Asparagus

     Asparagus (James) is a character from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, Cats. He is often mistaken for Gus the Theatre Cat, as the two characters are sometimes portrayed as one.

Appearance
Asparagus is a brown, gray and black cat. He is often portrayed as one of the more elderly cats, especially in shows where he doubles as Gus the Theatre Cat, who is an elderly, frail, shabby cat who 'suffers from palsy, which makes his paws shake'.

Personality
Little of Asparagus' personality is known; assuming he is also Gus the Theatre Cat, he had a long history as a successful actor, and quite enjoyed it, until his age prevented him from it.

Role
Gus appears shortly after the start of Act II of Cats where he and Jellylorum provide highlights of his career, contrasting his present state with his acting heyday. In that time, it was claimed, "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".

Asparagus himself appears throughout the whole show; in the film, he was played by Tony Timberlake, as the actor playing Gus the Theatre Cat (Sir John Mills) was too elderly to play throughout the whole show. This has led to many fans believing they are different characters.

Relationships
Alonzo: Some fans believe Alonzo is Asparagus' son.

Jellylorum: Many fans believe Jellylorum and Asparagus are mates, while others believe they are siblings.

Jennyanydots: Some fans believe Jennynaydots and Asparagus are mates, while others believe they are siblings.

Pouncival: Some fans believe Pouncival is Asparagus' son.

Skimbleshanks: Some fans believe Skimbleshanks and Asparagus are silbings.

Tumblebrutus: Some fans believe Tumblebrutus is Asparagus' son.

Song
In its only major deviation from the poem, the song modifies one short passage from the poem: "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.

"Growltiger's Last Stand" does not appear in the 1998 filmed version of the musical – Gus only sings his initial song. This was primarily due to the age of Sir John Mills, who played Gus in the filmed version, as well as time restraints.