Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer are fictional characters in
T. S. Eliot's 1939 poetry book ''
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' (1939) is a collection of whimsical light poems by T. S. Eliot about feline psychology and sociology, published by Faber and Faber. It serves as the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical ''Cats'' ...
''. The
Jellicle cat duo are mischievous petty thieves who often cause trouble for their human family. Although originally published as part of a collection, the poem "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer" was published as a standalone book by
Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...
in 2018.
Eliot's book was adapted into the
Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ''
Cats''. The roles of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were originated by John Thornton and
Bonnie Langford
Bonita Melody Lysette "Bonnie" Langford (born 22 July 1964) is an English actress, dancer and singer. She came to prominence as a child star in the 1970s, when she had a notable role in the TV series ''Just William''. In the 1980s, she played c ...
in the
West End in 1981 and by Rene Clemente and Christine Langner on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in 1982.
Characteristics
Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer are partners-in-crime, specialising in petty theft and mischief. In Eliot's original poem "Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer", they are depicted knocking over
Ming vase
Chinese ceramics show a continuous development since pre-dynastic times and are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. The first pottery was made during the Palaeolithic era. Chinese ceramics range from construc ...
s and stealing items from their human family. As they are identical twins,
their owners never know which of the two is responsible for the mischief.
Mungojerrie is also mentioned in the poem "Macavity, the Mystery Cat", where he is rumoured to be one of
Macavity
Macavity the Mystery Cat, also called the Hidden Paw, is a fictional character in T. S. Eliot's 1939 poetry book ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats''. He also appears in the Andrew Lloyd Webber 1981 musical ''Cats'', which is based on Elio ...
's agents. They live in
Victoria Grove in Kensington, England.
[
]
In "Cats"
While Rumpelteazer is suggested to be a male cat in Eliot's original poem ("...they were plausible fellows..."),[Page 22, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, London 1984] the character is portrayed as female in the musical. Vocally, Mungojerrie is meant to be played by a high baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
and Rumpleteazer by a high belt
Belt may refer to:
Apparel
* Belt (clothing), a leather or fabric band worn around the waist
* Championship belt, a type of trophy used primarily in combat sports
* Colored belts, such as a black belt or red belt, worn by martial arts practit ...
er.[ Acrobatic skills are also required to portray the duo.]
Musical number
The duo's eponymous song "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer" has been revised several times. In the original London production, the number was a singsong-style duet that was mainly composed in time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
with a slower tempo and more jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
-like sound. When ''Cats'' opened on Broadway, the song was rewritten to be faster and more upbeat, alternating between vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
-style verses (in time) and a "manic patter
Patter is a prepared and practiced speech that is designed to produce a desired response from its audience. Examples of occupations with a patter might include the auctioneer, salesperson, dance caller, magician, or comedian.
The term may h ...
" section (in time). The London version was later rewritten to incorporate some aspects of its Broadway counterpart. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer dance throughout their number and perform acrobatic feats,[ including their "trademark" two-person cartwheels.
A new setting of the song "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer" was also written for the original ]Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
production, in which the song was sung by Mr. Mistoffelees
Mr. Mistoffelees is a character in T. S. Eliot's 1939 poetry book ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' and its 1981 musical adaptation, Andrew Lloyd Webber's '' Cats''. Mistoffelees is a young black-and-white tuxedo cat with magical powers ...
, while the actors playing Coricopat (Rene Clemente) and Etcetera
''Et Cetera'' ( or (proscribed) , ), abbreviated to ''etc.'', ''etc'', ''et cet.'', ''&c.'' or ''&c'' is a Latin expression that is used in English to mean "and other similar things", or "and so forth". Translated literally from Latin, means 'an ...
(Christine Langner
Christine may refer to:
People
* Christine (name), a female given name
Film
* ''Christine'' (1958 film), based on Schnitzler's play ''Liebelei''
* ''Christine'' (1983 film), based on King's novel of the same name
* ''Christine'' (1987 fi ...
) danced the song as "dolls" made of junk, brought to life, and appearing out of the boot (trunk) of a car through the magic of Mr. Mistoffelees. In 1987, the Broadway production was re-worked and the song was given back to the characters of Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer, then played by Ray Roderick (who had formerly been the character Carbucketty) and Christine Langner, whose role of Etcetera was replaced by Rumpleteazer.
Costumes
Onstage, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer are usually costumed as orange, black and brown calico or tabby cats. When they perform their song, they have additional costume pieces: a vest and stockings for Mungojerrie; a garter
A garter is an article of clothing comprising a narrow band of fabric fastened about the leg to keep up stockings. In the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, they were tied just below the knee, where the leg is most slender, to keep the stocking ...
belt, stockings and stolen jewellery for Rumpleteazer.[ In the original ]Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
production, they wore baggy clown-like costumes seemingly made of various food wrappers as characters performing for Bustopher Jones.
Notable casting
Mungojerrie
The role of Mungojerrie was originated by John Thornton on the West End in 1981, and by Rene Clemente on Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in 1982. On screen, Mungojerrie was portrayed by Drew Varley in the 1998 film adaptation, and by Danny Collins in the 2019 film adaptation.
Rumpleteazer
Rumpleteazer was originated by Bonnie Langford
Bonita Melody Lysette "Bonnie" Langford (born 22 July 1964) is an English actress, dancer and singer. She came to prominence as a child star in the 1970s, when she had a notable role in the TV series ''Just William''. In the 1980s, she played c ...
on the West End in 1981,[ and by Christine Langner on Broadway in 1982.][ On screen, the character was played by ]Jo Gibb
JoAnn Gibb is a Scottish theatre actress best known for her role of Rumpleteazer in the 1998 film of Andrew Lloyd Webber's '' Cats'', and as the replacement Pearl the Observation Car in the original production of ''Starlight Express''. She al ...
in the 1998 filmed version,[ and by Naoimh Morgan in the 2019 film adaptation.
]
Cultural references
* The rock, pop, and skiffle band Mungo Jerry
Mungo Jerry are a British rock band, formed by Ray Dorset in Ashford, Middlesex in 1970. Experiencing their greatest success in the early 1970s, with a changing lineup always fronted by Ray Dorset, the group's biggest hit was " In the Summer ...
, most famous for their hit "In the Summertime
"In the Summertime", released in 1970, is the debut single by British rock band Mungo Jerry. It reached number one in charts around the world, including seven weeks on the UK Singles Chart, two weeks on one of the Canadian charts, and number ...
", are named after the character.
* The character "Mingojerry Rample" in the film '' Serenity'' was a reference to the character Mungojerrie.
* A wax sculpture
A wax sculpture is a depiction made using a waxy substance. Often these are effigies, usually of a notable individual, but there are also death masks and scenes with many figures, mostly in relief.
The properties of beeswax make it an excel ...
of Rumpleteazer is displayed at the Panoptikum Hamburg wax museum
A wax museum or waxworks usually consists of a collection of wax sculptures representing famous people from history and contemporary personalities exhibited in lifelike poses, wearing real clothes.
Some wax museums have a special section dubb ...
in Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, Germany.
References
Print sources
*
*
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Characters in Cats (musical)
Fictional cats
Literary characters introduced in 1939
Fictional thieves
Literary characters
Fictional identical twins