Robert Cohen - Theatre, Brief Version-McGraw-Hill Education (2016)

Theatre 123
6. Sometimes costume uniformity is
required, as in the case of “uniforms.” In
South Pacific, Zuber has given each sailor
a measure of individuality by the way he
wears his uniform: with his blue shirt buttoned
or unbuttoned and with
or without a name or initials printed on
it; with his metal dog tags worn or abandoned;
with his white hat brim turned up
or rolled up or rolled down, or with his
hat taken off entirely; and, in the case of
one particularly muscular actor (Andrew
Samonsky), with a plain white undershirt
that stands out in the otherwise “uniform”
naval brigade. Lifted by the men and
holding a grass skirt is Loretta Ables
Sayre as “Bloody Mary,” a Polynesian
native seller of exotic local products, who
wears layered garments and exotic jewelry—all
sharply contrasting with the bold
masculinity of the sailors. © Joan Marcus
7. & 8. Every costume designer faces a challenge
in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale,
since the play takes place in two very
different locales: the gloom-ridden court
of Sicilia, and the joyous, festival of Bohemia.
(7) In Sicilia, young princess Perdita
(Morven Cristie) sees what she thinks is a
statue of her long-dead mother, Hermione
(Rebecca Hall); Zuber has dressed each
in silky white flowing dresses against the
black background of the joyless kingdom.
(8) In Bohemia, Zuber has costumed
the Bohemian country revelry in roughtextured,
earth-colored, and multilayered
fabrics that play brilliantly against the scenic
background of dark blue sky and red,
white, and blue balloons. Ethan Hawke
(center) plays the shifty but entertaining
tradesman Autolycus—a “snapper up of
unconsidered trifles,” Shakespeare tells
us—in an unmatched ensemble of shirt,
vest, and trousers; a black hat with a
bright yellow flower; tall leather boots,
one strapped up to his knee; doubly dark
sunglasses; and with hair that straggles
down to his shirt pockets. His friends strum
their guitars in even more casual garb, and
the women, under their loosely tied country
aprons, wear rugged red, green, and
orange skirts that reach the floor in this
2009 production at the Brooklyn Academy
of Music Top: © Joan Marcus;
6.
7.
Bottom: © Geraint Lewis 8.