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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 23, 2016)
JUNE 23, 2016 // 5 PHOTO BY NANCY MCCARTHY Head pieces worn by the handmaidens in “The Apple Tree” are collected in the sewing room at Judith Light’s house. Light used some of her own wardrobe for costumes in previous plays, as well as in the Coaster Theatre’s summer plays, “Let’s Murder Marsha” and “9 to 5: The Musical.” SUBMITTED PHOTO BY GEORGE VETTER/CANNON-BEACH.NET PHOTO BY NANCY MCCARTHY Working on a tight budget, Coaster Theatre costume designer Judith Light often heads to Goodwill to ind clothes. On a re- cent visit, she found this blazer, worn by actor Jean Rice, who plays Violet Newstead, in “9 to 5: The Musical” at the theater this summer. Continued from Pg. 4 the look (of the play) might be,” Hull recalled. “It was nice to have this teamwork. I could see the light bulbs going on in her head. “It’s set on the whole ‘Dynasty’ thing — dresses that Joan Collins would wear and the hair style of Linda Evans,” said Hull. Collins wore big shoulder pads and Evans favored “big” hair in the television In “Let’s Murder Marsha,” in contrast to her rich boss- es, the maid Bianca, played by Ann Bronson, center, is dressed like Alice from “The Brady Bunch,” a deliberate costume choice. ‘SHE REALLY FOCUSES ON MAKING YOU LOOK GOOD UP THERE.’ soap opera. “I had a very spe- cific thing for Bianca (the maid); I wanted her dressed like Alice from ‘The Brady Bunch.’ Judith went right with it,” Hull said. “It’s a treat to work with her; she’s a pro.” Lisa Fergus, director of the 1970s office romp “9 to 5,” called Light’s costumes “fabulous.” “I just put complete trust in Judith to create the costumes needed to repre- sent the era. She lived in it, I didn’t,” Fergus said. As an actor, Fergus also wore several of Light’s costumes in the leading role of “The Apple Tree,” produced earlier this year. “She really focuses on making you look good up there,” Fergus said. “If you’re uncomfortable or don’t feel right, she makes adjustments.” Light’s small sewing room in her Cannon Beach house is filled with me- mentos from recent plays: hairpieces for the medieval handmaidens in “The Ap- ple Tree,” a beaded collar piece from a gown worn in “The Four Poster” and a rich orange brocade kimo- no Light made for herself “just because I wanted to” that acted as a prop in “Once Upon a Mattress.” She learned to love her craft from her mother, whom she called a “great seamstress.” “She taught me a lot about fabrics and sewing,” she said. Spools of thread in rainbow colors sit next to Light’s sewing machine, which has pieced together costumes for many years. Light has tried sewing “everyday” clothes for herself, “but they never seem to come out the way I want to,” she said. The costumes, Light added, help actors “under- stand the character they’re supposed to play. I’m creating for the character, not for the actors.” When they wear their costumes, “I can see the changes in them,” she said. Cindy Karr, who plays Doralee, the voluptuous Dolly Parton character in “9 to 5,” usually wears work pants while doing her day job at the Coast- er, gathering or making props for the plays, selling tickets in the box office or baking her popular cookies on performance nights. But when she dons the dresses with the plunging necklines that Light has gathered for “9 to 5,” Karr said she feels “so femi- nine.” “The minute I put them on, I feel girlie,” Karr said. Traditional blues band plays The Birk BIRKENFELD — Ventura, California-based band Crooked Eye Tommy will bring its blues and roots music to The Birk at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 26 for a concert. Admission is $8 at the door. The Birk is located at 11139 Oregon Highway 202, about 40 miles east of Astoria and 18 miles south of Clatskanie. Forged in the blood of brothers Tommy and Paddy Marsh, Crooked Eye Tommy casts a spell on the listener with the joy and melancholy of a lifetime of playing music together. Searing guitar work and passionate vocal lines call audiences in. The band is fronted by Tommy Marsh on guitar and vocals. The rest of the band is made up by Tom- my’s brother, Paddy Marsh, on guitar and vocals; Glade Rasmussen on bass; Tony Cicero on drums; and Jim- my Calire on Hammond B3 organ, piano and sax. SUBMITTED PHOTO California-based blues band Crooked Eye Tommy, fronted by Tommy Marsh, will per- form June 26 at The Birk. Crooked Eye Tom- my released the album “Butterflies & Snakes” in August 2015 and went on to win Best Blues Band at the 2015 Ventura County Music Awards. The band has also competed several years in The Blues Founda- tion’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee.
