1 Costume Design and Production for Legally Blonde the Musical Book By
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Costume Design and Production for Legally Blonde the Musical book by Heather Hach, Music and Lyrics by Nell Benjamin and Laurence O’Keefe Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Fine Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Julianne Kay Nogar Graduate Program in Theatre The Ohio State University 2019 Thesis Committee Jeanine Thompson, Professor, Advisor Alex Oliszewski, Associate Professor Amanda Fox, Associate Professor 1 Copyrighted by Julianne Kay Nogar 2019 2 Abstract This thesis will document the costume design process for The Ohio State University Department of Theatre’s production of Legally Blonde the Musical. This production ran from November 8th, 2018 through the November 18th, 2018 in the Thurber Theatre, under the direction of Associate Professor Mandy Fox. The production team consisted of the following people: third year graduate student Cassie Lentz as scenic designer, third year graduate student Kelsey Gallagher as lighting designer, and undergraduate student Emily Schmidt as sound designer. Based upon the 2001 hit romantic comedy film Legally Blonde and the book of the same name written by Amanda Brown, Legally Blonde the Musical takes the iconic character Elle Woods and places her and her friends in a singing, dancing, over the top spectacle. Together as a cohort, the production team worked to preserve the charm of the movie, but give it a fresh, feminist, facelift for 2018. The production team and I researched designer fashions, trends, and architecture from the early 2000s and pushed those styles into a heightened reality. The goal of this production was not to change the iconography of Legally Blonde, but to embrace and amplify it. With a budget of five thousand eight hundred dollars, it was my challenge to wardrobe a cast of thirty-two performers, each of whom played one to six characters. As the musical progresses, there are many distinct locations that require complete costume changes. This allows approximately thirty-two dollars per costume with an average of ii five looks per actor. This thesis will explore the creative solutions employed to design a beautiful show with hundreds of costume pieces under the constraints of a limited budget, as well as limited time and labor constraints. iii Dedication To the wonderful Jeanine Thompson, Rebecca Turk, and to the Squad. iv Acknowledgments I would like to thank Dr. Rebecca Turk for being my wonderful mentor and helPing me grow as an artist and as a person. Her kindness has been a great influence on my life, and her feedback has been invaluable. Thank you Dr. Turk for always making me feel heard. I look forward to our adventures in the future. I would also like to thank Jeanine Thompson for being my second, sensational mentor. Taking her mime class my first year completely changed my career trajectory. She helped guide me into becoming the artist scholar that I always wanted to be. Jeanine helped me believe in myself. She understood by need to design and perform, and she encouraged me to pursue both to the highest level. I know that no matter what is happening in my life, I always have Jeanine as an ally and a friend. Lastly, I would like to thank Gabe Simms- the most steadfast partner and best friend anyone could ask for. He encouraged me through all of my doubts and pushed me to not stand in the way of my own success. He is constantly patient, loving, and supportive. Thank you Gabe for cheering me up with late night French fries and Frosty’s and always having a shoulder to lean on. I could have made it through Graduate School without you, but with you I accomplished more than I dreamed. v Vita 2009………………………………… Coffman High School, Dublin, Ohio 2013…………………………………B.A. Theatre Performance, Bradley University 2016-present………………………...Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Theatre, The Ohio State University Production History 2013…………………………………A World of Words: Tales from King Arthur’s Court Costume Designer- Bradley University 2017…………………………………Forbidden Zones: The Great War Costume Designer- The Ohio State University 2017…………………………………Comedy of Errors Costume Designer- The Ohio State University 2018…………………………………Dog Act Costume Designer- The Ohio State University vi 2018…………………………………Candide Costume Coordinator- The Ohio State University 2018…………………………………Cinderella (La Cenerentola) Costume Coordinator- The Ohio State University 2018…………………………………A Midsummer’s Night Dream Costume Designer- Actor’s Theatre of Columbus 2018…………………………………Legally Blonde the Musical Costume Designer- The Ohio State University 2019…………………………………Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night- Time Costume Designer- The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: Theatre vii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................... v Vita ..................................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... x List of Plates ...................................................................................................................... xi List of Fitting Photos ....................................................................................................... xiii List of Production Photographs ....................................................................................... xiv Chapter 1. The Producing Situation .................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2. The Production Concept and Design Scheme .................................................. 3 Chapter 3. Character Analysis ............................................................................................ 8 Chapter 4. The Process ..................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 5. Evaluation ........................................................................................................ 49 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 55 Appendix A. Director’s Concept ..................................................................................... 56 Appendix B. Review ......................................................................................................... 58 Theater review | Legally Blonde: Production finds fun in material, without sacrificing truthfulness ........................................................................................................................ 59 Appendix C. Tables .......................................................................................................... 61 Appendix D. Plates ........................................................................................................ 116 Appendix E. Production Photos ...................................................................................... 125 viii List of Tables Table 1. Costume Plot/Scene Breakdown………………………………………………62 Table 2. Character Breakdown…………………………………………………………. 81 ix List of Figures Figure 1. Research for Greek Chorus, Selections from Betsey Johnson's 2001 Ready to wear collection…………………………………………………………………………. 14 Figure 2. Research for Paulette, Gwen Stefani, Circa 1998……………………………. 20 Figure 3. First Proposal Dress from Amazon.com………………………………........... 33 x List of Plates Plate 1. The Proposal Dress Rendering ...………………………………………..………. 9 Plate 2. Sad Elle Rendering ...…………………………………………………………… 9 Plate 3.Welcome to Harvard Rendering...………………...…………………………..... 10 Plate 4. Elle Learns a lot Rendering ...………………………………………………….. 11 Plate 5. Delta Nu Girls Rendering ……………………..………………......….……….. 13 Plate 6. Greek Chorus Girls Rendering ...……………………..………………..……… 14 Plate 7. Pilar's Rendering ………………..……………………………………………... 15 Plate 8. Margot's Rendering …………...……..………………………………………… 16 Plate 9. Serena's Rendering ……..…….....……………………………………………... 16 Plate 10. Warner's "Proposal" Costume Rendering….……………………..................... 18 Plate 11. Vivienne's Harvard Look Rendering …………..……………………..……… 19 . Plate 12. Paulette's Look 1 Rendering ………….……………………………………… 20 Plate 13. Paulette's Look 2 Rendering ……………….………………………………… 21 Plate 14. Paulette's Look 3 Rendering ………………….……………………………… 21 Plate 15. Emmett's "Chip on my Shoulder" Rendering ………...…….………………... 23 Plate 16. Emmett's Trial One and Trial Two Rendering ………....……………….....…. 23 Plate 17. Brooke Wyndom's and Exercise People's Rendering……….……………....... 25 Plate 18. Professor Callahan's Rendering ..………………………….…………………. 26 Plate 19. Elle's Mom and Dad Rendering ..……………………..………..…………….. 27 xi Plate 20. Elle's Proposal Dress Rendering ..……………………………….…………… 32 Plate 21. Elle's Final Trial Dress Rendering ..………………………………..………… 36 Plate 22. Elle's Bunny Costume Rendering …....…………………………………..…... 38 Plate 23. Elle's Transformation Dress Rendering …..……..………………………….. 117 Plate 24. Elle's Majorette