"Gypsy" Spring 2023 — Hailey Bird Design

“Gypsy” At Shaw Festival Theatre Spring 2023

A Musical Fable, book by Arthur Laurents

Music by Jule Styne, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Directed by Jay Turvey

Music direction by Paul Sportelli

Choreographed by Genny Sermonia

Set and costumes designed by Cory Sincennes

Lighting designed by Kevin Fraser

Sound designed by John Lott

Photographs by David Cooper

Gypsy is a classic musical set in the late 1920’s to 30’s, about a stage mom named Rose and her determination to make her daughters stage famous. At the point they where about to give up, Louise, Roses underappreciated daughter starts her career in Burlesque. Becoming the most famous strip tease burlesque performer around.

My team was responsible for all of Louise’s Burlesque and finale costumes and a the costume for another Burlesque character called Electra.

My biggest project on Gypsy was Louise’s second burlesque costume. Made of a deep royal blue stretch velvet with a silver skirt lining. The lining shows when the actress holds open her skirt at the front slit as part of her strip tease. The dress has three large godets making the effect of holding open her skirt look like a half circle like the sketch. There is a back zipper handsewn in with a matching velvet tab for quick changing in and out of this dress.

The Dress is embellished with rhinestone cording, floral rhinestone trim, and a beaded diamond applique. All of the trim was handsewn on while on the dress form to maintain the proper amount of stretch in the velvet.

The velvet hem was cut to floor length with the silver lining swing tacked to it at crucial points.

Sewing down initial trim placement lines for the back
Progress of applying the rhinestone cording
Back in progress of applying rhinestone cording
Skirt lining before hemming
Basted in Zipper
Final trim applied
Applique Diamond that sits just above the front slit
Back
Skirt hem finished with rhinestones
Dress back hem with small train

Another than Louise’s velvet dress I work on her “nude” bodysuit and her black dressing robe.

Her “nude” bodysuit was a sleeveless legged suit made of power mesh with an invisible zipper back with a bustier bodysuit underneath. Her chest and private areas where then rhinestoned on the bodysuit. This bodysuit ensemble was worn under all of her burlesque and finale costumes. See the first picture on this page.

The back dressing gown was a bought robe that we added a waist sash, feather cuffs, and a lengthened it with a cascade ruffle.

Electra is one of the burlesque dancers in Gypsy with a gimmick of having lights built into her costume with light bulbs on the bust, crotch, and bum. The costume consisted of three parts, bra, pantie, and bustle skirt (that housed all of the electronics and batteries). I worked on building the pantie, the bustle, and sewing on the electronics on these parts.

The pantie is a “nude” look with a fake trim applied g string front with a light blub in the applique’s centre and small LED’s on the surrounding trim.

The bustle is tiered and pleated onto a coutil base that is then hooked onto the pantie (This is so the bustle can be worn by the understudy). The tiers are made of organza, tulle, and sequins flat mounted together with a small horsehair hem and trims. The bustle keeps its shape with four bubbles made of boning placed between the layers and houses the electronics and batteries. Hooks made of boning are placed around the waist of the bustle with LED’s and hanging beads.