Superb. Oh no, now I’ve given away the punch line before telling the joke. And though the humor was plentiful, the subject matter of Clybourne Park was far from a laughing matter. Racial prejudice and resistance to integration during the civil rights era filled the first act, set in 1959. In the second act, deep-rooted prejudice erupted as the modern characters candidly voiced the stereotypes their ancestors never dared to speak. That’s a lot to process. So how do costume designs fit into this story? Beautifully.
The stage lights come up and our eyes are met by a vision of turquoise and navy plaid. Sounds like a lot but the svelte stature of Bev (Christina Kirk) carried the 50s style dress in all it’s quirky glory. To offset the amount of sea colored boxes, Costume Designer Ilona Somogyi designed the panels of the side front and back to fall on the bias, or the diagonal of the fabric grain. What could have been overwhelming was just the right proportion of curious and calm for the naively eccentric Bev. Girl-like in her charm, juvenile in her wit, lovable with every line.
To match was her equally idiosyncratic husband, Russ (Frank Wood). Somogyi playfully costumed Russ in a bold turquoise and olive plaid. Oversized in stripe (and collar) the married duo could have caused a visual accident on stage but somehow it not only worked, it sent the message loud and clear about the oddity of this household.
As a balance to Bev and Russ, the calm couple of Francine (Crystal A. Dickinson) and Albert (Damon Gupton) wore a neutral palate of earth tones. On-the-clock Francine, the Black domestic worker, wore a traditional uniform of the time period, 1959. Slate gray, crisp white rounded collar, and docile lace-ups. Within minutes Francine changed into her ‘real’ clothes, a merlot short-sleeved day dress. Accented with a broach and conservatively hemmed at the calf to reveal classic black heels. Francine’s husband, Albert showed up spot-on like a Van Der Zee in a collage of color rich in mauve, chocolate, and berry.
The antagonist Karl (Jeremy Shamos), was appropriately sharp in black; pants, rimmed frame glasses, and slick hair. The surprise was his pairing with sweet wife Betsy. Annie Parisse’s character, Betsy is expecting. She’s also deaf. Which lends itself as a platform for a series of inappropriate jokes. I laughed, we all laughed and then maybe got a little uncomfortable. But that is exactly what playwright Bruce Norris wants. To challenge the audience out of their comfort zone long enough to question their feelings beyond dinner.
Second Act brought about those challenges in the form of what could be described as “Whose Line is it Anyway – The Race Edition”. Each of the actors embodied an ancestral version of their 1950s character in the modern day setting. One after the other they tossed out racially offensive vagaries in a civil meeting gone off-track. And somewhere along the way the costumes that once supported the character’s personalities got derailed as well. The dapper style of Albert was widdeled down to a slouchy non-descript colored shirt and mossy green cargos as Kevin. And the once poised Francine transitioned into a prideful Lena. Her natural, braided crown of hair was the only indication of character. As her clothing, a teal faux wrap tank top and long mermaid denim skirt, read more like 90s college student, than professional home owner and mother of three.
Finding character in casual fashion is difficult. But with the right styling an outfit can become a costume. However, there seemed to be a disconnect from the period costumes to the modern as if a different person designed the second act from the first. The details of 1959 were so carefully selected. Fast-forward to 2009 and four out of the six characters were wearing T-strap brown leather sandals. I doubt since they were meeting for the first time that they would all shop together.
Though Somogyi’s modern costume choices did not communicate personality as strongly to the audience as the first act, the skillful design of the period costumes combined with the exemplary performances of the actors, held strongly in the mind of the audience.
With so many magazines and television shows telling us what’s in and what’s out, it is hard to keep up. So perhaps a generic approach to modern wear is what Somogyi was going after. No matter what though, Ilona Somogyi’s education, experience, and talent shined brightly and supported a production that can only be summed up in one word. Superb.
Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris
Now in playing at the Mark Taper Forum
January 11th – February 26th
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