'Death Becomes Her' Costume Designer Paul Tazewell Leaned Into Old Theater Magic for Helen's Hole-in-the-Stomach Moment and Other Iconic Looks From the Original Film
It's been a little over eight weeks sincePaul Tazewell made historyby becoming the first Black man to win an Oscar for best costume design for "Wicked." When asked if he's had a moment to let it all sink in, Tazewell replies, "I don't know that I've had an opportunity to just sit back and reflect." He's full steam ahead. Tazewell has landed his 10th Tony Award nomination for the Broadway adaptation of "Death Becomes Her," and he's still in production with Steven Spielberg on the director's next untitled film. Later this year, "Wicked: For Good" will be released. "I'm just strapped in for the ride and so grateful for everything," Tazewell says. "With the Tonys and 'Death Becomes Her,' it's kind of sweeping it all into all that is being Paul Tazewell, which is kind of exciting." More from Variety Megan Hilty on Returning to Broadway With the Smash 'Death Becomes Her,' and Why 'There's Nothing Bigger Than Two Ladies Trying to Kill Each Other' as a Reason to Break Into Song 'Wicked' Oscar Winner Paul Tazewell on His Historic Win: 'I've Been Designing Costumes for Over 35 Years and There Was Never a Black Male' 'Wicked's' Paul Tazewell Makes Oscars History as First Black Man to Win Best Costume Design Speaking of "Death Becomes Her," Tazewell recalls seeing the Robert Zemeckis film in the cinema when it first came out in 1992. Tazewell was struck by the comedy tone but also its cast. "To have Meryl Streep leading the pack, and in a form that she was not necessarily known, known for. I thought that was, that was pretty wonderful. I think that's what made it so absurd as well. And I've always been a fan of Goldie Hawn. And Bruce Willis, I knew him from 'Moonlighting,' but it felt like serious actors bringing their A-game, and that made it all the more exciting." But it wasn't just Hollywood's A-Listers bringing the best to comedy, the film was on the cutting edge of technology and special effects makeup. It was one thing seeing it on the big screen. It was another to recreate those aspects on stage. Says Tazewell, "I knew that it was going to be a huge challenge, because if the rest of the audience loved it in the way that I did, there were going to be a lot of expectations." Tazewell worked closely with the show's director and choreographer, Christopher Gattelli to help meet those expectations. The show landed 10 Tony Award nominations, including best musical, best direction of a musical, best scenic design and best choreography. The show follows the movie plot of Madeline Ashton (Megan Hilty), the most beautiful actress ever to grace the stage and screen. Helen Sharp (Jennifer Simard) is the long-suffering author who lives in her shadow. They have always been the best of frenemies…until Madeline steals Helen's fiancé away. As Helen plots revenge and Madeline clings to her rapidly fading star, their world is suddenly turned upside down by Viola Van Horn (Michelle Williams), a mysterious woman with a secret that's to die for. After one sip of Viola's magical potion, Madeline and Helen begin a new era of life (and death) with their youth and beauty restored…and a grudge to last eternity. It's embracing the culture that it came from, and the material came from the film, and then also understanding the venue that it is going to be retold within. Musical theater and live performance open up a different way of telling the story. So, in some way, it allows me to broaden my inspiration for how we want to tell the story. The idea of purple was inspired by the vial of potion, the youth serum. I thought, "How do I align the youth serum and Viola, as the goddess of youth, and then create an understanding that anyone who touches this file or who takes the potion somehow aligns with a group. So, the fact that Viola has her entourage and her followers, and this idea of everyone who's taken the potion lives within her palace. That was a perfect way of encapsulating them and helping to create a color palette and a style that would hold them all together. I needed to make it somewhat family-friendly. But then, give that sense of sexual attraction and youth, and that was why I ended up with these body suits that showed just the right amount of skin. We get this feeling that we're seeing more than we actually are. With Viola, all of her clothes, as played by Michelle Williams, show off her silhouette, and you feel like you're seeing this nude figure underneath. She appears in this amethyst geode, which is reinterpreted as this amazing, glamorous Hollywood-level coat. And her face is framed with all of these amethyst crystals, and that's how she pushes the idea of artifice, and then I carry that idea of sparkle and crystallization into the ensemble as well. Madeline is a working actor and a very well-known actress on Broadway, and she's also done film and a bit of television, but is mostly known for her film work. It gives this classic narcissistic idea of the Hollywood actress, and I dressed her to align with that, and that was very important. It's a style based on this over-the-top Hollywood glamor. We see it in her loungewear, as well as her day clothes. We can clock her a mile away. You know what her style is and what her priorities as as far as how she sees herself, and how she wants others to see her. Helen is actually the opposite of the way that she's presented herself. She's very mousy. There's a one-note quality to her. She stays reserved, and that is underscored by the neutral palette that we use for her. She's always in shades of beige, until she decides to take the potion. And then she arrives in this red, glamorous dress. She's like Rita Hayworth and becomes this icon of Hollywood glamor that tops Madeline. That transformation was fun to create with Jennifer and contrast her with Madeline. You can see how I've borrowed from the film. And there are moments within the film that are very memorable, like the stair fall. The silhouette that I put Madeline in for the stair fall is reflective of what was in the film. It's slightly shifted and it's theatricalized, but it is a send-up of that moment in the film, which is already a send-up, and it's about having fun with the images that are already out there. When Goldie Hawn in the film ends up with a hole in her stomach, she's in red as well. So I wanted to lean into that palette. There are similarities in the moments visually, but they're also completely different because it's serving a different purpose. The structure of the musical is different than the film. I would say it is old school. When we started, we were investigating multiple ways of pulling that off, that theatrical magic and illusion of the audience being able to see that there's a hole in her stomach. That's the payoff. We ended up in a place where it's very straightforward. This is how we're going to hide…I don't want to give it away, because it is sleight of hand. It's very much in front of you, and because there's smoke involved, we did attempt to have mirrors, but there are no mirrors. There's definitely smoke. It gives you this theatrical sense and the illusion that she's been shot in the stomach. And I think that it is supported by all the activity that swirls around it. There's a fake fight, body doubles, and a play with umbrellas. It's silly and fun, and the most fun for the audience. I have so much experience with productions where we're doing multiple quick changes. There are about 15 seconds, and it's par for the course with musicals. There's always going to be a quick change because of how musicals are structured. When we were approaching, "For the Gays," the big number at the very beginning of the show, Chris decided to lean into that as an idea. We've got Madeline doing at least seven quick changes that she does right in front of your eyes, and there are some where she runs back, and then she's replaced with a body double, and then she comes back out in something different. I think that pokes fun at what it has become. I think what we do with that, and making a statement about the community and culture of musicals, those that love musicals, and how it centers on the LGBTQ community as well how they've been embraced, both on stage and as audience members. I think that's what that moment is honoring. We have nods to the LGBTQ flag, Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz," and the ruby slippers. We have Liza Minnelli, and that's what makes the show work because it's a different telling than what you see on film. And I think that that's what is important, because you engage with it in a fresh way. I just wanted to show off their body. So everything is body conscious, and so it's choosing the right kind of net that will be translucent enough so that we actually see skin. Overall, the costumes have to conform to their body and allow for them to move in all the ways that Chris needs them to move. For the twisted neck, we needed to build the coat that would hold structure but still move in a lightweight way, so it stayed kind of fluffy and airy and very feminine. And then we've got a structure that's built inside of it for that illusion because her head drops over her neck. In order to do that, the coat itself is part of the illusion. It hides a certain element so that we get that sense of her, her neck dropping. This interview has been edited and condensed. 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'Death Becomes Her' Costume Designer Paul Tazewell Leaned Into Old Theater Magic for Helen's Hole-in-the-Stomach Moment and Othe...
