Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1987 - 20

Halloween party from The OcteNe Bridge Club. Photo: Gerry Goodstein.

guy, and make him stand for hundreds of hours
while you make another body on top of his. Shakespeare says, "What is this? Is it a fish? It has a foul
smell." You don't know what the hell kind of creature it is. This way I could make exactly what I
wanted. It was a spiny kind of thing and I gave him
some scoliosis. Then I covered it, painted it, slimed
it up, and made it so it would be totally repulsive to
Miranda.

This production of The Tempest was a costume designer's dream, but there are few such opportunities. For
a while, Robbins' energies seemed to be going in other
directions, such as her furni ture and interior design
work. She talks about the "boredom factor" and the
need to look for other outlets for her creative energies.
Perhaps a bi t defensive about these projects she notes,
"It's still design. Besides," she says with a smile, "the
walls are never late for their fittings." And maybe the
experiences of Saturday ight Lil'e took their toll for a
time. In the midst of S L she discussed the juStcompleted work for The Boys of \Vinter which involved
a lot of uniforms and said, "I was 'angsting' over every
costume. Is this art)"
But as she plunges back into the world of Broadway,
the enrhusiasm resurfaces. She relishes the hard work
and, of course, the minutiae. "I loved working out the
injuries in Boys ot Winter, especially the twO legs with
above-the-knee amputations and spurting arterial
blood' (It made the photographer nauseous. I" Even a
18

TD&T· WI TER 1987

critical failure like Raggedy AnIJ elicits an enthusiastic
response: "How many shows do you get to do with flying
camels and dancing bats 1 " The show also allowed for
problem solving in a major way. Many of the animal
costumes required the performers to carry the weight in
a specific way. When some cast changes were made
coming into Broadway, it required a redistribution of
costume weight. And there were unforseen problems. A
microphone was planted inside the camels head, but
there was a mysterious squeak somewhere in the head
joint. As the curtain rose on opening night the crew was
still "oiling" the camel like the Tin Woodman in The
\Vizard of Oz
And finally, there is Miss Bacall. "She has worn the
most incredible clothes," exclaims Robbins. "I had to go
to museums to see them and now I had a chance to work
with her. I loved talking to her about her clothes." Director Blakemore ("a sainr" according to Robbinsl wanred
the excessiveness and vulgarity of the mid-50s and Robbins loved the opportunity to create that world. "It is a
crazy, exuberant period that amuses me. There is a level
of amusemenr in the design." (The set is by Michael
Annals.1 Working with Bacall meanr that there were
compromises. "She is very clear and definite in what she
wanrs; she has clear-cut tastes. You have to listen to
what she is saying." Tennessee Williams calls for a blue
dress in the second act, Bacall wanted a black, sequined
one. "It is good-looking and beautifully made," says
Robbins, "but I don't know that I would have chosen it
on my own." But, she concludes, "working with her is a
challenge and a privilege." *

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1987