Mistoffelees

Mr. Mistoffelees

You ought to ask Mr. Mistoffelees! The original conjuring cat
The greatest magicians have something to learn
From Mister Mistoffelees' conjuring turn

And we all say
Oh! Well, I never was there ever
A cat so clever as magical Mr. Mistoffelees

He is quiet, he is small, he is black

From his ears to the tip of his tail
He can creep through the tiniest crack
He can walk on the narrowest rail
He can pick any card from a pack
He is equally cunning with dice
He is always deceiving you into believing Timothy Scott as Mistoffelees

That he's only hunting for mice

He can play any trick with a cork
Or a spoon and a bit of fish paste
If you look for a knife or a fork
And you think it is merely misplaced
You have seen it one moment and then it's gone!
But you find it next week lying on the lawn

And we all say
Oh! Well, I never was there ever
A cat so clever as magical Mr. Mistoffelees

His manner is vague and aloof
You would think there was nobody shyer

But his voice has been heard on the roof
When he was curled up by the fire
And sometimes he's been heard by the fire
When Ihe was about on the roof

At least they all heard that somebody purred
Which is uncontestable proof of his singular magical powers
And I've known the family to call him in from the garden for hours
While he was asleep in the hall

And not long ago this phenomenal cat
Produced seven kittens right out of a hat

And we all say

Oh! Well I never was there ever
A cat so clever as magical Mr. Mistoffelees

Oh! Well I never was there ever
A cat so clever as magical Mr. Mistoffelees

And not long ago this phenomenal cat
Produced seven kittens right out of a hat

And we all say
Oh! Well I never was there ever
A cat so clever as magical Mr. Mistoffelees

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the magical Mr. Mistoffelees!

Wayne Sleep originated the role in London in 1981. Timothy Scott was the first to play Mistoffelees on Broadway. Tragically, he died of AIDS in 1988. Jacob Brent is in the video and he played the role on Broadway through the end of 1999 . If anyone has a photo of Don Johanson as Mistoffelees, please email me at Don was the Misto I saw at the Winter Garden Theater in NY in 1987 and I'd love to add his photo to this page.

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Some photos scanned from CATS: The Book of the Musical
Mr. Mistoffelees available on Cats: the complete original Broadway cast recording
Cats the musical & cast photos © copyright The Really Useful Group Ltd.
Musical score by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Lyrics based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, additional words by Trevor Nunn & Richard Stilgoe
Meditative Cat graphics & all text descriptions © copyright 2000-2005 Catresea Ann Canivan