Rumpleteazer
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Rumpelteazer(or Rumpleteazer) is a character in T. S. Eliot's book Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats.
Rumpelteazer and her partner in crime, Mungojerrie, specialize in petty theft and mischief. In Eliot's original poem "Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer," In Eliots book, Rumpelteazer is suggested to be a male cat. "They were plausible fellows..."2 2P 22, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, London 1984.
Additionally, in Eliot's depiction of this duo, these cats are mischievous, depicted knocking over Ming vases and stealing items from their human family. Although Rumpelteazer and Mungojerrie work for Macavity, they're not as malevolent as their boss cat. In fact, Rumpelteazer and Mungojerrie behave more like clowns than criminals, and are accepted members of the Jellicle tribe.
In the musical version of Eliot's cat poems, Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer are onstage costumed as orange, black and white calico cats. However, regardless of their costumes, their appearance remains generally consistent throughout the play.
In the original Broadway production, Rumpelteazer doubled as another character, Etcetera. In smaller local productions, this double character casting still occurs. In addition, Rumpelteazer and Mungojerrie can be cast to double as another tertiary set of characters: the twins, Tantomile and Coricopat. Of the musical score, there were changes from the original musical production as well. While the song "Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer" was sung by Mr. Mistoffelees in the original Broadway production, this was changed a few years into the run of the show. In addition, two distinct versions of the "Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer" music exist: the original London production's version has a slower tempo and more jazzlike sound, while the more common version is upbeat.
Rumpleteazer was portrayed by Bonnie Langford in the Original London cast, and Christine Langner. In the movie, she was portrayed by Jo Gibb.
1 In Eliots book, Rumpelteazer is suggested to be a male cat. "They were plausible fellows..."2
2P 22, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, London 1984.
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