Sung by: Asparagus, Munkustrap, Old Deuteronomy and The Company |
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I once crossed the stage on a telegraph wire
To rescue a child when a house was on fire And I think that I still can, much better than most Produce blood curdling noises to bring on the ghost And I once played the Rumpus Cat So do it again Come, do it again I could do it again... Of the Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles Together with some account of the participation Of the Pugs and the Poms And the intervention of the great Rumpus Cat! The Pekes and the Pollicles, everyone knows Are proud and implacable passionate foes: It is always the same, wherever one goes. And the Pugs and the Poms, although most people say That they do not like fighting, yet once in a way They will now and again join into the fray, and they - Bark, bark, bark, bark Bark, bark, bark, bark Until you can hear them all over the park, And they - Bark, bark, bark, bark Bark, bark, bark, bark Until you can hear them all over the park. Now on the occasion of which I now speak Almost nothing had happened for nearly a week (And that's a long time for a Pol or a Peke) The big police dog was away from his beat - I don't know the reason, but most people think He slipped into the Wellington Arms for a drink. And no one at all was about on the street When a Peke and a Pollicle happened to meet. They did not advance or exactly retreat But they glared at each other and scraped their hind feet And started to - Bark, bark, bark, bark Bark, bark, bark, bark Until you could hear them all over the park. Now the Peke, although people may say what they please, Is no British dog, but a heathen Chinese. And so all the Pekes, when they heard the uproar, Some came to the window, some came to the door; There were surely a dozen, more likely a score. And together they started to grumble and wheeze In their huffery-snuffery heathen Chinese. But a terrible din is what Pollicles like For your Pollicle dog is a dour Yorkshire tyke. Then the Pugs and the Poms held no longer aloof, But some from the balcony, some from the roof, Joined into the din with a - Bark, bark, bark, bark Bark, bark, bark, bark Until you could hear them all over the park. Bark, bark, bark, bark Bark, bark, bark, bark Until you could hear them all over the park. [Cacophony of barks] NO! Now when those bold heroes together assembled, The traffic all stopped and the Underground trembled, And some of the neighbours were so much afraid That they started to ring up the fire brigade When suddenly up from a small basement flat, Why who should stalk out but THE GREAT RUMPUS CAT! My eyes were like fireballs fearfully blazing, I gave a great yawn and my jaws were amazing; And when I looked out through the bars of the area You never saw anything fiercer or hairier And what with the glare of his eyes and his yawning, The Pekes and the Pollicles quickly took warning. He looked at the sky and he gave a great leap - And they every last one of them scattered like sheep! All hail and all power to THE GREAT RUMPUS CAT! |
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Technically, the first verse of this is actually the last verse of "Gus: The Theatre Cat", but it made more sense to me to keep it all together on one page. This is the version of "Awefull Battle" that is performed in the 2016 Broadway revival, and the 2017 (and onwards) International tour, replacing "Growltiger's Last Stand". I tried to attribute the singers correctly, based off memory and personal notes (written while watching the show), but I may have gotten some parts wrong (also take note that this is how it was sung in the 2019 Zurich production - other productions may do it a little differently, of course.. but this is how it was when *I* saw it, anyway, and that's all I've got to go off!). I tried! This song begins with the usual "pre-Awefull Battle" music, but in a much more dramatic arrangement. The first verse ("Of the Awefull Battle...") is set to part of the score from "Growltiger's Last Stand" ("The cottagers of Rotherhithe knew something of his fame..."), as is the last verse ("And what with the glare..."), which is set to the "Oh there was joy in Wapping when the news flew through the land..." part. The rest of the song has the usual "Awefull Battle" music. After this song ends, a short instrumental from "Gus: The Theatre Cat" is played (I believe it's the music that usually ends "Growltiger", the "These modern productions are all very well" part), and then "Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat" starts. Since there doesn't seem to be a lot of info about this version of the song online, I decided to type out a brief description of some of it (all that I could remember from the two times I saw it). I hope everyone enjoys this (and please don't take this description from this page, I typed this up so everyone could know more about this interesting revision - if you *must* copy it, at least credit me!) "Gus: The Theatre Cat" is the same as usual, the only change is that Gus' overcoat is a rather different design to the usual bulky overcoat he wears (likely because he's not concealing the Growltiger costume underneath). The song 'ends', the audience applauses, and then Jellylorum starts to lead Gus off-stage. He pulls away and starts singing again, "I once crossed the stage..." etc. Old Deuteronomy steps forward and encourages him "So do it again" and Gus agrees, a little surprised/hesitant. As I recall, the choreography for the song is much the same as the original, but with some changes. Gus sings most of the song, directing the others here and there (i.e. gesturing what places they should be in, leading them in the first "bark, bark" part, that sort of thing). I think I recall one of the kittens holding up a Peke/Pollicle mask and showing it to him for approval before donning it. Old Deuteronomy wanders around during most of the song, rather than sitting down throughout it. Gus walks off-stage after "For your Pollicle dog is a dour Yorkshire tyke." and Munkustrap takes over the song. The others kneel around Munkustrap in a circle/semi-circle and take off their Peke/Pollicle masks as they join him in singing, "and the Underground trembled..." (they put the masks back on after that verse has finished). When the Rumpus Cat's cue arrives, Old Deuteronomy (and possibly one of the others, maybe Munkustrap or Tugger? I can't remember for sure) steps aside, revealing Gus (standing behind him) dressed as the Rumpus Cat. This is a very different RC costume: instead of the traditional "superhero" costume and bright red goggles, Gus wears a long, flowing black/silver cloak (raggedy/torn at the bottom) over what appeared to be a standard Cats unitard. I believe he may have been wearing a small masquerade-style mask over his face, or something like that, but it was hard to tell. He sings the verse describing the Rumpus Cat while mostly standing in place (he does hop on the spot after the line "He looked at the sky and he gave a great leap") and laughs uproariously (a very Growltiger-esque laugh) after "And they every last one of them scattered like sheep!". |
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