Speaking of costumes

A PS on the whole costume thing:

Eileen (our director) says that anyone sitting towards the back of the large seating area will find the top of Act II more interesting than the dialogue would indicate. I'm considering investing in some toupee tape to keep my jammie top up close and personal.

Which reminds me of a story that I've told most - but not all - of the free world. Several years ago, a bunch of us did a production of Iolanthe with the Washington Savoyards. The women were fairies and our costumes were basically tights and bustiers with long, diaphanous petals. They were very pretty and we looked very pretty in them, if I say so myself, but they were very low cut and, well, they boosted our yeas quite nicely. I e-mailed Les and suggested that if he was going to see the show, he should sit in the balcony for the best view. The music director's wife attended the final dress rehearsal and had a teeny-tiny conniption fit, stating that we were not going to parade around like that. Kate, our director, saw her point and went out the next day to acquire "modesty panels" for us - swatches of fabric to obscure what the costumes were emphasizing. She got us each a swatch of a pretty gold mesh that went nicely with the costumes, but under the stage lights merely behaved like highlighter. So as we fluttered about, tripping hither and thither, our costumes seem to be saying "And, by the way, you have noticed our breasts, haven't you? Because here they are!"

The show sold pretty well, as I remember, and we got a nice review.