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COSTUME
DESIGNER
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WILLIAM IVEY LONG
 BROADWAY—the
name itself evokes visions of bright lights and
sparkling marquees filling the night with a wash of
color and excitement about the ‘names in lights’. One of
the most recurring names appearing on today’s Broadway
marquees is “William Ivey Long, Costume Designer.” Mr.
Long’s professional career, which includes over 50
Broadway shows, reads like the history of Broadway hits,
and even encompasses film, rock ‘n roll and the Las
Vegas stage as well.
Mr. Long has been nominated ten times for the
prestigious Tony Award, winning four times for: Nine
(1982), Crazy For You (1992), The Producers (2001), and
Hairspray (2003). In addition to The Producers and
Hairspray, Long is currently represented on Broadway by
Curtains, Grey Gardens, Hairspray and the long-running
revival of Chicago.
His designs for Broadway have also been seen in The
Producers, A Streetcar Named Desire (Long’s 50th design
for Broadway), Sweet Charity, La Cage Aus Folles,
Twentieth Century, Little Shop of Horrors The Boy From
Oz, Cabaret, Never Gonna Dance, Contact, The Music Man,
Annie Get Your Gun, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Swing,
Steel Pier, 1776, Smokey Joe’s Café, Seussical: The
Musical and Guys and Dolls, among many others. Mr. Long
also designed Siegfried and Roy at the Mirage Hotel,
which ran for 10 years in Las Vegas, and his work has
been seen on such luminaries as Liza Minnelli, Mick
Jagger, The Pointer Sisters, Nathan Lane, Matthew
Broderick, Melanie Griffith and Bernadette Peters.
 Frequent
Broadway collaborator Susan Stroman notes that, “He
always puts actors and actresses at ease in their
fitting. He makes (the actors) feel like they’re the
most beautiful people on earth. They come back from
fittings with William with a big smile.”
“William has always been at the top of his form,” said
his longtime friend and collaborator, the late Wendy
Wasserstein, “whether it is his all-kaftan production of
Twelfth Night when we were at Yale, or Nine or Guys and
Dolls on Broadway. He’s also really scholarly, and to
have that knowledge and wit is extraordinary. I never
met anyone else like him.”
Observing him as he whirls through the process of
creation, it is not at all surprising to learn that he
actually designed his first costume when he was six
years old — “an Elizabethan ruff for my dog who stood
very still,” he said of his early design work.
Mr. Long has been associated with The Lost Colony almost
since the day he was born, spending summers in the
theatre with his family. His father, William Long Sr.,
served the production as assistant technical director
from 1940-41; master of properties from 1946-48,
technical director from 1949-62 and director of the play
in 1963.
Mr. Long’s mother, Mary Wood Long, was also in The Lost
Colony for many seasons. She was assistant costumer in
1946 and continued to work in the costume shop
throughout her tenure with the production, even when she
had on-stage roles. From 1949-1953, she portrayed
Mad-Marjorie Harvie, and from 1954-1963 — a record
setting ten-year stint — she donned royal attire for the
role of Queen Elizabeth I.
 During
the summers of his early childhood, Mr. Long recalled,
“I would sleep in fabric bins underneath the cutting
tables of the costume shop.” Surrounded by the theatre,
Long naturally took to the summer stage playing the role
of a colonist child from 1958-1960, and becoming
Property Master, the youngest person ever to fill the
position, from 1961-64. His interest in costuming was
fostered under the expert tutelage of head Colony
costumer Irene ‘Rene’ Rains, and the rest, as they say,
is history.
As an adult, his childhood memories of the play lured
him back to Manteo. While watching a performance of the
50th Anniversary Season in 1987, Mr. Long recalls that
he was captivated by the production. “I was totally
blown away,” he said. His enthusiasm for the show
rekindled his interest in The Lost Colony, and he soon
agreed to take over as costume designer.
Within five years, Mr. Long’s passion for the stage of
his youth led him to become production designer, and his
vision for the show has placed The Lost Colony in a
position of prominence among outdoor dramas nationwide.
In addition, Mr. Long’s association with The Lost Colony
has enabled countless company members to study with a
master. Many college theatre students have benefited
from his association with the production. His expertise
in presenting workshops and his hands-on approach to
production design has encouraged young performers,
designers, and technicians to pursue a career in the
theatrical arts.
Though many miles south of the bright lights of
Broadway, Waterside Theatre projects a Broadway-glitz of
its own, thanks to William Ivey Long’s loving care of
The Lost Colony.. |
