. In the musical, the poem is used almost verbatim in the song "Gus: The Theatre Cat". The musical Gus appears shortly after the start of Act II of ''Cats'', where he and Jellylorum sing a duet about the highlights of his career, contrasting his present state with his acting heyday: "He has acted with Irving, he's acted with Tree." He and Jellylorum stress in particular his creation of the role of Firefrorefiddle, the Fiend of the Fell. In its only major deviation from the poem, the song modifies the line "He once played ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats
''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' (1939) is a collection of whimsical light poems by T. S. Eliot about feline psychology and sociology, published by Faber and Faber. It serves as the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical '' Cats''. Eliot wrote the poems in the 1930s and included them, under his assumed name "Old Possum", in letters to his godchildren. They were collected and published in 1939, with cover illustrations by the author, and quickly re-published in 1940, illustrated in full by Nicolas Bentley. They have also been published in versions illustrated by Edward Gorey (1982), Axel Scheffler (2009) and Rebecca Ashdown (2014). Contents The contents of ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'', along with the names of the featured cats where appropriate, are: * "The Naming of Cats" * "The Old Gumbie Cat" ( Jennyanydots) * "Growltiger's Last Stand" * "The Rum Tum Tugger" * "The Song of the Jellicles" * "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer" * "Old Deuteronomy" * " (Of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West End Theatre
West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, Along with New York City's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London. Famous screen actors, British and international alike, frequently appear on the London stage. There are a total of 39 theatres in the West End, with the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, opened in May 1663, the oldest theatre in London. The Savoy Theatre – built as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan – was entirely lit by electricity in 1881. Opening in October 2022, @sohoplace is the first new West End theatre in 50 years. The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) announced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking countries, especially during the Christmas and New Year season. Modern pantomime includes songs, gags, slapstick comedy and dancing. It employs gender-crossing actors and combines topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or folk tale.Reid-Walsh, Jacqueline. "Pantomime", ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature'', Jack Zipes (ed.), Oxford University Press (2006), Pantomime is a participatory form of theatre, in which the audience is encouraged and expected to sing along with certain parts of the music and shout out phrases to the performers. Pantomime has a long theatrical history in Western culture dating back to the era of classical theatre. It developed partly from the 16th century c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Professor Moriarty
Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could kill Holmes and end the hero's stories. Professor Moriarty first appears in the short story "The Adventure of the Final Problem", first published in ''The Strand Magazine'' in December 1893. He also plays a role in the final Sherlock Holmes novel ''The Valley of Fear'', but without a direct appearance. Holmes mentions Moriarty in five other stories: "The Adventure of the Empty House", "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder", "The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter", "The Adventure of the Illustrious Client", and "His Last Bow". Moriarty is a criminal mastermind who uses his intelligence and resources to provide criminals with crime strategies and sometimes protection from the law, all in exchange for a fee or a cut of profit. Holmes l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colonel Sebastian Moran
Colonel Sebastian Moran is a fictional character in the stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. An enemy of Sherlock Holmes, he first appears in the 1903 short story "The Adventure of the Empty House". Holmes once described him as "the second most dangerous man in London", the most dangerous being Professor Moriarty, Moran's employer. Fictional character biography In "The Adventure of the Empty House", Sherlock Holmes looks up for biographical information about Sebastian Moran in his index of criminal biographies. According to these data, Moran was born in London in 1840, the son of Sir Augustus Moran, CB, sometime Minister to Persia. He was educated at Eton College and the University of Oxford before embarking upon a military career. Formerly of the 1st Bangalore Pioneers (Madras), he served in the Jowaki Expedition of 1877–1878 and in the Second Anglo-Afghan War, seeing action at the Battle of Char Asiab, 6 October 1879 (for which he was mentioned in despatches); the Battl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction. Doyle was a prolific writer; other than Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, " J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the ''Mary Celeste''. Name Doyle is often referred to as "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle" or "Conan Doyle", implying that "Conan" is part of a compound surname rather than a middle name. His baptism entry in the register of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh, gives "Arth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Adventure Of The Empty House
"The Adventure of the Empty House", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes''. It was first published in ''Collier's'' in the United States on 26 September 1903, and in ''The Strand Magazine'' in the United Kingdom in October 1903. Public pressure forced Conan Doyle to bring the sleuth back to life, and explain his apparently miraculous survival after his deadly struggle with Professor Moriarty in "The Final Problem." This is the first Holmes story set after his supposed death at the Reichenbach Falls, as recounted in "The Final Problem." ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' had seen the return of a pre-Reichenbach Falls Sherlock Holmes, which whetted readers' appetites. Doyle ranked "The Adventure of the Empty House" sixth in his list of his twelve favorite Holmes stories. Plot The story takes place in 1894, three years after the apparent death of Sherlock Holm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Playbill
''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's program. ''Playbill'' was first printed in 1884 for a single theater on 21st Street in New York City. The magazine is now used at nearly every Broadway theatre, as well as many Off-Broadway productions. Outside New York City, ''Playbill'' is used at theaters throughout the United States. As of September 2012, its circulation was 4,073,680. History What is known today as ''Playbill'' started in 1884, when Frank Vance Strauss founded the New York Theatre Program Corporation specializing in printing theater programs. Strauss reimagined the concept of a theater program, making advertisements a standard feature and thus transforming what was then a leaflet into a fully designed magazine. The new format proved popular with theatergoers, who s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cats (2019 Film)
''Cats'' is a 2019 musical fantasy film based on the 1981 stage musical of the same name by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which in turn was based on the poetry collection ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' (1939) by T. S. Eliot. The film was directed by Tom Hooper, in his second feature musical following ''Les Misérables'' (2012), from a screenplay by Lee Hall and Hooper. It features an ensemble cast, including James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson, and Francesca Hayward in her film debut. Filming took place from December 2018 to April 2019. It was theatrically released in the United Kingdom and the United States on December 20, 2019, by Universal Pictures, to an overwhelming negative response from critics and audiences, who criticized the visual effects and editing. Considered one of the worst films of all time, ''Cats'' grossed $75 million on a budget of $80–100 million, making it a box-office bomb. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural icon, he has received various accolades, including six Laurence Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award. The BBC states that his "performances have guaranteed him a place in the canon of English stage and film actors". McKellen began his professional career in 1961 at the Belgrade Theatre as a member of their highly regarded repertory company. In 1965, McKellen made his first West End appearance. In 1969, he was invited to join the Prospect Theatre Company to play the lead parts in Shakespeare's '' Richard II'' and Marlowe's '' Edward II'', and he firmly established himself as one of the country's foremost classical actors. In the 1970s, McKellen became a stalwart of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Thea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cats (1998 Film)
''Cats'' is a 1998 direct-to-video musical film based on the 1981 stage musical '' Cats'' by Andrew Lloyd Webber, itself based on ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' (1939) by T. S. Eliot. Lloyd Webber oversaw orchestration and called on Gillian Lynne, the show's original choreographer, to train the cast members. David Mallet served as the director of this production. The film is a recreation of the stage musical, but with new staging and significant edits made to reduce the runtime for television broadcast. It was filmed at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1997, with the cast selected from various past and (then) present international productions of ''Cats''. Initially released to VHS and subsequently DVD and Blu-ray, the film has since been shown on television channels including PBS, BBC and Ovation TV. Synopsis After the overture, the Cats gather on stage and describe the Jellicle tribe and its purpose ("Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats"). The cats (who break the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Mills
Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portrayed guileless, wounded war heroes. In 1971, he received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ''Ryan's Daughter''. For his work in film Mills was knighted by Elizabeth II in 1976. In 2002, he received a BAFTA Fellowship from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and was named a Disney Legend by The Walt Disney Company. Early life John Mills was born on 22 February 1908 in North Elmham, Norfolk, the son of Edith Mills (née Baker), a theatre box office manager, and Lewis Mills, a mathematics teacher. Mills was born at Watts Naval School, where his father was a master. He spent his early years in the village of Belton where his father was the headmaster of the village school. He first felt the thrill o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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