Tony-Honored wardrobe supervisor Alyce Gilbert has been on Broadway for decades, working on “Wicked” since it opened in 2003, and shows such as the original productions of “A Chorus Line” and “Dreamgirls.”
When did you start costume maintenance?I started doing this in Milwaukee when I was 12. Before I came to Broadway with “A Chorus Line,” I did a lot of Off-Broadway shows. I think I did 12 in one year, because Off-Broadway was much more active in those days than it is now…. It was like every time I turned around I was opening and closing a show. I learned a great deal doing that, and I’ve been on Broadway now for 37 years.
What is your favorite costume in “Wicked”?Elphaba’s Act 2 dress; it has great durability and it goes on for years looking good. There’s been a huge contribution by the very shops that make these [costumes]. There are five costume shops involved and they all have made really specific contributions to what these look like. There’s a sketch, there’s an idea, but where they go with it is what makes this happen.
What requires the most maintenance?The monkey wings have to be checked every day because it’s a
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