the best and the worst: week 10

wow, it's been ten weeks already? i really find it a little hard to accept that The Online Edition has gone on for over two months now. as always, i would like to take this time to thank you for all your support. i may never know who you are and shake your hand but i deeply appreciate your regular readership and input.

before, i go in depth to this week's post, i would also like to make a quick announcement: i have a hater! *pops confetti* not exactly a hater perhaps, but someone who finally has an issue with my material. if you want to read her comment, it's posted on my facebook page. it's basically a response to this post. friends of mine who saw what cindy wrote had a few 'interesting' remarks for her but i shall reserve those for coffee talk.

okay, back to this week. i selected the fashion of broadway and musicals as the source of inspiration for my material. big mistake? i think so. not only was readership hit (pretty badly too, i must say.), even the writing of it was a tedious process. many of the dresses look amazing on stage and dazzle audiences but there is often not much information available about them. halfway through the week, i learnt that as a fashion blog, people can get overwhelmed by looking at dress after dress without any guidance. i would loved to evaluate the various outfits and trends showcased by the musicals but there was a huge limitation of resources available. nevertheless, i hope you enjoyed looking at the array of broadway costumes.

so, (channeling my inner tyra banks) i have fourteen posts in my hands. the first post i call will be best post of the week and it goes to...

best: viva la evita

i think the page views on this post were high not for the fashion but the personality who was involved. i mean, seriously, any post about madonna would garner some (if not a ton of) attention. the funniest part  is the fact that madonna was not even in the broadway musical. guess that's how the world of blogging works. until i have an actual following, i would have to depend on names and labels to carry my blog numbers.

(reviving the inner tyra) two posts stand before me... the post i call is worst post of the week and will eternally be shamed. worst post of the week is...

worst: the broadway princesses

*wails* i like the princesses! it was a bit disappointing that my love for the disney princesses was not shared by everyone else. what's not to love about fantastic lives and fabulous gowns? on one hand, it was good to break the friday curse of worst post being the afternoon post (it's now the friday morning post!) but to see a post that i had fun putting together was a weird feeling. oh wells, the show goes on.

with that, we bid farewell to the stages of broadway and return to reality where the weekend awaits. have fun! like i tell my team mates: fall in love, get married, make babies... in whatever sequence you prefer.

fash'on... BAM!

@dd it: fun fashion

so this whole week, we have been weaving in and out of fantastic worlds, living vicariously through the clothes worn on stage. it's almost like 'around the world in (five) days' and boy, has the journey been a fun one. hence to wrap up the week, i'm going to advocate a little fun in our fashion. nope, i'm not about to ask you to dress up as a clown (perhaps i should!) but instead, inject a little flash into your fashion.

it could be as complex as the 'twitter dress' of nicole scherzinger. it is an electronic-powered frock that displayed real tweets in real time. containing 2,000 led lights and 3,000 swarovski crystals, the dress was created by fashion technology company cutecircuit, whose clothes are embedded with lights and rechargeable via usb.

Nicole Scherzinger

or it could be a belt or pendant with a led screen bearing a whimsical tagline.

LED buckles

or simply a slogan tee...

Slogan Tees

all in all, it's about using fashion to incite giggles and conversation. have as much fun as you like just don't set yourself on fire cos that's not funny!

fash'on... BAM!

broadway's baddest

so far, i have been featuring what the various actors wear on stage, from the most elaborate of costumes to the skimpiest of outfits, been there showed that. so for the last post of the week on fashion of broadway, i'm just going to demonstrate to you that actors are humans too, especially in the absence of their dressers and costume designers.

ladies and gentlemen, enjoy the worst dressed of the tony awards!

Marketa Irglova

Tony Awards 2012

Christie Brinkley

Whoopi Goldberg

Aretha Franklin recycles bronze

fash'on... BAM!

the broadway princesses

with the strong branding of disney, every girl would grow up reading about one of the princesses. after the books, comes the movies but even on broadway, the disney princesses are making their mark as well. disney theatrical productions limited, also known as disney on broadway, is the flagship stageplay and musical production company of the disney theatrical group, a self-contained division of the walt disney company. 

founded in 1993, as walt disney theatrical, the division has gained a reputation within the industry for creating professional and popular (both critically and financially) performances, starting with the acclaimed beauty and the beast in 1994 and most recently with newsies in 2012. the company is a division of disney theatrical group, led by thomas schumacher.

right now, on broadway, two princesses have graced the stage. they are belle from beauty and the beast and ariel from the little mermaid. here's a collection of their outfits from animation to theme park and finally onto stage.

1) belle

Belle in Disneyland

Belle on Broadway

2) ariel

so what do you think? which version is your favourite? the next disney princess set to make her mark on broadway will be princess jasmine from aladdin. however, before the magic carpet ride, glass slippers are so back! a little teaser for all aspiring princesses... 

fash'on... BAM!

i love the nightlife

as we draw towards the close of another week, i hope you are enjoying the variety of fashion that you are seeing on The Online Edition from broadway. well, here's a glimpse into another award-winning musical. this time, it's the 2011 tony award winner for best costume design in a musical: priscilla, queen of the desert.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

priscilla, queen of the desert is a musical with a book by australian film director-writer stephan elliott and allan scott, using well-known pop songs as its score. adapted from elliott's 1994 film the adventures of priscilla, queen of the desert, the musical tells the story of two drag queens and a transsexual, who are contracted to perform a drag show at a resort in alice springs, a resort town in the remote australian desert. as they head west from sydney aboard their lavender bus, priscilla, the three friends come to the forefront of a comedy of errors, encountering a number of strange characters, as well as incidents of homophobia, while widening comfort zones and finding new horizons.

produced by allan scott in coalition with back row productions, michael chugg, michael hamlyn and john frost, the simon phillips-directed and ross coleman-choreographed original production of priscilla debuted in australia at the lyric theatre, sydney in october 2006. having had a successful run in sydney, the production transferred to melbourne in 2007 and then new zealand in 2008, before returning to sydney for a limited engagement for its second anniversary. the australian success of priscilla provoked a two year strong west end production in addition to its bette midler-produced broadway debut in 2011. while the original production received one out of its seven helpmann award nominations, priscilla was nominated for the laurence olivier award for best new musical as well as two tony awards, winning these awards in the costume design categories.

sit back, relax and survive the alice springs where it's raining men!

fash'on... BAM!

big, blonde and beautiful

after a morning with the king, we are heading over to baltimore! another musical that picked up a tony award for best costume design is hairspray. 

Hairspray

hairspray is a musical with music by marc shaiman, lyrics by scott wittman and shaiman and a book by mark o'donnell and thomas meehan, based on the 1988 john waters film hairspray. the songs include 1960s-style dance music and 'downtown' rhythm and blues. in 1962 baltimore, maryland, plump teenager tracy turnblad's dream is to dance on the corny collins show, a local tv dance program based on the real-life buddy deane show. when tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight. she then launches a campaign to integrate the show. hairspray is a social commentary on the injustices of parts of american society in the 1960s.

the musical's original broadway production opened on august 15, 2002 and won eight tony awards out of thirteen nominations. it ran for over 2,500 performances and closed on january 4, 2009. hairspray has also had national tours, a london west end production and numerous foreign productions and was adapted as a 2007 musical film. the london production was nominated for a record-setting eleven laurence olivier awards, winning for best new musical and in three other categories.

since the musical is set in the 60s, one can only expect a number of diverse trends. it was a decade that broke many fashion traditions, mirroring social movements during the period. in the middle of the decade, culottes, box-shaped pvc dresses and go-go boots were popular. people were dressing in psychedelic prints, highlighter colours and mismatched patterns. the hippie movement late in the decade also exerted a strong influence on ladies' clothing styles, including bell-bottom jeans, tie-dye, and batik fabrics, as well as paisley prints.

'run and tell that' 'you can't stop the beat'.

fash'on... BAM!

shall we dance?

after discussion on money, today we shall turn the discussion to the awards. specifically, the winners of best costume design for the tony awards. kicking off the trio of the day will be 'the king and i'.

The King and I

the king and i is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of richard rodgers and oscar hammerstein ii. the work is based on the 1944 novel anna and the king of siam by margaret landon and derives from the memoirs of anna leonowens, who became governess to the children of king mongkut of siam in the early 1860s. the story deals with the experiences of the british schoolteacher, who is hired as part of the king's drive to modernize his country. the relationship between the king and anna is marked by conflict through much of the play, as well as by a love that neither is able to express. the musical premiered on march 29, 1951 at broadway's st. james theatre, closed on march 20, 1954.

irene sharaff received the tony award for best costume design in 1952. over the years, the king and i has been revived by multiple companies and even made into a movie. the right picture shows daniel dae kim and maria friedman in the title roles while the left is a picture of jared lee as the king in the nevada city revival. the king and i is a true musical classic and if you have not experienced it, do look up the videos and songs. 'the king and i' is also a personal favourite because i directed students in this production before hence there are fantastic memories attached to each and every scene.

Yul Brynner and Doretta Morrow

Getrude Lawrence 

Shall We Dance?

1985 revival of The King and I

before we go, shall we dance?

fash'on... BAM!

king of broadway

nothing gets me more excited than talking about money. yes, there are times when i wished the money that i discussed would magically be transferred into my account but at that moment, the alarm goes off and i wake up to reality. i am still not on the forbes 100 but there is no harm in trying to get there. maybe this is my lucky post to garner inter-galactical attention and i catapult to the stars! poof! top of the forbes list... (guess the alarm was not working well today, still dreaming!)

The Lion King

anyway, it's all about the money today so while we all know that the phantom of the opera is the top earner worldwide, on broadway, the ruler of the broadway box office is the lion king. this musical is an adaptation of the animation from the 1994 disney animated film of the same name with music by elton john and lyrics by tim rice along with the musical score created by hans zimmer with choral arrangements by lebo m. directed by julie taymor, the musical features actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets. the show is produced by disney theatrical.

as of april 2012, it is the highest grossing broadway show of all time, having grossed $853.8 million. time for us to take a look at the fabulous fashion of the lion king. do pay attention to the intricate details of the headgears and the blending of human with puppets.

in closing, the circle of life!

fash'on... BAM!

your friendly neighbourhood hero

from fundraiser to fund-raiser. earlier today, i featured about a musical / theatre production that raises money but this afternoon, i'm going to feature the costumes of the most expensive musical on broadway. yup, this title goes to your friendly neighbourhood superhero: spiderman. 

Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark

spider-man: turn off the dark is a rock musical with music and lyrics by u2's bono and the edge and a book by julie taymor, glen berger and roberto aguirre-sacasa. the musical is based on the spider-man comics created by stan lee and steve ditko, published by marvel comics, as well as the 2002 film about the character and the greek myth of arachne. it tells the story of the origin of the character, his romance with mary jane and his battles with the evil green goblin. the show includes highly technical stunts, such as actors swinging from 'webs' and several aerial combat scenes. at the first preview performance, these technical challenges caused several lengthy interruptions. several actors were injured during rehearsals and previews.

Spiderman and Bono

spider-man is the most expensive broadway production and had the longest preview period (182 preview performances) in history. although the musical began performances in november 2010, the official opening was postponed several times. after receiving feedback from preview audiences and scathing reviews from critics, previews were suspended in april 2011. director julie taymor left the production, as co-director philip william mckinley was brought in to redirect portions of the show. the musical's book was revised, and new previews began may 12, with the official opening on June 14, 2011. critical reception of the opening was better than for the earlier version, but mixed at best, with praise for the visual effects but little enthusiasm for the book and score. as of the opening, the cost was reported as $75 million, compared to the typical $5 to $15 million for a broadway musical.

Spiderman costumes featured in Vogue

budget aside, here are a couple of clips that you'll see designer eiko ishioka discussing how she put together the costumes for spiderman.

fash'on... BAM!

barely there...

for those who are familiar with broadway, you would have heard about broadway bares. nope, not my opening post. anyway, broadway bares is the 'inspiration' for this week's theme actually. i know, it's ironic that for a fashion blog, the idea to feature the clothes of musical theatre came from a production that hardly has any clothes on. therefore yes, not every theatre production creates grandeur through costumes and fashion, some are memorable from the lack of clothes.

Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS

well, broadway bares is part of a greater movement called broadway cares / equity fights aids. broadway cares / equity fights aids is an american non-profit organization, headquartered in new york city, new york. it is the theatre community's response to the aids crisis. by drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the theatre community, on broadway, off-broadway and across the country, the organization raises funds for aids-related causes across the united states. since its founding in 1988, it has raised over $175 million for critically needed services for people with aids, hiv or hiv-related illnesses.

broadway bares is an annual burlesque show fundraiser for the organization, founded by jerry mitchell in 1992. broadway dancers and actors perform striptease dances for the audience at the roseland ballroom in new york city for two shows only in June. it combines the naughtiness of burlesque and the razzle-dazzle of broadway. the broadway bares events had raised $5.5 million as of 2010.

before you go into the 'there he goes again, featuring naked bodies to get a couple more hits' again, i actually find a production like broadway bares highly interesting because it is a style of theatre, though raunchy, highly entertaining. after all, the theatre is a space for our imaginations to run free and let's all admit it: sexuality and sensuality sells!

so at the end of the post, i am going to leave you with a flood of g-strings, thongs, lingerie and body paint. (not posting videos here because they are a tad too 'interesting'... but you can find most of them online.)

broadway bares xxii: happy endings

Reed Kelly as Evil Queen

broadway bares xviii: wonderland

Matthew Morrison

broadway bares xx: strip-o-poly

Snooki: Boardwalk

Vanessa Williams

hope you enjoy the tongue-in-cheek costumes of broadway bares!

fash'on... BAM!