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Friday, January 21, 2022
Watch a Costume Featurette From WEST SIDE STORY Featuring Paul Tazewell
www.broadwayworld.com: A Costume Featurette from Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story" featuring 2022 Critics Choice Nominee and Tony Award® and Emmy Award® winning costume designer, Paul Tazewell, has been released.
Doing any kind of design for a revival or movie version of an iconic show can be very difficult. As a designer you have to toe the line between honoring the recognizability of the original content and a new fresh interpretation. Luckily for West Side Story, there is already a set aesthetic because of its setting in 1950’s New York City. It allows for a really strong starting off point for all of the costumes so that they can further be expanded on based on the character. Another thing that is vital to West Side Story that was mentioned was the dancing. Specifically the dresses, like Anita’s, need to swirl and flourish with the dance, as it is another iconic aspect of the show. It’s clear the Paul Tazwell did a great amount of research and did this important show justice.
-Westside Story is an incredible production and while I’ve only seen the first film and a live modernized theatrical performance of it, from what I can tell Paul Tazewell did an absolutely incredible job at capturing the clothing styles of 1950’s New York City. It is never easy recreating a new look for such an iconic production like Westside story, but I think the costumes seen within this film have such a level of detail that they are on par if not better then those seen in the older film. I will say one of the reasons I love the old Westside story film is because it shows what New York City looked like in the 1980s with all the spray paint and empty lots instead of just recreating it with CGI. Paul Tazewell is such an incredible costume designer and I totally understand why he was chosen to do the costumes for this film, because he understands how to make garments that both look the part and are functional for dance and active scenes. I saw this first hand when making garments for Broadways Hamilton that he had designed. While the cut and style of the garments for correct to the 1770’s, he was able to utilize breathable and stretchy fabrics so that the backup dancers would not be restrained in their movements. I’m sure for this film he used those same elements to create costumes that look the part but also flow better and look better when dancing in.
Although I am not personally involved in costume making, I always enjoy listening in to the process designers will go through when doing a show, or in this case a movie. I got to see West Side Story in a movie theater, and one of the aspects that took part of the conversation after was about the costume choices. It was gorgeous watching the skirts fly around with a backdrop of lighting that compliments its colors. It was very intentional, and as a viewer I think it translated very well. It was a great idea having a definite palette for both the gangs, there are many ensemble numbers in the story and it provided an opportunity to immerse yourself with either story thanks to it. It was a phenomenal use of color, not only talking about costumes but in general. I also think they accomplished the goal of making Rita look lively and still embody that “wise old lady” vibe to her.
West Side Story has always been a staple piece of theater for both myself, and I am sure many others. When you picture any performance of it, you can almost imagine Maria in that iconic white dress with the red belt/ribbon. In my time, I have seen three separate productions of West Side Story, but the one that pays homage to the original the most has to be Steven Spielberg’s new movie adaptation. I got to see the 2021 film at El Capitan, which just so happens to be a Disney cinema house in Los Angeles, California. In their lobby, they actually had some of the costume pieces on display and they were just as stunning in person. It is really wonderful to see how the costume designer went character by character to determine what would best fit their personality, affiliations, and intentions. Paul Tazwell seems to be a very thoughtful artist and I cannot wait to see what he designs next.
4 comments:
Doing any kind of design for a revival or movie version of an iconic show can be very difficult. As a designer you have to toe the line between honoring the recognizability of the original content and a new fresh interpretation. Luckily for West Side Story, there is already a set aesthetic because of its setting in 1950’s New York City. It allows for a really strong starting off point for all of the costumes so that they can further be expanded on based on the character. Another thing that is vital to West Side Story that was mentioned was the dancing. Specifically the dresses, like Anita’s, need to swirl and flourish with the dance, as it is another iconic aspect of the show. It’s clear the Paul Tazwell did a great amount of research and did this important show justice.
-Westside Story is an incredible production and while I’ve only seen the first film and a live modernized theatrical performance of it, from what I can tell Paul Tazewell did an absolutely incredible job at capturing the clothing styles of 1950’s New York City. It is never easy recreating a new look for such an iconic production like Westside story, but I think the costumes seen within this film have such a level of detail that they are on par if not better then those seen in the older film. I will say one of the reasons I love the old Westside story film is because it shows what New York City looked like in the 1980s with all the spray paint and empty lots instead of just recreating it with CGI. Paul Tazewell is such an incredible costume designer and I totally understand why he was chosen to do the costumes for this film, because he understands how to make garments that both look the part and are functional for dance and active scenes. I saw this first hand when making garments for Broadways Hamilton that he had designed. While the cut and style of the garments for correct to the 1770’s, he was able to utilize breathable and stretchy fabrics so that the backup dancers would not be restrained in their movements. I’m sure for this film he used those same elements to create costumes that look the part but also flow better and look better when dancing in.
Although I am not personally involved in costume making, I always enjoy listening in to the process designers will go through when doing a show, or in this case a movie. I got to see West Side Story in a movie theater, and one of the aspects that took part of the conversation after was about the costume choices. It was gorgeous watching the skirts fly around with a backdrop of lighting that compliments its colors. It was very intentional, and as a viewer I think it translated very well. It was a great idea having a definite palette for both the gangs, there are many ensemble numbers in the story and it provided an opportunity to immerse yourself with either story thanks to it. It was a phenomenal use of color, not only talking about costumes but in general. I also think they accomplished the goal of making Rita look lively and still embody that “wise old lady” vibe to her.
West Side Story has always been a staple piece of theater for both myself, and I am sure many others. When you picture any performance of it, you can almost imagine Maria in that iconic white dress with the red belt/ribbon. In my time, I have seen three separate productions of West Side Story, but the one that pays homage to the original the most has to be Steven Spielberg’s new movie adaptation. I got to see the 2021 film at El Capitan, which just so happens to be a Disney cinema house in Los Angeles, California. In their lobby, they actually had some of the costume pieces on display and they were just as stunning in person. It is really wonderful to see how the costume designer went character by character to determine what would best fit their personality, affiliations, and intentions. Paul Tazwell seems to be a very thoughtful artist and I cannot wait to see what he designs next.
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