Worn by Rick Roemer (guest artist) in his role as Whip McCord in the Fall 2005 production of The Marriage of Miss Hollywood and King Neptune by Robert Schenkkan.
Comments from Draper, Stacey Bridges:
Build time: The King Neptune costume took about 6 weeks to complete. I worked as the draper on the show and had a two first hands and a stitcher to assist on the build. I would estimate that with the four of us working on all of the costumes [for the entire production], it took about 300 hours to construct from beginning to end.
Materials: Neptune's costume utilized a variety of materials, fabrics and leathers. His tunic is actually a double layer of a metallic fabric that is overlaid with a crinkled textured one. His waist armor is made of leather, velvet and raw silk,. And he wears an oversized velvet cape. The cape for King Neptune was designed to be overwhelming. The idea was to have excessive amount of fabric so that [the actor] would be able to use it as a comedic element as he fought with it and tripped on it through the course of the action on the stage.
Favorite part of the costume: I really like the way the cape turned out. I had some challenges with it early on, but in the end I feel like it turned out to be exactly what the designer wanted. I learned a lot from working on the cape. Velvet is always a tricky material to work with, especially when you are working with 9 yards of fabric. Through the expert advice of my professor Jim Glavan, I think we came up with a solution that not only worked, but also made a stunning garment.
What I learned: Every show you work on is a learning experience. I learned that the construction underneath a costume is often more complex and involved than most people will ever notice. We had to make an underbodice structure for the tunic and waist armor to support the cape and to allow for a quick change. I learned a lot from working on the understructure and how it was the single cohesive point that held everything together.
I also learned that there is a fine balance between making the costumes look professional and well constructed and having them look "costumey." The costumes were designed to be comical and over the top. The trick was to still have them be beautiful even though they were meant to be a little on the silly side.
