Unitard from Bombalurina costume used in the musical Cats
Unitard from Bombalurina costume used in the musical Cats
Usage conditions apply
- Description (Brief)
- This unitard is part of a costume worn by actresses portraying the character Bombalurina in the original Broadway production of Cats. The synthetic knit fabric unitard is printed with a cross-hatch pattern in shades of orange and brown against a white ground, with long sleeves with loops over hands, and legs and feet all in one with body. The unitard has lack chenille and orange and black yard fringe stitched to its shoulders, sides, and around chest, hips, and back.
- Bombalurina is a flirtatious and confident feline who often has featured solos in the show’s numbers “The Gumbie Cat,” “Rum Tum Tugger,” “Grizabella the Glamour Cat,” and “Bustopher Jones.” Bombalurina’s largest singing part is in “Macavity.” Depending on the production, Bombalurina sings various parts of these songs and usually sings the entirety of “Macavity.” Geraldine Gardner originated the role on the West End in 1981 and Donna King and Marlene Danielle later took on the role on Broadway. On the screen, Rosemarie Ford portrayed the character in the 1998 film and Taylor Swift portrayed her in the 2019 film adaptation.
- Cats broke Broadway records with its run of 7,485 performances from 1982 until 2000 at New York’s Winter Garden Theatre. The play, written and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber based on stories and characters from T. S. Eliot's 1939 Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, and first premiered in London’s West End in 1981. The expensive and spectacular production has been called the first “megamusical,” inaugurating a new period of Broadway theater history when big-budget shows with elaborate special effects, spectacular costumes, and rock music revived the theater district’s sagging fortunes. Cats earned multiple Tony awards in its original run and has since been revived on Broadway and in numerous national and international tours.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- Unitard
- unitard, worn by Marlene Danielle as Bobalurina in broadway show "Cats"
- unitard
- Date made
- 1982-2000
- designer
- Napier, John
- Measurements
- overall: 40.6 cm x 134.6 cm; x 16 in x 53 in
- ID Number
- 2000.0219.02.02
- catalog number
- 2000.0219.02.02
- accession number
- 2000.0219
- subject
- Musical Theater
- See more items in
- Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
- Popular Entertainment
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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