Demeter

(Annnd we come to my favorite character! Yes, I know there's usually only one picture and there are two here, but I couldn't decide between the two of them, so deal with it. Again, I'll do my best to stick with the facts, even though I've developed a pretty intricate and complex interpretation of her.)

"She's saying, 'The man was wonderful when he made love to me...but I hated him.'"

--Gillian Lynne, choreographer

Demeter is a very shy, paranoid cat. Like Bombalurina, she has some sort of history with Macavity, and seems to have a complex range of emotions involving him--fear, love, hate (although this could be just me). She is the one who reveals him, and he targets her during his attack.

Demeter seems to feel empathy for Grizabella, understanding how much the old cat has suffered, and twice tries to approach her, but the first time runs away in fear, and the second time is stopped by Bombalurina. She tells Grizabella's story as an attempt to get the other cats to accept her, but can be swayed by the other cats' obvious revulsion.

Demeter seems to love Bombalurina a lot, although they sometimes disagree about Macavity. (Demeter focuses more on his crime history, Bombalurina more on his physical attributes.) She usually lets the older cat touch her and protect her, although she pushes her away when Macavity sneaks in after their song.

Why Demeter claws the Rum Tum Tugger during his song is unknown. My personal theory is that she sees through him and is trying to protect herself; other theories could be that he reminds her of Macavity, or that she is getting revenge for the way he treats Bombalurina.

Useful Facts About the Role

There aren't quite as many awkward moments for Demeter as for Bombalurina, but she does participate in the mating dance, and there is one very tense moment where Macavity and Munkustrap are fighting for her and then Alonzo pulls her off. In the movie, she and Munkustrap share a kiss after Macavity disappears, but this doesn't happen in most other productions.

Acting is very important for Demeter's role. Her three "Macavity!" shrieks are a few of the only spoken lines in the show. Singing is also pretty important--I've read that she's a mezzo soprano part, which seems to make sense. Except for the Macavity dance, Jennyanydots' dance, and the mating dance, Aeva May as Demeter was usually placed in back, and from the glimpses I caught of her, she was an okay dancer, but mainly given simple moves. So you have to be able to dance, but you don't have to excel at it.

One more very important fact: If you're ever auditioning for Demeter and you see me, you might want to turn and run as fast as you can in the opposite direction.