Costumes that are Characters
Lights flashed, illuminating the dark theater and revealing two distinct gangs. The Sharks dominated the stage in lavender, musty rose, black and red while the Jets dressed in sage green, blue, mustard yellow and burnt orange stood strongly united.
“If you squinted and you couldn’t see skin tone you could tell who was in what gang,” said Samantha LaScala, costume designer for Montclair State University’s production of West Side Story.
After two years of dedication, LaScala had finally seen her vision come to life on February 19, during tech week at Alexander Kasser Theater.
“I felt like such a soccer mom,” said LaScala smiling, “I just wanted to stand up, clap and cheer because it’s like seeing your kids.”
“I hit this rut for a really long time. I thought, ‘I don’t even know if it’s going to look good.’ Just looking at it on a rack is hard. You don’t see it on bodies, it’s flat on a hanger. But then, seeing it on stage, you’re like… wow.”
Fashion defines who people are, therefore costumes were an important attribute for the show, in which LaScala said, “Nobody talks at all in the beginning number, everybody is running around, dancing, trying to fight each other. You need to distinguish who they are as characters before they speak and show their personality.”
Exploring backstage, vibrant colors and intricate pieces mirroring 1950’s ensembles were neatly organized in the halls and dressing rooms. The clothing exudes a personality of its own.
The senior spent 20–40 hours a week sketching, preparing clothing, shopping and doing fittings. The victorian-esque Bond House, across the street from Montclair State, acted as the costume shop, housing the characters ensembles.
The Costume Design Major, with a double focus in Wig and Makeup design, said, “We wanted the people to be the life of this gray dangerous world. The set, it’s like a dangerous jungle gym, how the director describes it. He wanted the people to be this glimpse into this poetic documentary.”
“It was very realistic but also very theatrical and beautiful in a sense of color and silhouette because we are trying to still keep it very period.”
With 178 costumes that range from accessories on actors heads, distressed apparel from the rumble and painted shoes, they had built three items: Anita’s and two of Maria’s dresses.
“This dress is just so stunning on stage. It’s literally my favorite thing to see when she walks on,” said LaScala proudly holding Anita’s lively purple dress, which cost them $500 to make. This show stopping look was designed with three petticoats underneath and tiered so that when Anita kicked up with her sparkling purple heels it emulated a “sexy flower.”
When in fittings with actors, LaScala said, “I want them to look good because if you see yourself in something bad, it ruins your performance a little bit. I wanted to make sure everybody was as comfortable as possible.”
LaScala made sure that every character had something special about them, “Action he loves being a Jet. There’s one line in the song that says, ‘Like a capital J’ so what we did was since he’s a hoodlum, he stole paint from the street and he just painted it. He also works with this on stage in that one line he goes like this,” she said pointing at her top like Action, “That’s a very special moment.”
Production Manager Peter Davis feels costumes are fascinating in theater, in which he said, “You get to make choices about what their characters are like.”
Watching the Bachelor in her dressing room, double major in BFA Dance BFA Musical Theater Alexa Racioppi, who plays Velma said, “Samantha did a great job at tailoring it to my body to make it very flattering.”
LaScala emphasized Velma’s status as the head Jet girl by complimenting her ensembles with her boyfriend, Riffs, while also using Racioppi’s favorite color, “I feel great in green.”
Racioppi acknowledged how costumes help her get into character, “Once you have it all on and you’re on stage with your cast mates it’s like you’ve been dropped into the story officially,” she said.
