Month: October 2015

For the central character of Alexander Hamilton, Tazewell thought, “He needs to look like he is coming from some place else and not completely formed as a man at the beginning. Then he goes into uniform with the American army, and after the war, he shifts into the color green, the color of money, until his son passes away, and then we wears black at the end of the show, as his priorities shift.” In terms of historic accuracy, Tazewell made use of it in a poetic way, using the green color to always pull Hamilton out on stage. “He was known as someone who dressed above his station,” adds the costume designer, who also dressed Hamilton in suits of silk and wool.

Aaron Burr is more conservative, according to Tazewell, “playing it safe and then becoming the antagonist. It was important to keep his look lean and dark, so he goes from uniform to deep charcoal gray to black, with an eggplant vest. This holds Hamilton and Burr in contrast, until the end when they have the same black coat and approach one another as equals, and it becomes an everyman story.”

Thomas Jefferson had the biggest change, color-wise, from The Public to Broadway. “The shape is the same, but we made him more of a rock-star figure, with his costume going from Jeffersonian brown to magenta, like Jimi Hendrix or Prince. His suit is made of silk velvet and silk Duchess satin,” explains Tazewell.

In collaborating with Binkley, Tazewell notes, “There were some color shifts with the sisters’ dresses in moving to Broadway when I knew Howell was going to use more color to help pop their costumes more. For all of us, going to Broadway and looking at the detail of what we had done at The Public, this was a chance to make it more perfect and more specific. I’d say to Howell, ‘Please tell me if there is a color that isn’t correct, and we can shift it.’ I know I can go to him and ask him to adjust something up or down if it affects a costume. We didn’t have that issue here. It’s great to have a shorthand that is so effective.”