Doctor Jekyll, I Costume ... er ... Presume

My theatrical production company, Idle Muse, is producing one of my favorite stories: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  We will be putting up the production this September. Whoa. Wait. Hold on. Stop. Halt. Stani. Arrête. Alto! Lest you start channeling "The Hoff" and dancing about proclaiming that “this is this moment”...please know that we are not, I repeat not, doing the musical Jekyll and Hyde. 

You will just have to get your Wildhorn and Cuden fix somewhere else.

This play, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, is adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, from the novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. We've only had two production meetings and even though it will have it's classic Late Victorian splendor, it already promises to be just as thrilling and gory as I remember the book being.

This provides me with, now, one of my greatest challenges as a costume designer. We want to portray the grit of the era while staying true to the text. There are six actors each with his or her own track (e.g. five of said actors will play a handful of characters while the actor playing Jekyll will remain only himself). 

Did I mention that this is Late Victorian? Yep. 1883. All of its upper crusty and West London with a side of Industrial Revolution.

Most of the actors have costume changes in 5 (yes, “five”) seconds or less. The impetus is to have it all be deftly wrapped in a blanket of seriousness and not have it become a giant ludicrous "camp fest."

There is a thin line between speed and humor and speed and efficiency of movement that makes the hair on every designer's neck stand up. We designers all want our serious work to be taken seriously. Camp quick changes are all well and good when doing a production of The Mystery of Irma Vepp.  

Camp is not our intention here, so, I must carefully examine each actor's stage business with the patience of a neurosurgeon before I proceed.

The principles of the show will be guided by the director, Ensemble Member, Nathan Pease. The Concepts of the show fit into our mission statement as a company.

So too must the costumes of this show conform to that Late Victorian setting.

I love a challenge.

"This is what I know..."