"Wicked The Musical"- From Book to Film to Stage

Everyone has seen the “The Wizard of Oz” at some point in their lives and holds a special connection to the timeless film. The film (1939) was based on a series of books created by Lyman Frank Baum. In 1995, decades after the movie was made, Wicked: The Life and Times of The Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory McGregor was published.

There aren’t any rainbows to fly over in “Wicked the Musical” which has deliciously composed music which leaves its flavors lingering on your tounge for days. I still can’t get those songs out of my head. In this spin off of “The Wizard of Oz,” we learn how society forced Elphaba to become the Wicked Witch of the West.

This show pulled out all the stops as far as costumes were concerned. In an interview, the Costume Designer Susan Hilferty (“Spring Awakening,” “Into the Woods,” “Lestat,” “Jitney”) mentioned that she couldn’t find as many shades of green as she would have liked to use for the production which has over 20 numbers performed by a large cast and with an even larger ensemble.

One of Elphaba’s costumes cost as much as $20,000. Idina Menzel, who won a Tony Award for her portrayel of Elphaba, fell through a trap door during a performance and injured her leg. The costume was so expensive that hospital workers carefully undress her instead of cutting her clothes off as they would have done to anyone else.

In the musical’s most famous numbers “Defying Gravity,” oceans of fabric swing down from lofts and out from the wings, which all seem to connect to The Wicked witch’s dress. Together, it creates the allusion that she is flying! There is no wonder why Hilferty won a Tony Award for her awe inspiring designs.

"Dreamgirls": From Stage to Film

“Dreamgirls” is a 1980’s musical, somewhat inspired by the story of the Supremes, tells the story of a girl group and the changes it experiences as they make it to the top, leaving one behind.  This show offers a wide spectrum of costumes from poor homemade performance outfits when the group is hoping to be discovered to mod 70s dresses for a variety show performance to glam gowns as they perform in some of the most respectable venues.

“Dreamgirls” dazzled audiences on Broadway between 1980 and 1986.  The most notable song from this musical is when the largest member of the group, Effie White, sings a powerful ballot lyrically shouting “And I’m telling you I’m not going” as Band manager Curtis dismisses her from the group and ends the love affair between the two of them.

An all-star cast was selected to make the film version which was released in 2006. The film features, Beyonce Knowles, Jamie Foxx, Ankia Noni Rose, Eddie Murphy, Sharon Leal, Keith Robinson.  The cast is rounded out by Danny Glover, Lorreta Divine (also in the original Broadway cast) and American Idol finalist Jennifer Hudson.

The first time we meet the girl group, they are dressed in homemade matching peach sleeveless knee length dresses. Although the girls discuss the making of their outfits, they are so well put together, one would assume that they were purchased from a store.

As they make their way to the top and the girls make their debut as the reinvented group, they sing the theme song from the movie, “Dreamgirls.”  In this scene they wear the most gorgeous costumes in the entire movie.  They are dressed in white sequenced mermaid gowns with sky blue trim on to of the bodice and at the bottom of the dresses.  This costume design is what you would expect to see when you here the term Dreamgirls.

The downfall from costume heaven occurs during “And I’m telling you I’m not going.”  The costume mistress dressed Hudson in an elegant beige embroidered suit.  Unfortunately, the three quarter length top fits Hudson appropriately, but unfortunately, the skirt stops at her knees and looks awkward on Hudson’s long legs.  This problem couldv’e easily been averted had the costume designer lengthened the shirt to stop mid way at Hudson’s calves.

But there’s more.  In the final scene, the Dreamgirls give a farewell performance and invites Hudson’s character back to join them.  The dreams wear a sleek coal rhinestone dress.  Somewhere n the creative process, it was decided that Hudson should not wear the same dress.  Instead they put her in an awful billowy dark burgundy dress that made her look worse than the other members in the group.

Though she made a few mistakes, one can forgive the costume designer as the majority of the hundred of costumes in this musical, which covers three decades, are flawless in their design and stay with the time period.

“Dreamgirls” has been reworked in Japan is scheduled to make its American debut in late 2009.

 (photo from dreamgirlsmovie.com)

"Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street": From Stage to Film

Sweeny Todd certainly appears to be Demon Possessed as he goes about a murderous rampage after returning to Fleet Street after being wrongfully imprisoned for about 15 years.  He discovers that his wife is dead and that his daughter has been adopted by the man who imprisoned him.  And so the journey begins.  He ultimately looses everything in search of revenge.

This London Musical opened on Broadway in March of 1979 and was revived in 1989 winning numerous awards with its dark tones. The bloody musical made it way to the silver screen in the summer of 2007.

Johnny Deep lead the cast, which also included Helen Bonhm Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen and Timothy Spall.

The most beautiful part of this nocturnally morbid film is the detail in the costumes.  The mid-19^th century full gowns, with rich fabrics and lace and men’s accessories such as capes and canes sets “Sweeny Todd” apart from other musical movies.  It was fashionable for men to wear top hats and lacy shirt. While the present day parts of the movie are dark, gloomy, and seem to be drained of all color, the flash backs are bright and colorful.  Tones of gray, black, bronze, bronze, green and burgundy fill the screen.

Sweeny Todd (Johnny Depp) has one strip of white hair among his too black hair adding to his madding demeanor.  His face is also whitened with make up to make him look pale He wears white button down shirts neckties and vests.

Mrs. Lovett (Helen Bonhm Carter), the lonely owner of a decrepid bug infested bakery, opens her home and heart to Todd, who she always secretly loved.  Her clothes are ragged although you can see they once were fine from the tule edges and beaded decorations.  Her hair is always in a tussled state of disarray.  In the film, Mrs. Lovett’s costumes are far superior to those worn in the original Broadway production.

Pirelli (Sacha Baron Cohn) is a magician of sorts, who travels tricking people out of their money.  He is the only one who wears bright colors present day.  When we first meet him, he wears a bright indigo short jacket and pants set with bronze embellishments with a billowy  collar and ruffled cuffs.

Sweeny Todd closed on Broadway but is still playing in London and of course can be seen on DVD.

 (photo from idbm.com)

"Hairspray": From stage to film

Set in the 1960’s, this musical is filled with poofy skirts, bobby socks and lots and lots and lots of hairspray. The musical starts with Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky), a plump and secure outcast dancing her way through Baltimore, Maryland.  Encouraged by her friend, Penny Pingleton (Amanda Bynes), Tracy auditions for the Corny Collins Show and surprises every one when she makes it.  Tracy defies social norms by befriending black people and performing their dance moves on the show.  The film climaxes as Tracy hides from the cops after an intergration march turns ugly. She sneaks into the Ms. Teenage Hairspray pagent with the help of her black friends and the show is finally intergrated.

Hairspray was movie, turned Broadway musical, which then returned to the silver screen as a musical.  The cast included John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, and Queen Latifah, and was released mid July in 2007.

The costumes for the film were more toned down in color and contrast in comparison to those designed for the stage.  The costumes for the stage seemed tacky up close but were so bold enough to make an impression to audience members seated in the last row of the    theater.

Many of the most memorable costumes appear in the final scene of the film. For the Ms. Teenage Hairspray competition, lead character Tracy Turnblad transitions form dumpy homemade floral and plaid skirt sets and dawns a sequenced checkerboard baby doll dress, which represents racial integration.

Her mother Edna Turnblad, played by John Travolta, sheds a tan trench coat revealing a red and gold sequenced dress which dances around her ankles until she rips it off showing off a fringe mini skirt displaying her chunky but firm thighs.  It is apparent that dancing runs in the family.

Hairspray closed on Broadway on January 4, 2009 but can be seen on tour or on DVD forever.

 (photo from imdb.com)

Gypsy Boats Expensive Costumes

Gypsy, the famous broadway musical, was revived once again in the summer of 2008.  This musical tells a story of a stage mother obsessed with making her children stars and travels around the county from gig to gig for years. 

From the moment this musical starts, the audience is dazzled with costumes made form gorgeous materials that would be too expensive for a poor gypsy and her struggling family.  The mother Rose wears simple but beautifully designed 1930's dresses and matching purses and hats.  Her coat, a bit shabbier, can't cover up the quality of the costumes.

In act two, when the family winds up working in a burlesque theater, they meet three women whose barley there costumes wowed the audience with light bulb bikinis, and 5 foot wings.

In act three, the costumes go a level up as Gypsy Rose Lee, the mother's older daughter becomes a famous burlesque dancer.  As the burlesque performances get more grandiose, so do the costumes.  More sequences, finer fabrics and sparkling shoes grace the stage scene after scene.

Unfortunately the costumes can no longer be seen as the show closed early, in January of 2009, due to financial hardships on broadway.  Maybe they'll show up at an exhibit in the NYPL Perform Arts library in a few years.

To see more photos, visit the show's website: http://www.gypsybroadway.com/#about