Mistoffelees

 Mistoffelees is a main character in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats. He is featured in the song 'Magical Mister Mistoffelees'. In the London and some other productions, he is named "Quaxo, also called Mistoffelees", where his identity as The Magical Mister Mistoffelees remains a secret until his song.

Appearance
Mr. Mistoffelees is a black and white tuxedo cat. His poem describes him as all black, but he's portrayed as a black and white cat in the musical, due to the technical limitations of stage lighting. He has a fluffy, white bib and the suggestion of a bow tie/collar. For his big number, he changes into a black velvet outfit covered in swarovski crystals with a jacket wired up with flashing lights. The tuxedo shape suggests a classic stage costume for a magician or conjurer performing tricks.

Personality
In the song "Magical Mister Mistoffelees", he is described as being a rather mysterious, clever and cunning conjuring cat, often found being mischievous or performing amusing antics. In some productions of Cats, he is portrayed as a kitten and is young, still exploring his magical powers and not yet confident in himself.

According to film actor, Jacob Brent, "He's a bit of a rascal...A child prodigy of the tribe, brilliant in what he does but a little whacky at the same time. He's not an adult yet, but he's not a kitten, so he's at that in between stage...He has these magical powers, he doesn't quite know how to use them yet. But, he's learning."

Role

 * "Excellent dancer/singer with fully-trained ballet background - good turns in 2nd. Baritone. Excellent performer and not too tall."

In Cats, Mistoffelees is a principal role and maintains most of the same attributes as Eliot's original character, although he is much flashier. He has his own song and an extended dance solo in the second act of the show and in most productions also sings the "Invitation to the Jellicle Ball" in the first act. In the original London Cast, Mistoffelees also sang "The Old Gumbie Cat"; and in the original Broadway production, he sang "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer". However, the song was reworked to allow those two characters to sing it themselves. He and Victoria dance to invite us to the Jellicle Ball.

In some versions of the musical, he is given a second name, 'Quaxo'. Often his "chorus" version is known as Quaxo, and his special song costume is known as Mistoffelees. Mistoffelees performs the most difficult choreography in the show, including 24 fouettés en tournant and dancers cast in the role generally have extensive ballet and gymnastic experience. Because the role's technical demands necessarily trump the performer's vocal abilities, the show permits multiple vocal tracks for the character—thereby allowing some dancers to sing quite a bit, while others do no singing at all. and he was also the second one to touch and smile at Grizabella and showed that he accept her back into the tribe and wave goodbye to her when she enter to the Heavisde Layer to be reborn.

Quaxo
"Quaxo" is the name that Mistoffelees goes by while "incognito", prior to his number. In the original production, the main feature of his role, besides his solo, was his tap-dance solo in Gumbie Cat. In some early productions, the name became attached to the tap-dancing beetle, regardless of whether it was played by Mistoffelees.

Song
The song "Magical Mr. Mistoffelees" is performed by Rum Tum Tugger in an attempt to convince the Jellicles of Mistoffelees's magical prowess as a viable option for returning Old Deuteronomy. By the end of the song, the tribe is convinced of his powers, and he conjures up Old Deuteronomy to bring him back from Macavity's clutches.

Well-known performers

 * Wayne Sleep - Original London Cast (1981-1982)
 * Tim Scott - Original Broadway Cast (1982-1984)
 * Valentin Baraian - Original Vienna Cast (1983-1990)
 * Guy-Paul Roult - Paris (1990), London (1991-1992), Amsterdam (1993), UK Tour III (2003-2004)
 * Tim van der Straeten - Original Antwerp Cast (1996), Hamburg (1998), Stuttgart (2001-2002), Copenhagen (2002-2003)
 * Mark John Richardson - London (1999), Berlin (2002-2004), Düsseldorf (2004-2005), German Tour (2005-2006), UK Tour in Germany (2009), German Tent Tour (2010-2013)

Fandom
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