"Gus: The Theatre Cat" is a poem by T. S. Eliot included in ''

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'' ...

''. 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 In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

." He and Jellylorum stress in particular his creation of the role of Firefrorefiddle, the Fiend of the

Fell A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of Man, pa ...

. In its only major deviation from the poem, the song modifies the line "He once played a Tiger—could do it again—Which an Indian Colonel pursued down a drain." to "I once played Growltiger—could do it again" and uses this to segue into the song " Growltiger's Last Stand", wherein Gus recreates his role of Growltiger, a pirate cat. At the end of "Growltiger's Last Stand", Gus returns in a short

reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

. In the live stage show, the actor playing Gus is usually double-cast as

Bustopher Jones ''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'' ...

. The role is meant to be played by an

operatic Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libret ...

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

Notable casting

The role of Gus was originated by

Stephen Tate Stephen Tate is a British actor and musical theatre artist. Career Television He is possibly best known for his recurring role as Alan in the 1970s television drama '' Survivors'' and as Dick Meyer in the 1980s comedy drama '' Big Deal'' along ...

in the West End in 1981, and by Stephen Hanan on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in 1982. On screen, Gus was portrayed by

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 portra ...

in the 1998 film version of the musical, and by Ian McKellen in the 2019 film adaptation.

Cultural references

The description in the original poem about Gus playing a "Tiger... which an Indian Colonel pursued down a drain" is a reference to the short story "

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 ...

" by

Sir 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 Ho ...

. In the story

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 m ...

, chief underling of the infamous Professor Moriarty, is said to have pursued a man-eating tiger down a drain during his military service in India, before his criminal career. Both the original poem and the number in the play refer to Gus's ability of

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 ...

, specifically in his serving as an understudy in a production of

Dick Whittington and His Cat Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat Names ...

. In the film '' Logan's Run'', Logan and Jessica meet an old man in the Senate Chamber during their search for Sanctuary. The old man has many cats and references "

The Naming of Cats "The Naming of Cats" is a poem in T. S. Eliot's 1939 poetry book ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats''. It was adapted into a musical number in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical '' Cats'', and has also been quoted in other films, notably '' Lo ...

", explaining that each cat has three names: one common, one unique, and one that only the cat knows. He refers to one cat in particular: Gus, short for Asparagus.

References

{{Cats navbox Characters in Cats (musical) Poetry by T. S. Eliot Songs from musicals Songs with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber