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fingertips when you’re doing it as quickly as we did it. We put it
back together very swiftly.
Even when you’re doing a period piece, how much of a temptation
is there to slightly modernize the look of some of the
clothes?
There are things that almost invariably happen to your
eye, although not so much in this period—because I think
this period is an attractive period; 1906, the beginning of the
20th century—but when you get into things like the ‘50s,
men’s trousers are so wide. There’s a lot of clothing in those
suits, and people look somewhat odd to us, and there is some
vanity to do with where someone in the cast doesn’t want a
“sack suit” as they’re called. They need a little more shape,
and you often accommodate them. That wasn’t the case with
Ragtime.
How much work did you have to do to reshape the look of
this production?
I really put a lot of things back into the production—and I
put things back into the show that were not in Washington.
The Ford workers in costume were not in Washington. I put
back the quick changes that I knew were possible. They did
it in Washington very quickly and with a small crew—and we
had a small crew, too—but I was more specific and knew how
it worked and had a great team of people who were so committed
to it. One of the heartaches of its short run was that the
crew on the New York show was so amazing. I’ve never seen a
The revival’s costumes were constructed a little differently than the original to make quick changes easier.
wardrobe team so concentrated, focused, good-humored and
hard-working.
How many people worked on it in New York?
Fourteen dressers ran the show. Michael Hannah was the
wardrobe supervisor.
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