Unitard from Bombalurina costume used in the musical <i>Cats</i>
date: label: Date made
content: 1982 - 2000
name: label: designer
content: Napier, John
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: This unitard is part of a costume worn by actresses portraying the character Bombalurina in the original Broadway production of <i>Cats</i>. 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.
label: Description (Brief)
content: 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.
label: Description (Brief)
content: <i>Cats</i> 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 <i>Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats</i>, 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. <i>Cats</i> earned multiple Tony awards in its original run and has since been revived on Broadway and in numerous national and international tours.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Musical Theater
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Popular Entertainment
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: The Cats Company
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2000.0219.02.02
label: catalog number
content: 2000.0219.02.02
label: accession number
content: 2000.0219
objectType: label: Object Name
content: unitard
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: fiber, synthetic (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 134.6 cm; 53 in
label: Measurements
content: shoulder to waist: 35.5 cm; 13 31/32 in
label: Measurements
content: shoulders: 40.6 cm; 15 31/32 in
label: Measurements
content: arms: 50.8 cm; 20 in