‘The Music Man’s’ Woman
Costume creator Sharon Charette enjoys her role behind the scenes
By Frank O'Donnell
Valley Breeze Entertainment Writer
Sharon Charette of North Smithfield has created more than 200 costume pieces for
the
37-member cast of "The Music Man," to be presented by Woonsocket's Theatre
Works beginning Friday.
Community theater often serves as a magnet for people in search of a forum. Some yearn for the spotlight that comes with performing. Others are content to contribute to the show without ever stepping foot on stage.
As costumer for the upcoming Theatre Works presentation of "Music Man," North Smithfield's Sharon Charette belongs to the latter group.
"It is my way of getting on stage without having the level of performance talent of others in the theater company, though the audience rarely cares much or really notices costuming unless it is particularly spectacular."
As this was written, Charette was still hard at work on the costumes, with the show opening on Friday, May 14.
"To get a sense of the number of items, there are 37 cast members and each has between two to four costumes," said Charette. "A basic costume for most of the men in the show includes suit, vest, shirt, tie, suspenders, shoes and hat. Ultimately, we'll probably have in excess of 200 costume pieces."
Women have gowns, complete with hats and sashes. Some costumes were fully designed and constructed by Charette. Others were alterations, making existing costumes work for this production.
It's a lot of work, all done after Charette has come home from her nine-to-five job as a librarian at the New England Institute of Technology. "I work at home usually between 7 p.m. and 2 am. and many hours over the weekends. I have a small sewing room in my home, but the costumes and supplies spill over to other areas of the house as they are being gathered, sorted, washed, altered, and constructed."
Charette is self-taught, having begun her sewing career at the age of 13.
"I sometimes wish I had pursued that course in life, specifically for fashion design."
Charette works without sketches, going directly from her head to the fabric. "Deep down, I would like others to think of me as an artist," she says, but adds that without the formal training, Charette has trouble accepting it herself.
"If a combination of technical and observational skills are art, then maybe I am an artist. I guess I think of myself as more of a technician."
Charette was 22 when she first entered the magical world of costuming. "It was a reproduction of a 1770 sack dress – think Marie Antoinette – for a Mardi Gras ball."
In 1988, Charette's friend, local actor Bert Cayer, told her that Theatre Works was looking for some specialty costumes – Ku Klux Klan robes – for their production of "The Foreigner," and her association with community theater had commenced.
Charette is able to use her library skills in her costuming.
"I have an extensive collection of books on costuming and clothing design as well as numerous bookmarks for Web sites of costume suppliers. For a period piece, I consult all of my print resources, purchase and review films of the plays, and review costume plots available through research on the Web. The costume books help with getting a sense of the basic lines of a costume and how patterns can be adapted. The films are invaluable for getting a sense of how a costume moves and how the clothing is trimmed or decorated. If the film is of the exact show, it can give you a sense of how quick the changes between scenes are to be sure that, when necessary, costumes can be changed quickly."
To give you a sense of how meticulous Charette can be, she was telling me in an e-mail about a 42-inch diameter Hostess cupcake costume she'd constructed for a local production, and included the trademark symbol ™ next to "Hostess."
"This particular show is one of the toughest ones," says Charette of "The Music Man." "As was 'Annie' and 'The King and I.' Big casts, multiple costume changes, and specific time periods or styles make the work extremely difficult if you don't do this for a living. I'm kind of a perfectionist and like for the costumes to look authentic for the period, place and characters, and work comfortably for the actors. Once in a while, I'm lucky to do something special – a real attention getter – that makes all of the work worthwhile. The first time I did this was for 'The King and I' when I made the elaborate costume for the King and the ball gown for Anna for the scene when they do 'Shall We Dance' – my favorite scene in any musical."
"Music Man" is giving Charette the opportunity to costume Anna and the King once more, as Kathy Donahue (Anna) will play Marian the librarian and Greg Bonin (the King) will play Harold Hill, the Music Man. "They are both enormously talented and two of the easiest people to work with who truly appreciate the care that I take with their costumes."
Lots of people would ask why. The hours are long, the pay is non-existent. Why spend so much time doing something like this? For Charette, it's all about the people.
"I am most comfortable with creative, brilliant, quirky, and articulate people," she says. "You find plenty of them in the theater. Theater people tend to be diverse, accepting, and open. Working on costumes gives me more access to this creative community, and I enjoy supporting and enhancing the work that these very talented people do."
Unlike many costumers, Charette frequently works backstage at the shows as a dresser, creating a deeper bond and more intimate relationship with the cast and crew. "Most of my closest friendships are with people I've met in the past few years of doing costumes. It is very nice to be valued by such people."
Sharon Charette's costumes will be on display as part of the Theatre Works production of “The Music Man,” May 14 to 29. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 8 p.m., with a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee.
The theater is located in the First Universalist Church at 78 Earle Street in Woonsocket.
For tickets and information, call 401-766-1898, or check out their Web site at www.twri.org.
And, by the way, Charette is also the webmaster.
©The Valley Breeze, Weekend section, May 13, 2004.
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