Original London Production: Brian Blessed
Original Broadway Production: Stephen Hanan
Video Production: James Barron
Age: Adult

Personality: Robust, sociable, and very well-liked by his fellow Cats, Bustopher is the gentleman of the Jellicle Tribe. Fashionably raised and always proper, he is a connoisseur of fine food and carries a large spoon with him at all times. Bustopher is called “the Cat about town” and is known to frequent the local clubs. Jennyanydots, a Cat of similar age, seems to be especially smitten with him, and is delighted to receive a flower from Bustopher at the end of his song, though in many productions the flower is given to an audience member.

Relations: No known relatives; no known mates.

Song or Dance Solos: Performs “Bustopher Jones: the Cat About Town” with the Chorus.

Name: Buster derived from the word “bust” or “burst.” Jones: (English) a patronymic name meaning “God has favored.”

Quotes:
“John [Napier] came to me in the pre-work and said, ‘What were my feelings about this character? How was I going to make him move?’ And I went into a long thing about the guy who has always been brought up in silk sheets; how he would have been trained from a little toddler to hold his back up and be like a little military person. So I’ve worked out this walk for him; you pinch your buttocks tightly and move from the heel, and it’s very sort of hoity-toity. John loved that and we then worked together and he designed that fantastic great big coat with this tiny little “V” in the front where the little walk could show. And it was a pure piece of collaboration.” --Gillian Lynne, associate director/chorographer

Thanks Lady Jemima of Lady Jemima's Costume Corner for this profile!