Jellicle Ball

The "Jellicle Ball" has earned Cats the reputation of being one of the hardest shows to perform in musical theatre history. The number is a full 9 minutes and 30 seconds (originally 10 minutes) of unbroken dance, demanding the highest calibre of dancing from performers who are also singers, actors, and playing cats.

Context
The Jellicle Ball is an annual celebration which has gathered all the members of the Jellicle Tribe together on this night. As the cats dance in celebration, Grizabella creeps into the shadows to watch. Victoria, the white cat, is symbolically mated with one of the male characters of similar age (exactly who varies between productions), after which everyone snuggles down to nap. However the magical cats - Mistoffelees, Coricopat and Tantomile, sense Grizabella's presence, and in retaliation the cats begin to dance again, even more spectacularly than before.

Throughout the number, many of the cast will usually leave the stage to dance along the aisles and interact with the audience.

Music
The music for the "Jellicle Ball" combines many of the melodies heard previously in the show, including the "Overture", "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats", and "The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball". The only character's melody we hear however, is Old Deuteronomy's.

In 2003, Andrew Lloyd Webber cut out some bars of the music when he rearranged the show for the UK Tour, reducing the length of the Ball by around 30 seconds. This change has been incorporated into all replica productions since.

Sections
The "Jellicle Ball" is made up of many sections, each of which were named by Gillian Lynne. Some sections have alternate names, used by different productions and replicators. Additionally, some sections, mostly in the beginning half of the ball, differ between productions and years. This video gives an overview of all the sections:

Video




Trivia

 * A cover of "The Jellicle Ball" by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was used as the theme music for the BBC's broadcast of the 1982 World Cup