Macavity

"Macavity's a Mystery Cat: he's called the Hidden Paw - For he's a master criminal who can defy the Law."

- "Macavity the Mystery Cat"

Macavity is a featured character and the main antagonist of Cats. He is a malevolent criminal mastermind whose wicked deeds strike fear in the Jellicles. His looming presence and attempts to terrorise the tribe, particularly Demeter, are major subplots in the musical.

Personality
"Hypnotic, Jealous, Dangerous"

- Three Words Macavity is a "monster of depravity", having supposedly committed numerous crimes while always managing to elude the police. He is usually accompanied by his loyal henchmen.

His past relationship with Demeter has left her in a constant state of paranoia and fear. Gillian Lynne described their relationship through her choreography as "wonderful when he made love to me, but I hated him" and "your hand to feel your own body, as he once did." She also described both Demeter and Bombalurina as having "known [him] intimately."

Role
"Male, 6'0" and up, excellent dancer, tumbler. Tall and commanding. Evil, terrorizes the tribe. Doubles as Plato, a laconic, lackadaisical cat – the opposite of Macavity."

- Casting Calls

We first hear about Macavity from Demeter as she is startled by every single disturbance, attributing each one to Macavity. After several false alarms, Macavity finally appears. He and his hench-cats kidnap Old Deuteronomy and run off, leaving Demeter and Bombalurina to explain who he is in "Macavity: The Mystery Cat". In the later years of the original London production, lines of speech were added to clarify the action in the show, with Macavity saying to Demeter "I'll be back for you!" while kidnapping Old Deuteronomy.

Soon after, he returns disguised as Old Deuteronomy but Demeter uncovers his deception. He then tries to take her by force, only to end up fighting Munkustrap and Alonzo. Macavity initially has the upper hand, but the other cats join in the fight and surround him. He makes his escape by shorting out the lights in the junkyard, seemingly electrocuting himself in the process.

Macavity is usually played by the same performer who plays Admetus or Plato, although in the Japanese production he doubles with a nameless ensemble character.

Etymology
T S Eliot modelled Macavity on the the character of Professor Moriarty from Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series. Both characters are machiavellian criminal masterminds who always manage to elude the authorities. Macavity's nicknames include The Mystery Cat, The Hidden Paw, and The Napoleon of Crime, the last of which was taken from Holmes' nickname for Moriarty.

Macavity's physical description is also based on the Sherlock Holmes villain. In "The Adventure of the Final Problem", Moriarty is described as such:

"He is extremely tall and thin, his forehead domes out in a white curve, and his two eyes are deeply sunken in his head ... His shoulders are rounded from much study, and his face protrudes forward, and is for ever slowly oscillating from side to side in a curiously reptilian fashion."

- "The Adventure of the Final Problem" (1893)

Similarly, Macavity's poem describes him as such:

"Macavity's a ginger cat, he's very tall and thin; You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in. His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly domed ... He sways his head from side to side, with movements like a snake ..."

- "Macavity: the Mystery Cat" (1939)

International Names
The following names have also been used for the character of Macavity in various international productions:
 * Makkentass
 * Van Zonderen
 * Nefastulo (Spanish) - derived from nefasto, meaning "ominous" or "loathsome"
 * Makiawel

Powers
Macavity possesses various magic powers, including the ability to appear and disappear such that he is never found at the scene of the crime. In the musical, this teleporting effect is achieved through the use of decoys spaced throughout the theatre. At one point in the musical, two Macavitys appear on-stage at the same time - one in disguise as Old Deuteronomy. The decoys are played by male ensemble members wearing Macavity masks such that they, unlike the Macavity performer, do not have to alter their makeup.

Macavity also has some sort of hypnotic ability that allows him to put the Jellicles in a trance-like state, or in some productions even outright control their movements. He is a master of disguise, able to fool the Jellicles - except Demeter - into thinking he is Old Deuteronomy.

Demeter also claims that he has "powers of levitation", though this ability is never shown. Even without using his powers, Macavity is shown to be a very skilled hand-to-hand combatant.

Leitmotif
As with most of the featured characters, Macavity has his own instrumental motif that is played every time he is suspected to be around, usually following a loud crash. Like the character, the music is sneaky and mysterious, evoking Henry Mancini-style detective movie themes. This motif can also be heard in parts of his eponymous song.



Audio snippet:

Note: .ogg files cannot be played on iOS devices

Appearance
Macavity is described as a ginger tabby. His costume is usually brilliant white, black and red, which combined with the stage lighting makes him a very threatening presence. He is usually dirty or unkempt, with wild, knotted hair created by the costume being covered in fibres rather than brush stroke painting and soft fluffies.

In the Japanese production, Macavity is red, white and black, with his black markings giving him the appearance of having a tuxedo vest. Japanese Macavity also wore a cape and top hat, but this was dropped in the 2018 update.

In 2014, John Napier amended his original design for the London Palladium revival, simply removing the white bib and flashes from the costume. This resulted in a much darker and less cohesive costume under the dramatic lighting used for the fight scene.

The 2016 Broadway revival gave Macavity an entirely new design, primarily black and resembling the classic Rumpus Cat design (not used in this production) but with a gingery wig and tufts of fur scattered across his body. There were also rips throughout his costume that were painted red to look like bloody gashes. This design is also used in the 6th US tour.

Fandom
For fandom headcanons and theories, CLICK HERE.

Trivia

 * The Macavity Award is a notable literary award for mystery writers, named after the T S Eliot character.
 * "Macavity the Mystery Cat" was selected as number 66 in a BBC poll of the Nation’s favourite poem in 1995.
 * The American punk rock band Gimp titled their 1996 EP Smiles for Macavity.