The theater community’s most anticipated night of the year took place this past Sunday in one of our city’s most iconic venues, Radio City Music Hall. The Tony Awards are a magical time for the city as actors, directors, and avid theatergoers gather to celebrate this season’s outstanding work. As a “theater geek” myself, I have always loved the way Broadway creates such a unique place for tourists and locals alike to come together and experience such a range of performances. Broadway rarely disappoints and each season, a number of plays wind up widely surpassing our greatest expectations.
There were so many great categories to ruminate over, but as a fashion lover, I was most excited to see who won Best Costume Design. The nominees included:
Michael Krass - “Hadestown”
Bob Mackie - “The Cher Show”
Paul Tazewell - “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations”
William Ivey Long - “Beetlejuice” and “Tootsie”
Bob Mackie took the win for his amazing work in “The Cher Show”, making it his first ever Tony. Working with the actress herself throughout her career, he perfectly designed pieces that represent the singer’s vibrant persona. The musical explores three different stages in the artist’s life: “Babe,” “Lady,” and “Star”, with each stage displaying to us the incredible qualities that make up who Cher is and contributed to her remarkable career.
By separating her life into three categories, the audience is allowed to fully grasp and savor both the sassiness and boldness that constitute the Goddess of Pop. Viewers can learn more about the artist, while singing along to some of her greatest hits like “I Got You Babe”. This dazzling performance is so good, you’ll feel like you’re actually at a Cher concert! Bob Mackie’s work deserved the spotlight and we couldn’t be happier for the designer. His avantgarde designs helped him standout even from the other nominees.
A close second would have been William Ivey Long’s work in either “Tootsie” or “Beetlejuice”. In both musicals, his designs perfectly encapsulate the characters we all know and love. “Tootsie”, a remake of the classic 1982 movie, provides a fresh take on the original comedic tale where Michael Dorsey, an unemployed, desperate actor, dresses up as a woman, Dorothy Michaels, in order to land a job. This play’s personality is on full display with Long’s design of the iconic red sequin dress. I appreciated how, even through all the flashiness and fun of the play, the production still manages to discuss gender politics and sexism.
“Beetlejuice” is the story about a deceased couple and an afterlife obsessed young girl, Lydia, who summons the devious demon, Beetlejuice. Long’s work here focuses more on designing accurate portrayals of the original work and he does so perfectly. This story is all about haunting, twisted imagery and the creative team’s work is so spectacularly eye-catching that this musical nearly achieves must-watch status.
This category shows how theater and fashion have always been so interconnected. They encourage people to break boundaries and Mackie’s fabulous pieces definitely showed why it was a winner. Just as we fell in love with Mackie’s designs, we are sure you will fall in love with some of our SNOWMAN down jackets from this fall’s Re-Act Collection. When you find the right SNOWMAN piece, it will have you singing and dancing from the moment you leave your door all the way out into the city streets, helping show the world that the real showstopper is you.