Victoria the White Cat
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Victoria is the white cat from the CATS as well as a starring dance role. She was named after T. S. Eliot's favorite queen and main character, Queen Victoria. As this is a very demanding role, requiring extensive ballet training, the actor enacting the character of Victoria should be very flexible. She is featured in multiple solos, as well as leading group numbers and starring in a Pas de Deux.
Fictional character biography
Victoria is known as the snow white queen due to her being the only cat with a pure white coat. At the beginning of the musical she is seen doing a difficult solo dance in order to transition into adulthood before briefly dancing with Quaxo. She engages heavily in the dancing throughout the beginning of the show, leading all the cats in the "Song of the Jellicles". During the ball, she participates in a ceremonial dance with Plato. Victoria is one of the many female kittens (Jemima, Electra, and Etcetera) who swoon over Rum Tum Tugger. She is the eldest of the queen kittens and her closest friends seem to be Mr. Mistoffelees and Jemima. She and Jemima are very close, and are the first cats who accept Grizabella from the beginning to the end though they are initially held back by the older Jellicles. Victoria is the second cat to fully accept Grizabella at the end of the show which leads to her readmission to the Jellicle Tribe and ascension to the Heavyside Layer. Victoria is very quiet, as her voice is never heard solo. She however, is frequently spotlighted as a dancer.
Appearance
Victoria is known for her distinct white coat. Her white unitard is actually streaked with gold marks to prevent the costume getting washed under the stage lights. In some productions, however, the tips of her ears are black, with a nose either colored pink or black and she has brownish-copper stripes on her sides. Her memorable visage is individual in comparison to the other Jellicles, as the only solid white cat in the junkyard. Her singular appearance also makes her a frequent subject for advertising for the musical. She has a pink bejeweled collar around her neck.
Players
The role of Victoria was first played by Maggie Williams in SummerStage, Finola Hughes in London West End and by Cynthia Onrubia on Broadway. In 1982, at the age of 17 years, Jacqui Harman played Victoria after Finola Hughes in London for over three years. Phyllida Crowley Smith played her in the 1998 filmed version and Alicia Richardson played her on the North American tour that same year. Sandra Kater, wife of RTE television presenter Bryan Smyth, played Victoria for over fifteen hundred performances at the New London Theatre in London's West End. She is also played by Joyce Chittick who volunteered along with Stephen Bertles as Plato inside the Washoe County Medical Center in Nevada during the North American tour. Sara M. Reardon played the part from 2007-2008. Victoria was played by Japanese-American actress Kimie Tsukakoshi at the Harvest Rain Theatre Company and Sarah Bumgarner in the Worldwide Tour in 2007. She is currently being portrayed by Hannah Kenna Thomas in the West End Run, who also played her in the UK 2013-14 tour.
