Much ado about attire

Young Chang

Heavy velvet and tights don’t have to go hand in hand with

Shakespearean-speak, as costume designer Walker Hicklin recently proved

on South Coast Repertory’s Mainstage.

Clad in romantic Hollywood attire reminiscent of the thirties --

styles flashing back to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies -- the cast

of “Much Ado About Nothing” engages in witty Shakespearean wordplay while

seeming totally oblivious to the fact that they’re not wearing tights or

pumpkin pants or

Juliet caps or doublets, for that matter.

And the world around them more resembles the lavish parties held at

Gatsby’s place during the Roaring Twenties than it does Shakespeare’s

world.

Director Mark Rucker conceptualized the play, which opened March 2 and

runs through April 1, to set the language of “hath’s” and “I pray you’s”

in an art-deco society.

“I think he felt that by setting it into that romantic, sort of

musical, screwball comedy, Hollywood musical genre, it would fit very

well,” Hicklin said of Rucker’s idea. “We went for a lot of different

types -- the best friend, the good-time girl, the girl next door, the

sweet innocent.”

Hicklin, a Manhattan resident who studied design in England, rummaged

through flea markets and his own boxes of vintage goodies to create the

costumes. He took apart some pieces and put them together exactly as he

wanted it, keeping in mind his goal: men were to look like men, women

were to look like women.

“I think we tried to design clothes that would accentuate both the

male and the female form. It was all about the masculine, feminine

battle,” he said.

Nike Doukas, who stars in the role of Beatrice, has performed in the

play twice before. The first production was set at the turn of the

century, with a somewhat Victorian feel. The second was set in Spain, in

the late 1800s’s.

In her opinion, the feel of the current production works well --

especially because of the heels.

“I feel like the one thing you have to do when you do ‘Much Ado’ is

you have to have heels -- there’s something about the language and

characters,” Doukas said. “I think for this period it really works

because the play is so elegant and so witty.”

She and Hicklin agree on the importance of costumes to a production.

“Can you imagine, a play beginning and the actors just walking on

stage in what they came wearing to the theater?” Hicklin said. “Costumes

can make or break a play.”

Doukas raves that the costume designer understands “Much Ado” -- that

he’s read the work carefully and developed a specific vision for the

scene he wants to create.

“And he really works with you,” she said. “Some periods can be

laughable and all you can think about is how weird they look in the

costumes. But [Hicklin] is able to make everyone look good in the context

without looking silly.”

The costumer describes the “Much Ado” experience as “escapist.”

“I think it’s a great love story that also takes on the gossamer shine

and glimmer of a long bygone time,” Hicklin said.

FYI

WHAT: “Much Ado About Nothing”

WHEN: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2:30

and 7:30 p.m. Sunday through April 1

WHERE: South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

COST: $28-$49

CALL: (714) 708-5555