March 27 – May 17, 2006
Theoni V. Aldredge, Sketch for “Funny Face,” 1975
Theoni V. Aldredge, Sketch for “The Cherry Orchard,” 1972
Theoni V. Aldredge, Sketch for “La Cage aux Folles,” 1983
Theoni V. Aldredge, Sketch for “Merlin,” 1983
Although she is best known for her resplendent costuming for Broadway musicals (Annie, La Cage aux Folles, 42nd Street, Dream Girls, Gypsy), Theoni V. Aldredge has also worked extensively in film, television, ballet, and opera. Particularly notable is her 20-year association with Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival. Winner of an Academy Award, several Tony Awards, and numerous other honors, she is also a member of the Theater Hall of Fame. Ms. Aldredge moves as easily from Las Vegas stage shows to television as she does from Elizabethan period costumes to contemporary street fashion. If her versatility is legendary, so too is her tireless research and her meticulous attention to detail. Her designs are beautifully realized, sometimes including touches only the actor will see.
Ms. Aldredge attended the Goodman School of Drama, which subsequently became The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago, and has generously donated her archive of costume sketches to the University's Special Collections Department. Theater professionals at The Theatre School, one of the nation's leading theater conservatory training programs, drew on those archives and other sources to assemble a retrospective look at Ms. Aldredge's work. The exhibition was documented in a fully illustrated comprehensive catalogue, emphasizing the importance of costume in establishing the look of any theatrical production.
Curators: Janet Messmer, Professor, Costume Technology; Nan Cibula-Jenkins, Professor, Costume Design