The welcoming residents of ‘Grey House’
The Lyceum Theater, the oldest operating theater on Broadway, is apparently no stranger to spooky goings-on.
During the 2010 run of “The Scottsboro Boys,” the actor Colman Domingo told Playbill that “things were happening backstage and onstage with the lights and the computer equipment. We definitely felt we were in the presence of some ghosts.” In 2015, Page Six reported that the ghost of choreographer Bob Fosse was hanging around in the upper balcony.
Now, the theater is being haunted by a new production. Levi Holloway’s “Grey House,” starring Laurie Metcalf and Tatiana Maslany, opens with a couple arriving at a cabin in the woods. It’s a respite from a snowstorm but not as deserted as it seems at first.
The show features costume designs by Rudy Mance, who has a strong horror background, having designed costumes for “American Horror Story” and “The Watcher.” His work for “Grey House” includes four almost ghostly outfits for the strange young girls who inhabit the house…
Rudy, what’s unique about the role of the costume designer when it comes to horror? Is there such a thing as creepy costuming?
I think a lot of it comes down to the storyline and what the subject matter is.. While “American Horror Story” tends to be about gore, “The Watcher” was more about the psychology of the characters. For “Grey House,” the costuming had to be subtle so as not to give away the plot from the first time the curtain came up.
How would you describe your vision for the costumes in “Grey House”? How did Levi Holloway’s script — and your conversations with director Joe Mantello — influence that vision?
Although Levi wrote an incredible, almost otherworldly script, he and I wanted, along with Joe, the costumes in the show to be very much rooted in reality. While the play is set in winter 1977, Joe was very clear that he didn’t want it to be an overly styled or “fashion” 70s look, so I found and researched a lot of winter catalogues from mail order places like JC Penney, Montgomery Ward, and Sears to create a very realistic look.
Tell us about your vision for the four girls and their costumes specifically?
Because of each of the girls’ various backstories, which Levi was very good at explaining in incredible detail, I tried to choose costumes and pieces that were authentic to each of their individual stories, while also being cohesive within the stories and lives of each of the other characters within the house. I wanted, in the first act, for them all to appear within the same place, time, and space, and for the clothes to be almost an afterthought, so when we get to the final act, all is revealed.
Laurie Metcalf and Eamon Patrick O’Connell in ‘Grey House.’
Any costuming details in the show you take particular pleasure in?
All of Laurie Metcalf’s costumes from head to toe. Because of her character’s history and evolution, she was both the hardest and funnest one to figure out in terms of the costumes. Each of her looks were pure collaboration between myself, Laurie, and Joe. And because Laurie, on top of being a brilliant actress, will also try absolutely anything, no matter how ugly, it all worked. Pair that with Joe being such a good communicator and leader, the three of us really got to play around and find the character together. It was incredibly rewarding.