Sneak Peek of “The Wiz” Decadent Costumes and Interview with Designer Mathew LeFebvre
Children’s Theatre Company and Penumbra Theatre are teaming up to bring The Wiz to the stage in all its spectacular decadence beginning January 23, 2018. The production, set in New York City, features original costume designs by Mathew LeFebvre that will be worn by our all-star cast. Read the interview below and take a look at these costume sketches to give you a glimpse of what awaits in January!
How did you start your process for creating these costumes? I started this process by chatting with Lou Bellamy (the director) about the piece and what was most important to him in interpreting the story. He knew early on that he wanted Oz to be New York City and the Emerald City was specifically Harlem. I then read the script several times and listened to the music repeatedly as I began compiling research to support our interpretation. The research inspired my designs and I did a series of sketches that I shared with Lou and Patdro Harris (the choreographer) to work through the design challenges. Based on their feedback, I continued to revise the sketches until we got to a place where we all thought the choices were right.
With Oz being set in New York City, how did you seek to capture its essence? Much of my visual research was from New York City and Harlem and we incorporated some ubiquitous elements into some of the designs. For example, the Lion wears Timberland inspired boots and a puffy vest, and the Scarecrow wears an old Adidas track suit. The Citizens of Oz are all based on residents of Harlem, but they will all be dressed in green.
Have you ever costume designed either The Wizard of Oz or The Wiz, or other fantasy-based production before? How did you approach this differently than other productions you have designed? I’ve never designed a production of either The Wizard of Oz nor The Wiz before, but just last year I designed costumes for a production of Wagner’s Das Rheingold for Minnesota Opera. It’s always great fun to work on a fantasy piece and although there are great differences between a Wagner opera and The Wiz, they both rely heavily on music as a storytelling element. I love working on musicals and opera; music informs the choices I make and allows for more heightened choices.
Which is your favorite costume and why? This is always such a difficult question, especially with so many costumes. I really like what we came up with for The Yellow Brick Road, but if I had to choose one, I think it would have to be Addaperle. Since Munchkin Land is Coney Island Amusement Park, I was inspired by cotton candy as a theme for her look.
Excited to see these designs come to life? Get your tickets to The Wiz today, running January 23 through March 18, 2018!
