The musical Cats is based on poems by T.S. Eliot. Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote the music using mostly Eliot's words, with additional lyrics by Trevor Nunn and Richard Stilgoe. It opened on Broadway in 1982 and ran for 7,485 performances, until 2000. In 1997, it became the longest-running show on Broadway and remained the longest-running Broadway show until another Andrew Lloyd Webber show, The Phantom of the Opera, took that number one spot in 2006.
Most of the 21 songs introduce a different cat. Here is a rundown of the 12 most important songs from the show:
"Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats" - What actually is a Jellicle Cat anyway? This song explains (sort of). "Jellicles can and Jellicles do."
"The Old Gumbie Cat" - Jennyanydots is a Gumbie Cat. She sits and sits and sits and sits.
"The Rum Tug Tugger" - "The Rum Tug Tugger is a curious cat."
"Grizabella: The Glamour Cat" - Grizabella is the most famous character in the musical, a once glamorous cat who ia no longer young and beautiful. She sings the most famous song on the show, "Memory," but more on that later.
"Bustopher Jones" - Bustopher Jones is a well-dressed fat cat.
"Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer" - These cats are mischievous twins.
"Old Deuteronomy" - He is the leader of the Jellicle Cats and he is the one who chooses which cat gets to go to the Heavyside Layer, the main plot of the show.
"Gus: The Theatre Cat" - Gus, short for Asparagus, is the cat we can relate to the most, because he lives in a theatre and loves to talk about the roles he's played.
"Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat" - Most of the song titles are self-explanatory, such as this one, about the cat of the railway train.
"Macavity: The Mystery Cat" - Macavity is a criminal who never gets caught.
"Mr. Mistoffelees" - Mr. Mistoffelees is a magician and is usually played by a dancer because of the dance solo.
"Memory" - If you know one song from "Cats," it's "Memory," sung by Grizabella.