Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Claassen Plays Legendary Edith Head In UK's 'Conversation' (BroadwayWorld.com)

Claassen Plays Legendary Edith Head In UK's 'Conversation' (BroadwayWorld.com):

Tuesday, July 29, 2008; Posted: 7:00 AM - by BWW News Desk



Arizona-based actress SUSAN CLAASSEN stars on London’s West End as legendary Hollywood designer Edith Head in “A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD”. Anthony Field Associates presents this West End premiere at The Leicester Square Theatre from Tuesday, July 29 through Sunday, August 31, 2008. (Note change of venue – originally scheduled to play at The Arts Club.) The intimate portrait was written by Paddy Calistro and Susan Claassen. The press opening will be on Thursday, July 31 at 8 PM.





“A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD”, based on the book Edith Head’s Hollywood by Edith Head & Paddy Calistro, is a behind-the-scenes feast of great movie legends and delicious stories that provide an insight into Hollywood’s legendary costume designer. In her six decades of costume design, she worked on over eleven hundred films; dressed the greatest stars of Hollywood; received 35 Academy Award® nominations, and won an unprecedented eight Oscars®. Edith Head’s story is as fascinating as the history of the film industry itself, filled with humor, frustration and, above all, glamour. This diva of design helped to define glamour in the most glamorous place in the world - Hollywood!

Edith Head was a Hollywood costume designer for more than 60 years. 44 of those years were spent at Paramount Studios, where she worked with the most famous actors of the time, from Mae West and Clara Bow to Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and Bette Davis. When Paramount failed to renew her contract in 1967, Alfred Hitchcock stepped in and Ms. Head was invited to join Universal Studios. At Universal she costumed Robert Redford and Paul Newman in “The Sting” and won the first-ever Oscar® for a film without a female lead. Her eight Academy Award® celebrated her artistry in “The Heiress” (her first Oscar®), “Samson & Delilah”, “All About Eve”, “A Place in the Sun”, “Roman Holiday”, “Sabrina”, “The Facts of Life” and “The Sting”. Edith Head died in October 1981, still under contract to Universal Studios, having just completed working on the Steve Martin film, “Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid”.

Susan Claassen was inspired to write and star in “A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD” while watching a TV biography of Ms. Head. The petite, dark-haired actress immediately imagined herself playing Edith Head, “…a perfect fit,” as Claassen describes it. “Not only do I bear a striking resemblance to Edith, but we share the same love for clothes and fashion. Edith did what no woman did in the history of film. She survived the boy’s club world of Hollywood to enjoy a 60-year career, during which she worked on a staggering 1,131 films, earned 35 Oscar nominations and won eight. She stitched Dorothy Lamour into her sarong; put Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in kilts in “The Road to Bali”; created Bette Davis’ glamorous Margo Channing; made teenage girls swoon over Elizabeth Taylor’s white ballgown in “A Place in the Sun”; dressed Ingrid Bergman in “Notorious”, Grace Kelly in “To Catch A Thief”, Kim Novak in “Vertigo”, Gloria Swanson in “Sunset Boulevard” and Sean Connery in “The Man Who Would Be King”. There are many myths about her but she was a discreet, tenacious personality. She knew whose hips needed clever disguising and made sure those legendary stars always looked the part. Our show gives the inside scoop on Edith and the Golden Age of Hollywood.”

“A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD” premiered at the Invisible Theatre in Tucson, Arizona in January, 2002 and was subsequently presented in Chicago; Key West, FLA; at the American Film Institute in Silver Spring, MD; Hartford; San Francisco; Nantucket, and Scottsdale, as well as in Tbilisi in the Republic of Georgia and a ‘sold out’ engagement at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Out of the 2,000 shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival only 200 were officially designated ‘Sold Out’ engagements.) Up-coming performances of “A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD” include an engagement on March 5-8, 2009 at The Invisible Theatre in Tucson, Arizona. www.invisibletheatre.com

As an actress, some of Susan’s most memorable roles have been Bella in “LOST IN YONKERS” Alice B. Toklas in “GERTRUDE STEIN AND A COMPANION” Hannah in “CROSSING DELANCEY”, Shirley in “SHIRLEY VALENTINE” and Trudy in “THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE”. In addition to her work with the Invisible Theatre she has been a consultant and director for the Waterfront Playhouse and The Red Barn Theatre in Key West, Florida, and directed Steve Ross in “I WON’T DANCE” at New York’s famed Rainbow and Stars Cabaret and St. Paul's prestigious Ordway Theatre. As Managing Artistic Director of The Invisible Theatre in Tucson, Arizona, Susan has produced more than 335 productions and directed more than 50. She is the recipient of the 1985 Governor’s Award for Women Who Create; the 1993 Humanitarian Torch Award for her efforts on behalf of people living with AIDS, and a 1996 Distinguished Service Award from the State Federation for Exceptional Children for her commitment to arts education for special populations. Susan was the 1999 City of Hope “Spirit of Life” recipient (as was Edith Head in 1976), and performs as a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. She was recently selected as one of Tucson Lifestyle’s 10 Most Admired Women and will be honored by The Jewish Federation in 2009 as one of Tucson’s 13 most remarkable women.

Much of the dialogue in “A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD” comes directly from the famed designer. When she was asked to write the authorized posthumous autobiography, Edith Head’s Hollywood, Paddy Calistro acquired more than 13 hours of recollections recorded by Edith Head – including her own snippy “Edithisms” as Ms. Head referred to her own sayings, such as: "I hate modesty, don't you?" and "Good clothes are not a matter of good luck." The show also features insights from Hollywood insiders who knew Ms. Head best: costume designer Bob Mackie, who once worked as Ms. Head's sketch artist; her dear friend Edie Wasserman, wife of the late Universal Studio head Lew Wasserman, and Art Linkletter, award-winning host of TV’s “House Party”, who brought Edith Head into the homes of America. Edith would stroll through the studio audience with Linkletter, offering brutally critical fashion, diet and grooming advice - all this half a century before the current mania for on-screen makeovers. "Go on a diet!" she would instruct an overweight woman, while instantly making her look ten pounds slimmer by pulling her shirt out of her trousers, whipping a belt around her middle and swapping her cheap gold jewelry for her own signature pearls. Young fans of Pixar’s “The Incredibles” will recognized the superhero outfitter Edna Mode as an affectionate tribute to the legendary Hollywood costume designer.

“A CONVERSATIONWITH EDITH HEAD” is produced by Anthony Field Associates through special arrangement with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Motion Picture & Television Fund.

Co-author Paddy Calistro is one of the leading authorities on the life and work of Edith Head and is the co-author of Edith Head's posthumous autobiography, Edith Head’s Hollywood. She was selected as Ms. Head’s official biographer based on her experience as a fashion journalist. A former fashion and beauty writer for the Los Angeles Times, Paddy wrote the weekly “Looks” column in the LA Times Magazine for four years. She was the West Coast reporter for Allure and has written for Glamour, Mademoiselle, House Beautiful, Elle, Four Seasons Magazine, Fitness and Los Angeles Magazine. For more than a decade Paddy was the lead interior design writer for LA Magazine, and was also the editor of American Style, a bilingual fashion magazine sold in Mexico and South America. The co-founder of Angel City Press, an independent book publishing company based in Santa Monica, she currently serves as its Publisher and Editor-in-chief.

For additional information about “A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD” go to www.edithhead.biz.

Monday, July 28, 2008

GAYDARNATION -Conversation With Edith Head: Susan Claassen 28 Jul 2008






A Conversation With Edith Head is a glorious behind the scenes feast of great movie legends and delicious stories that provide an insight into Hollywood’s legendary costume designer. In her six decades of costume design, she worked on 1,131 motion pictures, dressed the greatest stars of Hollywood, received 35 Academy Award nominations and won an unprecedented eight Oscars - a record that will never be broken.

Edith Head’s story is as fascinating as the history of the film industry itself. It’s a story filled with humour, frustration and above all glamour - this diva of design helped to define glamour in the most glamorous place in the world - Hollywood!

We caught up with the writer and star of A Conversation With Edith Head to find out more.

Tell us a little bit about A Conversation with Edith Head. What can we expect?
The minute you approach the brand new Leicester Square Studio Theatre with its very own red carpet, you will be swept away into the golden age of Hollywood. The Studio Theatre is being transformed into Miss Head's Salon through vintage photographs, costumes and one-of-a-kind original sketches.

What’s so enthralling about her story?
Edith's story is as fascinating as the history of the film industry itself, filled with humor, frustration and, above all, glamour. This diva of design helped to define glamour in the most glamorous place in the world - Hollywood! Remember, Edith Head did Hollywood Red Carpet commentary while Joan Rivers was still in college.

Edith Head may not be a household name these days, but in her prime she was one of the most colourful characters in Hollywood. She was dishing out caustic fashion advice years before Trinny and Susannah made careers out of it, and was confidante to the stars long before Celebrity Sleuth broadcast their measurements.

As Lucille Ball said, Edith knew the figure faults of every top star. And she never told - Edith always knew how to keep a secret."

Well, in this cozy conversation some secrets might be revealed and fashion tips freely given. As Miss Head says, "If Cinderella had had Edith Head, she would not have needed a Fairy godmother!"

What was it that first inspired you to write the piece?
I first got the idea seven years ago when I was watching a television biography. I contacted Edith's estate and they granted me permission to pursue this project. I madly read anything I could find and when I came upon Paddy Calistro's book, Edith Head's Hollywood, I decided to attempt to locate its author. I called telephone information for Santa Monica, where I thought Paddy lived, and voila, she was listed. I placed the phone call and it was kismet.

At our first meeting in Los Angeles we knew the connection was right and we agreed to collaborate. Paddy had not only written the book but had inherited 13 hours of taped interviews with Edith Head - it was truly a gift from heaven. We can honestly say that A Conversation with Edith is based upon the words and thoughts of Edith Head - the ''Edith-isms'.

"I make people into what they are not - ten years older or younger, fatter or thinner, more handsome or more ridiculous, glamorous or sexy or horrible. The camera never lies, after all, so my work is really an exercise in camouflage."

You've got a striking resemblance to Edith. Was the plan always to star in the show as well?
I literally did a double take when I watched that TV biography. My physical resemblance to Edith seemed uncanny! And what's even more bizarre, we are the same height and both born 50 years apart in October! The more I watched, the more I knew there was a great story to be told.

Having done extensive research, what was it about Edith that made her so successful?
Edith was an executive woman before there was such a thing! It was a boy's club when she started - 1923. Women in the Unites Stated had just recently got ten the vote, if you can imagine. It has been said that Edith had the instincts of a pastry chef and the authority of a factory foreman.

She herself said, "I knew I was not a creative design genius... I am a better diplomat than I am a designer...I was never going to be the world's greatest costume designer, but there was no reason I could not be the smartest and most celebrated."

She knew how to play the game better than anyone. Her concern really was to change actors into characters. Edith said, "I make people into what they are not - ten years older or younger, fatter or thinner, more handsome or more ridiculous, glamorous or sexy or horrible. The camera never lies, after all, so my work is really an exercise in camouflage."

Do you have a moment in the show that particularly touches you?
We set the play in 1981 during the making of her last film, Carl Reiner's Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid starring Steve Martin. She died two weeks after the wrap of the film and the film is dedicated to her. Throughout the play we see glimpses of a woman who has outlived all her contemporaries and is wrestling with a lifetime of memories and regrets.

Is there a real difference between costume design and high fashion?
High fashion is of the moment and the best of costume design is timeless. You must remember that costumes were often completed a couple of years before the release of the film.

A perfect example are Elizabeth Taylor's gowns in the 1951 A Place in the Sun . The film was shot in 1949 and released in 1951.The silhouette was the most important aspect of any of the ensembles, therefore the costumes in the Academy Award winning film could be worn to any society event today. The woman wearing it would evoke an era classic couture and look as dramatic as Liz did when she danced with the dreamy Monty Clift!

Edith had the ability to shape each gown to a character or image. This is what made her as popular with film directors as with the glamour girls she dressed in both their private lives and screen roles.

"We act as though we believe that the more we have on the more important we are - if one pin is smart, two pins would be smarter and six would be divine."

Do you share Edith's passion for clothes and fashion?
Absolutely. Edith often quoted Mae West when she said, "Find a magic that does something for you honey and stick with it." I think that defines my sense of fashion. While in Edinburgh last summer, the Sunday Herald did a style piece that captured that philosophy.

Where do you stand on accessories – can girl ever have too many accessories?
They are called accessories, not excessories! Edith said, "We act as though we believe that the more we have on the more important we are - if one pin is smart, two pins would be smarter and six would be divine."

So what's been your most extravagant purchase?
I actually purchased some original Edith Head sketches and costumes at auction which will be on display. I am avid eBayer when it comes to Edith Head memorabilia. Personally, I love to travel and have been know to be extravagant when purchasing a bottle of Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame. Champagne is my drink of choice, Edith's was Jack Daniels! Rather than a Grande Dame, Miss Head was a great dame!

Will you be wearing any of Edith's creations in the show?
I won't be wearing any of Edith's creations in the show as when she was at work she wore simple clothes never to upstage the stars she was dressing! You will, however, get to see some original Edith Head costumes as well as some iconic recreations. Did you know Miss Head designed the uniform for Pan Am and the flight attendant in Boeing Boeing is an homage to that design!

Do you have particular favourite costume of hers?
That would be like picking a favorite child! I have to admit I do love the costumes from To Catch a Thief - she had an extravagant budget and a gorgeous star, Grace Kelly - who could ask for anything more.

What's your favourite item of clothing?
I would like to think that the outfit I am wearing at any given time is my favorite.

Style has moved on from Edith's day, do you think she'd approved of the more casual approach to fashion we now have?
Edith always said, "You can be anything you want, as long as you dress for it! Good clothes are not a matter of good luck. I say sacrifice style any day for becomingness, for a look that suits your age and your chassis!"

Have you ever had a Hollywood diva moment?
I'd have to say the night my amazing London producers, Tony Field and John C. Causebrook came to see my performance in Edinburgh last summer. It was one of those magical nights in the theatre when all the ‘stars’ are aligned. Their reputation preceded them and when they introduced themselves after the show said they wanted to produce its West End premiere - it was definitely a ‘Hollywood’ moment!

Why do you think A Conversation with Edith Head is going to appeal to a gay audience?
Because Edith Head represents style, class and lots of sass! Oh, and did I mention Bette Davis?

"You can be anything you want, as long as you dress for it! Good clothes are not a matter of good luck. I say sacrifice style any day for becomingness, for a look that suits your age and your chassis!"

If you were going to be a lesbian for just one weekend, who would you want to go out on a date with?
My partner of 22 years!

What do you want audiences to take with them after having seen A Conversation with Edith Head?
The audience response has been amazing. From Tbilisi to Edinburgh to Chicago audiences have been touched by Edith's story. What they take with them after having seen the performance is truly dependent on what they bring to it.

Film buffs get immersed in hearing stories from someone who has lived through the evolution of contemporary film, older audiences remember always seeing the closing credits, ‘Gowns by Edith Head’, it evokes a bygone era and younger audiences think of the Pixar animated film The Incredibles and Edna Mode, designer to the superheroes.

The universal response is summed up by a note I received from a fan, "My friend saw the show on Saturday and adored it. He said the same as me, i.e. if someone mentions Edith Head to me now, my first reaction will be to say "Oh yes, I met her once and it was unforgetable!"

What are you most looking forward to about performing in London?
The wonderfully brilliant and stylish audiences!

And finally, what's next for you?
I am managing artistic director of the Invisible Theatre in Tucson, Arizona. We will kick-off our 38th anniversary season 17 September with the premiere of Dixie Longate in Dixies’s Tupperware Party prior to its national US tour. Audiences will see for themselves how Ms. Dixie became the #1 Tupperware seller in the world - she instructs her guests on the many alternative uses she has discovered for her plastic products!

Find out more at www.edithhead.biz.

A Conversation?With?Edith?Head, by Susan Claassen
Studio Space at the Leicester Square?Theatre (formerly The Venue)
5 Leicester Place
London, WC2
0844 847 2475 / www.ticketweb.com

29 July-31 August 2008

Want more? Then get Edith Head, by David Chierichetti online and save some money to put towards the book that inspired A Conversation With Edith Head, Edith Head's Hollywood, by Paddy Calistro.
Author: Stephen Beeny
Read more by this author

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Playbill


London's Arts Theatre, most recently home to the short-lived U.K. run of Jay Johnson's The Two and Only, has closed down pending a redevelopment of the entire site, which is expected to include provision for a new theatre space.

This development has meant that the next scheduled production at the Arts, A Conversation with Edith Head, is switching venues and will launch the new downstairs Studio Space at the re-launched Leicester Square Theatre (formerly The Venue). The play, based on the life of the legendary Hollywood costume designer who worked on 1,131 motion pictures in a career spanning six decades (which saw her winning eight Oscars out of 35 she was nominated for), will begin performances there on July 29, prior to an official opening on July 31, for a run to Aug. 31.

The play is co-written by Paddy Calistro and Susan Claassen, who plays the title role. Calistro and Head co-authored the book, "Edith Head's Hollywood," which is the source material for the play.

According to press materials, Head's story "is as fascinating as the history of the film industry itself. It's a story filled with humour, frustration and above all glamour. This diva of design helped to define glamour in the most glamorous place in the world - Hollywood!" Head spent 44 years of her six-decade career at Paramount Studios, where she worked with the most famous actors of the time, from Mae West and Clara Bow to Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and Bette Davis. When Paramount failed to renew her contract in 1967, Alfred Hitchcock stepped in and Ms. Head was invited to join Universal Studios. At Universal she costumed Robert Redford and Paul Newman in "The Sting," for which she won her eighth Oscar – previous wins included her work on "The Heiress," "Samson & Delilah," "All About Eve," "A Place in the Sun," "Roman Holiday," "Sabrina" and "The Facts of Life." She died in October 1981, still under contract to Universal Studios, having just completed working on the Steve Martin film, "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid."

Claassen was inspired to co-write and star in A Conversation with Edith Head while watching a TV biography of Ms. Head. As she says in press materials, "Not only do I bear a striking resemblance to Edith, but we share the same love for clothes and fashion." Much of the dialogue in A Conversation with Edith Head comes directly from the designer. When asked to write the authorized posthumous autobiography, "Edith Head's Hollywood," Paddy Calistro acquired more than 13 hours of recollections recorded by Edith Head - "Edithisms" as Ms. Head referred to her own sayings. There are also contributions from costume designer Bob Mackie, who once worked as Ms. Head's sketch artist; her dear friend Edie Wasserman, wife of the late Universal Studio head Lew Wasserman; and Art Linkletter, award-winning host of "House Party," the daytime U.S. TV show of the 1950s that brought Edith Head into the homes of America.

Claassen is celebrating her 34th anniversary with the Invisible Theatre of Tucson, Arizona, as managing artistic director, and has produced more than 335 productions and directed more than 50. As an actress, her most memorable roles have been Bella in Lost in Yonkers, Alice B. Toklas in Gertrude Stein and a Companion, Hannah in Crossing Delancey, the title role in Shirley Valentine and Trudy in The Search For Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. She is the recipient of the 1985 Governor's Award for Women Who Create, the 1993 Humanitarian Torch Award for her efforts on behalf of people living with AIDS and a 1996 Distinguished Service Award from the State Federation for Exceptional Children for her commitment to arts education for special populations. Claassen was the 1999 City of Hope "Spirit of Life" recipient, and performs as a clown in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. She was recently selected as one of Tucson Lifestyle's 10 Most Admired Women.

For tickets contact the box office at 0844 847 2475 or visit www.ticketweb.com.
London's Arts Theatre, most recently home to the short-lived U.K. run of Jay Johnson's The Two and Only, has closed down pending a redevelopment of the entire site, which is expected to include provision for a new theatre space.

This development has meant that the next scheduled production at the Arts, A Conversation with Edith Head, is switching venues and will launch the new downstairs Studio Space at the re-launched Leicester Square Theatre (formerly The Venue). The play, based on the life of the legendary Hollywood costume designer who worked on 1,131 motion pictures in a career spanning six decades (which saw her winning eight Oscars out of 35 she was nominated for), will begin performances there on July 29, prior to an official opening on July 31, for a run to Aug. 31.

The play is co-written by Paddy Calistro and Susan Claassen, who plays the title role. Calistro and Head co-authored the book, "Edith Head's Hollywood," which is the source material for the play.

According to press materials, Head's story "is as fascinating as the history of the film industry itself. It's a story filled with humour, frustration and above all glamour. This diva of design helped to define glamour in the most glamorous place in the world - Hollywood!" Head spent 44 years of her six-decade career at Paramount Studios, where she worked with the most famous actors of the time, from Mae West and Clara Bow to Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and Bette Davis. When Paramount failed to renew her contract in 1967, Alfred Hitchcock stepped in and Ms. Head was invited to join Universal Studios. At Universal she costumed Robert Redford and Paul Newman in "The Sting," for which she won her eighth Oscar – previous wins included her work on "The Heiress," "Samson & Delilah," "All About Eve," "A Place in the Sun," "Roman Holiday," "Sabrina" and "The Facts of Life." She died in October 1981, still under contract to Universal Studios, having just completed working on the Steve Martin film, "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid."

Claassen was inspired to co-write and star in A Conversation with Edith Head while watching a TV biography of Ms. Head. As she says in press materials, "Not only do I bear a striking resemblance to Edith, but we share the same love for clothes and fashion." Much of the dialogue in A Conversation with Edith Head comes directly from the designer. When asked to write the authorized posthumous autobiography, "Edith Head's Hollywood," Paddy Calistro acquired more than 13 hours of recollections recorded by Edith Head - "Edithisms" as Ms. Head referred to her own sayings. There are also contributions from costume designer Bob Mackie, who once worked as Ms. Head's sketch artist; her dear friend Edie Wasserman, wife of the late Universal Studio head Lew Wasserman; and Art Linkletter, award-winning host of "House Party," the daytime U.S. TV show of the 1950s that brought Edith Head into the homes of America.

Claassen is celebrating her 34th anniversary with the Invisible Theatre of Tucson, Arizona, as managing artistic director, and has produced more than 335 productions and directed more than 50. As an actress, her most memorable roles have been Bella in Lost in Yonkers, Alice B. Toklas in Gertrude Stein and a Companion, Hannah in Crossing Delancey, the title role in Shirley Valentine and Trudy in The Search For Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. She is the recipient of the 1985 Governor's Award for Women Who Create, the 1993 Humanitarian Torch Award for her efforts on behalf of people living with AIDS and a 1996 Distinguished Service Award from the State Federation for Exceptional Children for her commitment to arts education for special populations. Claassen was the 1999 City of Hope "Spirit of Life" recipient, and performs as a clown in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. She was recently selected as one of Tucson Lifestyle's 10 Most Admired Women.

For tickets contact the box office at 0844 847 2475 or visit www.ticketweb.com.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Five Reasons to See … A Conversation With Edith Head

July 24, 2008

A Conversation With Edith HeadSusan Claassen stars as the legendary Hollywood designer Edith Head - winner of eight Oscars - in A Conversation With Edith Head, in the Studio at the Leicester Square Theatre, (formerly The Venue), 5 Leicester Place, London WC2, from 29 July - 31 August.

1. You will be swept away into the Golden Age of Hollywood

The Studio Theatre at the new Leicester Square Theatre is being transformed into “Miss Head’s Salon” where she dressed (or undressed) the glamorous stars of the silver screen from Mae West to Grace Kelly to Robert Redford. I think of the performance as an intimate portrait, a feast of great movie legends, delicious stories and a whisper of gossip. Edith Head may not be a household name these days, but in her prime she was one of the most colourful characters in Hollywood. She was dishing out caustic fashion advice years before Trinny and Susannah made careers out of it. In her six decades of costume design, she worked on over eleven hundred films; received 35 Academy Award nominations, and won an unprecedented eight Oscars. This is a record that will never be broken.

2. You’ll get to be up close and personal with some of Edith Head’s Hollywood gowns and her one-of-a-kind original sketches

I actually purchased some original Edith Head sketches and costumes at auction which will be on display. I’m an avid ebayer when it comes to Edith Head memorabilia. I won’t be wearing any of Edith’s creations in the show as when she was at work she wore simple clothes never to upstage the stars she was dressing! You will, however, get to see some original Edith Head costumes as well as some iconic recreations. Did you know Miss Head designed the uniform for Pan Am and the flight attendant in Boeing Boeing is an homage to that design!

3. If you’re stylishly dressed then you’ll be awarded an Edith Head Gold Star - they are very rare and sought after and were the hit of last year’s Edinburgh Fringe

I come out among the audience and have been known to comment … Remember, Edith Head did “Hollywood Red Carpet” commentary while Joan Rivers was still in college. … I can’t wait to see the brilliantly stylish London audiences

4. You’ll fall in love with this wonderful woman…just like the biggest stars in Hollywood

“Edith Head was like my surrogate mother. I think she loved me and I truly loved her”
Elizabeth Taylor

“When I finally got ‘dressed’ by Edith Head, that’s when I knew I was really a star”
Robert Redford
“What Edith Head did for us all, with clothes is inestimable-she was in a class by herself”
Natalie Wood
“Edith knew the figure faults of every top star. And she never told - Edith always knew how to keep a secret”
Lucille Ball
“When that little thing walks into a room, you know she’s there”
Joan Crawford

5. You’ll believe you’ve really met Edith Head

It is such a privilege to keep this amazing woman’s legacy alive. From Tbilisi to Edinburgh 2007 (where we were so fortunate to be one of only 200 official “Sell-Out” Shows) to Chicago audiences have been touched by Edith’s story. What they take with them after having seen the performance is truly dependent on what they bring to it. Film buffs get immersed in hearing stories from someone who has lived through the evolution of contemporary film, older audiences remember always seeing the closing credits, “Gowns by Edith Head” and it evokes a bygone era and younger audiences think of the Pixar animated film “The Incredibles” and Edna Mode, designer to the super heroes. The universal response is summed up by a note I received from a fan, “My friend saw the show on Saturday and adored it. He said the same as me, that if someone mentions Edith Head to me now, my first reaction will be to say ‘Oh yes, I met her once and it was unforgettable!”

For more info & tickets visit www.ticketweb.com or call 0844 847 2475

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