Alonzo

Alonzo is a principal dancer in cats. His name is given in "The Naming of Cats". He usually has several features in the show, such as playing Rumpus Cat and fighting Macavity.

Personality
Alonzo is a balanced, mature Tom: he is responsible, he cares for his tribe, and he risks getting killed to protect them. Along with this, he's a bit of a Casanova. Throughout the show, you can see him dancing with (and giving flirtatious looks to) a variety of girls, making use of his hips similar to Rum Tum Tugger. He acts cocky and arrogant around the male cats, despite that, he seems to be more mature than most of the ensemble boys.

In Broadway-based productions, Alonzo takes the majority of the fight with Macavity, and remains onstage shadowing the girls as they sing Macavity. In this version of the show, it is strongly suggested that he and Demeter are a couple. In London-based productions, Alonzo or Mr. Mistoffelees are often seen very close to Cassandra.

Role
"Very good Dancer. Ensemble baritone."

- Casting Calls Alonzo is often seen as the "second in command" to the Jellicle tribe. Whenever there is a threat, he is there to support Munkustrap. He plays a significant role in the fight with Macavity, rescuing Demeter from his clutches. In the Broadway production, he takes the majority of the Macavity fight after Munkustrap is knocked out early.

In the original London Production, initially, Alonzo played Rumpus Cat, but soon, George took over the job. Alonzo did dance the pas-de-deux "Mating Dance" in the Jellicle Ball with Victoria, a role in most productions given to Plato/Admetus.

Alonzo appears in almost every major production of the show, the only exception being in Japan, where his role is filled by two ensemble cats - Gilbert and Rumpus Cat.

Appearance
In the film, Alonzo is one of the most easily recognizable characters in the show, because of his very strong block black and white coloring, this is the London costume design.He is a patched tom with a striking big black splotch on the left of his face, curled corner of his right eye, and a teardrop-shaped splotch that sweeps down from his nose to the right corner of his mouth.

In Broadway and subsequent productions that copied that style, he is usually depicted as being black and gold/tan, a fluffier, scruffier look than the neat and elegant black and white version.

John Napier's original designs show an interesting story of the development of Alonzo's design, with the labels on the designs crossed out and changed as the project was re-worked.
 * 1) The original black and white London design is immediately familiar as the Alonzo we know from the film. This design was not fully realised for the 1981 Original London Cast, as Alonzo doubled as Rumpus Cat, his ensemble costume appears to have been essentially Rumpus Cat without the "R" on his chest.
 * 2) The original design was re-worked with additional tan/gold colouring added to the black and white.  This design was originally labelled "Quaxo", but Napier clearly changed his mind and used the design for a "Kitten?" - ensemble character; this design is also labelled as Alonzo, and is familiar as the Broadway-style black and gold Alonzo costume.
 * 3) The third design relating to Alonzo was labelled "Alonzo" originally, but this was changed to "Basic".  This design has served many ensemble cats in different productions - it seems to be the base for some early European Alonzo designs, on Broadway the design was used for Plato ("Basic" referring to it being Macavity's ensemble costume) and in London this design was used for Victor.

Fandom
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