Bombalurina is a principal character in Cats. She is one of the main female singers, helping to introduce many of the other cats, and is a featured dancer as well. She is particularly noted for her duet with Demeter in "Macavity the Mystery Cat".
Bombalurina doesn't lack when it comes to self-confidence and sensuality. She is especially close to Demeter and the two are rarely apart.
Personality[]
| “ | Generous, voluptuous, frank. |
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Bombalurina is unapologetically self-confident and sensual. Unlike the reserved Demeter, Bombalurina is an open book who is candid and direct about her feelings toward the other cats. She is also very flirtatious and seems to love being the center of attention. She has her sights set on Rum Tum Tugger in particular, and although he rejects her during his number, "for he only likes what he finds for himself", they later dance together during the "Jellicle Ball".
Although Bombalurina can come across as somewhat superficial, she has a protective side shown towards Demeter, who rarely leaves her side, and the female kittens, who in turn look up to her. Throughout the musical, Bombalurina takes on a more defensive role when it comes to looking after and comforting Demeter. In "Macavity the Mystery Cat", it is demonstrated that she is far less intimidated by Macavity and even finds him dangerously attractive. However, she prioritises Demeter's safety over her own desires, and is as hostile as everyone else to Macavity when he appears.
Bombalurina initially regards Grizabella with unbridled disdain, even stopping Demeter from reaching out to the former Glamour Cat. There are strong parallels between the confident, glamorous, attractive Bombalurina and how Grizabella must have been in her youth. During the number "Grizabella the Glamour Cat", Demeter shows the older cat empathy, feeling pain and sorrow for her, while Bombalurina shows disgust and disdain that someone once as beautiful as herself is now in such a sorry state. However by the end of the musical, Bombalurina is just as moved by Grizabella as the other cats, and touches and accepts her.
For more actors' discussion on the character of Bombalurina, See Here.
Appearance[]
Bombalurina is a striking red queen with a white chest and black spots and marks, generally considered to be a very stylised tabby, or tortie and white. She is one of the most eye-catching queens, being tall, elegant and self-possessed. She is generally portrayed as an adult, who occasionally exhibits kittenish behavior. She wears a black spiked, jeweled collar, and gloves rather than arm warmers.
She is a very sensual cat, dancing suggestively around the Toms who find her as attractive as the females do Tugger. She is often referred to as the 'Bombshell Cat'.
Gallery[]
Role[]
| Berlin 2002 | BOMBALURINA / DEMETER:
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| US Tour 2009 | Bombalurina:
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| German Tour 2012 | BOMBALURINA
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| RCCL 2014 | BOMBALURINA (FEATURED SINGER)
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Bombalurina is a principal singer and featured dancer in the musical. She sings verses in "The Old Gumbie Cat", "Grizabella the Glamour Cat", and "Bustopher Jones" in the act 1. She also has a small feature in "The Rum Tum Tugger" in which she flirts and dances with him. Her biggest vocal part is singing "Macavity the Mystery Cat" in the second Act with Demeter. She is usually played by an alto or mezzo soprano singer with a "smokey, strong belt",[1] with her solo vocals spanning from A3 to C5. Bombalurina is also a featured dancer, leading the other queens in a section of "The Jellicle Ball" and in "Macavity the Mystery Cat" (with Demeter).
Some 1980s/1990s Broadway-based productions pair Bombalurina with Plato, generally at the same time that Demeter is paired with Alonzo. This is due to certain choreographed blocking that was used in these productions, that is notably different to the London production and the subsequent 1998 film.
Etymology[]
"Bombalurina" is mentioned in "The Naming of Cats" as one of the "peculiar, and more dignified" names. It has been speculated to be a blend of the words "bomb"/"bombastic" and "ballerina".[2][3]
Translations[]
The following names have also been used for the character of Bombalurina in various international productions:
- Bomfallerina - Oslo 1985
- Tuijalleriina - Helsinki 1986
- Bomballerien - Amsterdam 1987
Leitmotif[]
After "Macavity", the musical motif most associated with Bombalurina is probably the four-phrased arrangement of the Jellicle theme which accompanies the "Honky Tonk"/"Bombalurina Section" of the "Jellicle Ball". Rather than its almost eerie earlier appearances, the theme is played here in a perky swing that, coupled with the red lighting, highlights Bombalurina's sensual and flirtatious nature as she leads the queens in a sultry dance.[4]
The Jellicle theme in four phrases as heard in Bombalurina's dance section of the Ball.
Cast[]
Performers who have played Bombalurina
Fandom[]
For fandom headcanons and theories, click here.
Trivia[]
- In 1990, Andrew Lloyd Webber formed a band called Bombalurina. The band had a UK #1 hit with their single "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" (watch on Youtube).
References[]
- ↑ Casting Calls
- ↑ The Poems of T. S. Eliot Volume II: Practical Cats and Further Verses. Faber & Faber, 17 November 2015. Page 56.
- ↑ Imperial Names for 'Practical Cats': Establishing a Distinctly British Pride in Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, Dorothy Dodge Robbins. 12 November 2013.
- ↑ The Megamusical, Indiana University Press (2006). Pages 140-141. ISBN 978-0-253-34793-0.