Mitts from Bombalurina costume used in the musical Cats: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This pair of mitts are part of a costume worn by actresses portraying the character Bombalurina in the original Broadway production of Cats. The knit synthetic fabric mitts are printed with a cross hatch pattern in shades of orange and brown against a white ground, with black chenille and orange and black yarn fringe stitched in paces to imitate cat hair.

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.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: 1982 - 2000
• designer: Napier, John
• Object Name: mitts, pair of
• Physical Description: fiber, synthetic (overall material)
• Physical Description: elastic (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 10.1 cm x 53.3 cm; 3 31/32 in x 20 31/32 in
• Subject: Musical Theater
• ID Number: 2000.0219.02.04
• catalog number: 2000.0219.02.04
• accession number: 2000.0219
• Credit Line: The Cats Company
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.