SUSAN CLAASSEN CONTINUES HER US TOUR IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA WITH PERFORMANCES, MASTER CLASSES AND FUNDRAISERS

FROM: SUSAN L. SCHULMAN/Publicity (212) 921-4344

susan@schulmanpublicity.com www.schulmanpublicity.com

SUSAN CLAASSEN CONTINUES HER US TOUR IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA WITH PERFORMANCES, MASTER CLASSES AND FUNDRAISERS

by

Paddy Calistro and Susan Claassen

Fall 2009 tour follows sold-out engagements in Southern California

SUSAN CLAASSEN, who stars as legendary Hollywood designer Edith Head in “A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD”, will be appearing in Texas and Oklahoma in October. Her US tour also included appearances in Tucson at the Invisible Theatre, at Arizona’s Tubac Center of the Arts, at the 35^th Annual Symposium of the Costume Society of America in Tempe and Phoenix, AZ and most recently, San Diego and Coronado, where she, once again, received rave reviews.

Ms. Claassen will appear as part of Austin Cabaret Theatre’s 2009/2010 Season, conduct master classes for University of Texas theatre students and give two public performances on October 17th and 18th. In addition, Ms. Claassen will be featured in a performance and dinner at Price Tower Art Gallery in Bartlesville, Oklahoma on October 30th. The Price Tower is the only high rise Frank lloyd Wright ever designed and the gallery will host an Edith Head retrospective January 22 - May 16, 2010.

AUSTIN CABARET THEATRE

at The Lab Theatre University of Texas campus, 23rd St & San Jacinto Austin, Texas

Sat. October 17, 2009 8:00 pm and Sun. October 18, 2009 2:00 pm Tickets: $24

Order by phone Stuart Moulton 512-453-ACTS (2287) http://www.austincabaret.org/

PRICE TOWER ART CENTER GALA FUNDRAISING DINNER

510 Dewey Avenue Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Fri. October 30, 2009 6:00 pm Tickets: $75

Order by phone Patti Grissom 918-336-4949 X100 http://pricetower.org/

( in conjunction with their Edith Head Retrospective opening January 22, 2010)

“A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD”, based on EDITH HEAD’S HOLLYWOOD by Edith Head &

Paddy Calistro, is a feast of delicious behind-the-scenes stories about Hollywood’s greatest stars that provide an intimate portrait of Hollywood’s legendary costume designer. In her six decades of costume design, Edith Head 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 Awards® 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 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. Susan Claassen said: “Not only do I bear a striking resemblance to Edith, but we share the same love for clothes and fashion. Edith survived the boy’s club of Hollywood to enjoy a 60-year career, during which she worked on 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 ball gown 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, CT; San Francisco, CA; Nantucket, MA, San Diego, CA , Houston, TX and Scottsdale ,AZ, as well as in Tbilisi in the Republic of Georgia , London’s West End and a ‘sold out’ engagement at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. (Out of the 2,000 shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe only 200 were officially designated ‘Sold Out’ engagements.)

Susan Claassen: 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 350 productions and directed more than 50. She is the recipient of 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’s “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 was honored by The Jewish Federation in 2009 as one of Tucson’s 13 extraordinary women. She is featured in the book HOW TO BE A WORKING ACTOR by Mari Henry & Lynne Rogers . Susan is a member of the League of Professional Theatre Women, Costume Society of America and has been a member of Actors’ Equity Association since 1969.

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.

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. The 25th anniversary edition of EDITH HEAD’S HOLLYWOOD has recently been reissued and will be available for purchase at all performances of “A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD”.

“There’s nothing like a row of Oscars® for putting the fear of God into an actress who

thinks she knows everything about dress designing.”

-Edith Head

THE HEIRESS, 1949

SAMSON AND DELILAH, 1950

ALL ABOUT EVE, 1950

A PLACE IN THE SUN, 1951

ROMAN HOLIDAY, 1953

SABRINA, 1954

THE FACTS OF LIFE, 1960

THE STING, 1973

For additional information and photos about “A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD”

www.edithhead.biz.

Susan Claassen in 'A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD' continues tour in Texas & Oklahoma Printer-Friendly (BroadwayWorld.com)

Susan Claassen in 'A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD' continues tour in Texas & Oklahoma

Susan Claassen in 'A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD' continues tour in Texas & Oklahoma

by BWW News Desk

SUSAN CLAASSEN, who stars as legendary Hollywood designer Edith Head in 'A CONVERSATION WITH Edith Head', will be appearing in Texas and Oklahoma in October. Her US tour also included appearances in Tucson at the Invisible Theatre, at Arizona's Tubac Center of the Arts, at the 35th Annual Symposium of the Costume Society of America in Tempe and Phoenix, AZ and most recently, San Diego and Coronado, where she, once again, received rave reviews.

Ms. Claassen will appear as part of Austin Cabaret Theatre's 2009/2010 Season, conduct master classes for University of Texas theatre students and give two public performances on October 17th and 18th. In addition, Ms. Claassen will be featured in a performance and dinner at PrIce Tower Art Gallery in Bartlesville, Oklahoma on October 30th. The PrIce Tower is the only high rise Frank Lloyd Wright ever designed and the gallery will host an Edith Head retrospective January 22 - May 16, 2010.

AUSTIN CABARET THEATRE
at The Lab Theatre University of Texas campus, 23rd St & San Jacinto Austin, Texas
Sat. October 17, 2009 8:00 pm and Sun. October 18, 2009 2:00 pm Tickets: $24
Order by phone Stuart Moulton 512-453-ACTS (2287) http://www.austincabaret.org/

PRIce TOWER ART CENTER GALA FUNDRAISING DINNER
510 Dewey Avenue Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Fri. October 30, 2009 6:00 pm Tickets: $75
Order by phone Patti Grissom 918-336-4949 X100 http://pricetower.org/
( in conjunction with their Edith Head Retrospective opening January 22, 2010)

'A CONVERSATION WITH Edith Head', based on Edith Head'S HOLLYWOOD by Edith Head &
Paddy Calistro, is a feast of delicious behind-the-scenes stories about Hollywood's greatest stars that provide an intimate portrait of Hollywood's legendary costume designer. In her six decades of costume design, Edith Head 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 Awards® 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 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. Susan Claassen said: 'Not only do I bear a striking resemblance to Edith, but we share the same love for clothes and fashion. Edith survived the boy's club of Hollywood to enjoy a 60-year career, during which she worked on 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 ball gown 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, CT; San Francisco, CA; Nantucket, MA, San Diego, CA , Houston, TX and Scottsdale ,AZ, as well as in Tbilisi in the Republic of Georgia , London's West End and a ‘sold out' engagement at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. (Out of the 2,000 shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe only 200 were officially designated ‘Sold Out' engagements.)

Susan Claassen: 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 350 productions and directed more than 50. She is the recipient of 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's '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 was honored by The Jewish Federation in 2009 as one of Tucson's 13 extraordinary women. She is featured in the book HOW TO BE A WORKING ACTOR by Mari Henry & Lynne Rogers . Susan is a member of the League of Professional Theatre Women, Costume Society of America and has been a member of Actors' Equity Association since 1969.

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.

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. The 25th anniversary edition of Edith Head'S HOLLYWOOD has recently been reissued and will be available for purchase at all performances of 'A CONVERSATION WITH Edith Head'.

'There's nothing like a row of Oscars® for putting the fear of God into an actress who
thinks she knows everything about dress designing.'
-Edith Head

THE HEIRESS, 1949
SAMSON AND DELILAH, 1950
ALL ABOUT EVE, 1950
A PLACE IN THE SUN, 1951
ROMAN HOLIDAY, 1953
SABRINA, 1954
THE FACTS OF LIFE, 1960
THE STING, 1973

For additional information and photos about 'A CONVERSATION WITH Edith Head'
www.edithhead.biz

Review by Rob Appel, SCTheatre.com

Rob_Appel_135

In an all-too limited engagement, the stage of the North Coast Repertory Theatre was the setting of a room (in 1982), filled with autographed photos of some of famed designer EDITH HEAD’s famous stars…whom she had dressed…or, more accurately ‘camouflaged’. In this CONVERSATIONS with EDITH HEAD, from the moment EDITH HEAD stumbles in late, from a movie set, to begin her ‘conversations’ , the house is electrified by this magical character, with bangs, bun, horn-rimmed glasses, and immaculately tailored clothes.

The understated green suit that Tippi Hedren wore in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, was a form-fitting design that clung to her curves while managing to look businesslike. The skirt went to the knee; the waist was belted and the collar plain. Accentuated with high-heel pumps and Hedren's blond French twist, it was a look that mirrored the film's tension, by emphasizing the dichotomy between her character's fragile vulnerability and sexual confidence. We remember Hedren's character more clearly than the suit, due, in large part, to costume designer EDITH HEAD. Her great talent was making clothes that served a supporting role, one that added dimension and flavor to a role. (Courtesy SIGNONSANDIEGO)

IEDITH HEAD is portrayed by actress Susan Claassen – who comes off more ‘Head’ than Edith herself. The EDITH HEAD reminiscences are delightful … her good friend Barbara Stanwyck, was long-waisted, and minus a ‘derriere’ … so, HEAD demonstrates on a mannequin, how she remedied this flaw with a wide sash, tied with tails on the backside…to ‘plump’ things out. HEAD continues on with another actress friend and icon … Bette Davis, whom she obviously adored. She said that both Davis and her, were always ‘busy women’ … and, when they started their work, they didn’t waste time discussing the weather or minutia ... they just got down to what suited them both ... BUSINESS!

In one sense, she was the “master of self promotion” … and, in another, she’s “the woman who isn’t there”. It’s this diversity of character, aptly portrayed by Susan Claassen, that makes A Conversation With Edith Head such lovely watching.

Susan Claassen as ... EDITH HEAD

EDITH HEAD, arguably the greatest ever costume designer to the stars, has come to the North Coast Repertory Theatre in the shape of Susan Claassen. In EDITH HEAD’s time, this petite power-force, won eight Oscars, had a 58-year-long career and dressed all the greats, from Mae West to Grace Kelly.

It was supposedly after watching a TV biography of Ms. HEAD, Susan Claassen knew she could play her, and promptly joined forces with Paddy Calistro, co-author of HEAD’s posthumous autobiography, to write this script. Set in 1981, while working on Steve Martin’s Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, you are welcomed into HEAD’s world. Even if you know nothing about her, you can just tell from Claassen’s high quality of acting, she is capturing HEAD’s essence with her every crafted move. She actually becomes her, a feat also helped by her striking resemblance to the designer. The loving way Susan Claassen handles clothes, her biting wit, and even her exaggerations of success, seems uncanny, adding to the charm.

It is, however, a show with limited appeal. You either need to know about EDITH HEAD, or really want to know about her. The co-authors do assume a certain audience, so, if you fit the bill, you’re in for a great evening of old school glamour and wonderful recollections. (Courtesy Emma Barnett)

Announcing a commemorative postal stamp honoring EDITH HEAD which was issued on Feb. 25^th,2003, an audience member asked about ‘her private life’. To which, actress Susan Claassen promptly answers … it was just that … PRIVATE! Let’s hope that CONVERSATIONS with EDITH HEAD will have a
Robert Hampton with Susan Claassen return engagement at the North Coast Repertory Theatre.

******

Thank you San Diego!

Susan Claassen To Appear As Edith Head In A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD Beginning 6/19

Susan Claassen To Appear As Edith Head In A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD Beginning 6/19

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Susan Claassen, who stars as legendary Hollywood designer Edith Head in “A Conversation With Edith Head” will be appearing in California in June. Following her engagement in London last summer, Ms. Claassen began her US tour by opening the 16th season at Houston’s Theater LaB with a sold out 5-performance engagement. Her US tour also included appearances in Tucson at the Invisible Theatre, at Arizona’s Tubac Center of the Arts, and, most recently, at the 35th Annual Symposium of the Costume Society of America in Tempe and Phoenix, AZ where she, once again, received rave review's. Symposium attendee Nena Ivon, Manager, Special Events, Saks Fifth Avenue, Chicago, said: “A Conversation With Edith Head was outstanding and a fitting finale to the symposium”

Ms. Claassen will appear at the Coronado Public Library on June 19th (7:00 pm) and 20th (3:00 pm) and at the North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach on June 23rd and 24th (7:30 pm).




“A Conversation With Edith Head”, based on Edith Head's Hollywood by Edith Head & Paddy Calistro, is a feast of delicious behind-the-scenes stories about Hollywood’s greatest stars that provide an intimate portrait of Hollywood’s legendary costume designer. In her six decades of costume design, Edith Head 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 spent 44 years 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. Her eight Academy Awards® 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 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. Susan Claassen said: “Not only do I bear a striking resemblance to Edith, but we share the same love for clothes and fashion. Edith survived the boy’s club of Hollywood to enjoy a 60-year career, during which she worked on 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”. She knew whose hips needed clever disguising and made sure those legendary stars always looked perfect. 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.

As an actress, some of Susan’s most memorable roles have been Bella in “Lost in Yonkers”; Alice B. Toklas in “Gertrude Stein and Company”; Hannah in “Crossing Delancey”; Shirley in “Shirley Valentine” and Trudy in “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe”. 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 Rainbow and Stars Cabaret and St. Paul's 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 featured in the book How to Be a Working Actor by Mari Henry & Lynne Rogers.

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. Young fans of Pixar’s “The Incredibles” will recognized the superhero outfitter Edna Mode as an affectionate tribute to the legendary Hollywood costume designer.

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. The 25th anniversary edition of Edith Head's Hollywood has recently been reissued and will be available for purchase at all performances of “A Conversation With Edith Head”.

Claassen reviving one-woman show on Edith Head | www.azstarnet.com ®

Claassen reviving one-woman show on Edith Head www.azstarnet.com ®


Published: 02.27.2009
Claassen reviving one-woman show on Edith Head
She portrays the Oscar-winning fashion designer
By Kathleen Allen
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Edith Head died in 1981.

Yet, the great Oscar-winning costume designer, lives.
Thank Invisible Theatre’s Susan Claassen for that.



She remounts her one-woman show, “A Conversation with Edith Head,” for a limited run next week.
Claassen first resurrected Head in 2002 with a script fashioned by Claassen; Paddy Calistro, co-author with the designer of “Edith Head’s Hollywood”; and Tucson director Carol Calkins.

Since then, it’s taken on a life of its own, drawing crowds at Scotland’s Fringe Festival, packing them in at a small theater in London’s West End and bringing it to adoring fans around this country.

Claassen was watching a television biography about Head when she realized her remarkable resemblance to the designer. A play was born.

It takes place a few weeks before Head’s death. As Claassen-as-Head paces the stage, hand on hip, eyes looking up and down as though assessing — and dismissing — what you’re wearing, she talks about her career. And what a career: For 44 years, Head designed costumes for 1,131 films, received 35 Academy Award nominations and won eight Oscars.She dressed such weighty stars as as Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, Paul Newman and Grace Kelly.

Performances for the 90-minute “A Conversation With Edith Head” are 7:30 p.m Thursday, 8 p.m. next Friday and March 7, and 3 p.m. March 8 at Invisible Theatre, 1400 N. First Ave. Tickets are $25, with half-price tickets one-half hour before the show —if they are available. And we wouldn’t bet on that. Call 882-9721.

Claassen's play about Hollywood icon adapts to locale

Claassen's play about Hollywood icon adapts to locale


Claassen's play about Hollywood icon adapts to locale

February 25, 2009, 5:08 p.m.

CHUCK GRAHAM
Tucson Citizen

Just like an evolving work of art, Invisible Theatre's original production "A Conversation with Edith Head" has evolved.

Back in 2002 when IT's artistic director Susan Claassen wrote and made her debut in this one-woman show - giving a much-praised portrayal of the iconic Hollywood costume designer - the story was set on the Universal City Studio Tour where she had a bungalow. Now Claassen makes adjustments to her intimate portrait so it is set in whatever city - or country - she happens to be in for the show.

So when "A Conversation with Edith Head" returns to the Tucson stage March 5, the dialogue will be adjusted so there are direct references to the Old Pueblo.

"Her husband loved Southwestern art, and they would come here looking for pieces to collect," Claassen says. "They also went to Nogales. And remember that 'The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean' was shot here, " Claassen adds. She doesn't expect any shortage of Tucson references.

"Edith Head knew the value of reaching out to the public, and we do that, too. It is especially rewarding for me to meet people who actually knew her."

There were some particularly touching incidents in London, where the show played for three weeks in 2007. The London run followed the play's successful three weeks at Scotland's Edinburgh Festival Fringe ("There is no such thing as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, they always say 'Festival Fringe' Claassen assures us), where the show was officially declared a sell-out.

"Out of 2,000 acts, there were only 200 that officially sold out," Claassen says proudly.
"When we went to London, people were always telling us stories about their personal connections to her, especially older people. One said how they would see Edith Head's name during World War II and just seeing that name would give them hope."

Edith Head lived up to that promise, going on to design the costumes for the stars of many pictures for decades after the war ended. The last film she worked on was Steve Martin's comedy "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid," released in 1982.

The iconic costume designer had a particularly close working relationship with another Brit, Alfred Hitchcock. Claassen is especially taken by the gowns Head designed for Grace Kelly in "Rear Window" and "To Catch A Thief."

"In 'Rear Window' the clothes she wears actually progress the story," Claassen points out.
In a complementary event, the Loft Cinema is screening "Rear Window" at 1 p.m. Sunday. Claassen will be there to talk about Head's costumes for the picture and dish a little dirt on Hitchcock's battles with uptight censors to keep some sexual tension in this 1954 classic thriller.

"In film, you design for the close-ups," Claassen explains. "That's what made the neckline so important."
"Edith would be on the set so if the censors complained about too much cleavage, she would slip in a large flower, or something else fashionable."

Hitchcock and the costume designer worked especially well together, says Claassen, who has become an expert on the subject.

"Edith would say, 'With every director you have a special language. But with Hitch I didn't even need words.'"

Claassen also feels a strong connection to this lady who was equally famous for her bangs.
"On a lot of levels I do relate to her," Claassen says. "I love doing the role. Whenever I'm in costume, I always stay in character. I feel personally responsible for representing her accurately.
"On a lot of levels I can relate to her directly. To her determination, and her love for style. Both of us have such passion for what we do.

"But she is different from me, too. She is more reserved, less animated than I am. Her sense of humor is different. She didn't smile as much as I do."

However there is no denying the physical look they share. When Claassen is stage-ready, the resemblance to Head is uncanny.

"If you Google her I come up a lot. The Web site for the Biography Channel had a picture of her, but it was actually a photo of me.

"We did notify them of the error," Claassen adds with a little smile.

FASHIONABLY PERVERSE: HITCHCOCK’S REAR WINDOW introduced by Invisible Theater's Susan Claassen | The Loft Cinema

FASHIONABLY PERVERSE: HITCHCOCK’S REAR WINDOW introduced by Invisible Theater's Susan Claassen The Loft Cinema



FASHIONABLY PERVERSE: HITCHCOCK’S REAR WINDOW introduced by Invisible Theater's Susan Claassen

Sunday, March 1st at 1:00 p.m.
Admission: $6.00 / Loft members: $4.75

Fear and fashion make a beautiful couple in Hitchcock's suspense classic REAR WINDOW, introduced by Invisible Theater's Susan Claassen, who will dish the dirt on legendary Hollywood costumer Edith Head's iconic designs for star Grace Kelly, Hitch's battles with the censors, and much more!

**Enter our free raffle to win a copy of the new 25th Anniversary edition of the classic book Edith Head's Hollywood, by Edith Head and Paddy Calistro, with a foreward by Bette Davis!**

The suspense. The binoculars. The Edith Head gowns!

Few films in Hollywood history have so creatively combined fashion and fear as Hitchcock’s nail-biting 1954 thriller REAR WINDOW, starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly. With its darkly twisted tale of voyeurism, murder and sexual tension, this perverse slice of vintage “Hitch” would be an all-time classic for those elements alone, but equally unforgettable is the breathtakingly blonde Grace Kelly, serenely gliding through all the madness in a stunning series of gorgeous gowns designed by legendary Hollywood costume designer Edith Head. As Lisa, the gorgeous fashion model with a killer wardrobe and nerves of steel, Kelly’s witty flirtations with a wheelchair-bound Jimmy Stewart steam up the screen in ways that drove 1950s censors mad back in the day and almost make today’s viewers forget that a sinister murderer may be lurking across one of the most famous courtyards in movie history.

REAR WINDOW’s fashionable perversity isn’t lost on Invisible Theater’s Artistic Director Susan Claassen, who will introduce this special screening by discussing Edith Head’s iconic costumes on display in the film, how fashion and fear fuel Hitchcock’s dark desires, and why conservative 1950s censors put Jimmy Stewart in a leg cast. Claassen, who offers an uncanny evocation of Edith Head as the star and co-writer of the internationally-acclaimed one-woman stage show, A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD (running March 5th – 8th at Invisible Theater), will offer wit, wisdom and insight (not to mention a little gossip) on the late, great Hollywood costumer designer, and reveal how Edith Head managed to spin high fashion beauty out of one of the scariest movies ever made.

See Susan Claassen live on stage in A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD, March 5th – 8th, at Invisible Theater.

Visit the Invisible Theater website at http://www.invisibletheatre.com/ for more information.

(Alfred Hitchcock, 1954, 112 mins., Not Rated)

February 1, 2009
James Rana, WFDU, Interviews Susan Claassen about A Conversation with Edith Head

A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD Begins US Tour

A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD Begins US Tour

Thursday, January 8, 2009; Posted: 12:01 PM - by BWW News Desk

Arizona-based actress Susan Claassen, who completed a highly successful engagement on London's West End this summer as legendary Hollywood designer Edith Head in "A CONVERSATION WITH Edith Head", recently began an intermittent US tour which will bring her to Arizona and California. (The month-long engagement at London's new Leicester Square Theatre was preceded by a sold out run at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.)



"A CONVERSATION WITH Edith Head", based on Edith Head'S HOLLYWOOD by Edith Head & Paddy Calistro, is a feast of delicious behind-the-scenes stories about Hollywood's greatest stars that provide an intimate portrait of Hollywood's legendary costume designer. In her six decades of costume design, Edith Head 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!

Ms. Claassen began her US tour in October by opening the 16th season at Houston's Theater LaB with a sold out 5-performance engagement.

On February 8th at 8 AM (ET) Ms. Claassen will celebrate the up-coming Academy Awards with an interview on The James Rana Radio Show airing on WFDU-FM (89.1) and online at www.wfdu.fm). Edith Head received the most Academy Awards of any woman in the history of the awards.

Ms. Claassen's up-coming performances in "A CONVERSATION WITH Edith Head" include:

March 5-8, 2009 Invisible Theatre, 1400 North First Avenue, Tucson, AZ
(520) 882-9721
www.invisibletheatre.com

March 13, 2009 Tubac Center of the Arts, 9 Plaza Road, Tubac, AZ
(520) 398-2371
http://www.tubacarts.org/

May 27-30, 2009 Costume Society of America, 35th Annual Symposium
Tempe and Phoenix, AZ
(800) CSA-9447 http://www.costumesocietyamerica.com/natsym.htm

June 19-20, 2009 Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Avenue, Coronado, CA
(619) 522-7390
http://www.coronado.ca.us/library/

June 23-24, 2009 North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive,
Solana Beach, CA
(858) 481-1055
http://www.northcoastrep.org/season_special.html#edith

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 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. Susan Claassen said: "Not only do I bear a striking resemblance to Edith, but we share the same love for clothes and fashion. Edith survived the boy's club of Hollywood to enjoy a 60-year career, during which she worked on 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 Festival Fringe only 200 were officially designated ‘Sold Out' engagements.)

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. She is featured in the book HOW TO BE A WORKING ACTOR by Mari Henry & Lynne Rogers.

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.

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. The 25th anniversary edition of Edith Head'S HOLLYWOOD has recently been reissued and will be available for purchase at all performances of "A CONVERSATION WITH Edith Head".