Costumes can certainly have a major impact on the success of a production but perhaps no costume piece at Vernal Theatre: LIVE has been quite as important as the one made for their upcoming season closer, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. If you hadn’t guessed, that costume piece is in the title of the show and thanks to a local sponsor, the seamstress who took on the challenge of making the coat had the resources to make the coat into something really special. Claire Owens is best known for starring in Vernal Theatre shows but what is less known is that she is a magician with a sewing machine and loves a challenge. So what was it like to create Joseph’s Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat? Well, she took note of everything revealed about the coat in the script and dove in. “The song ‘Jacob’s Son/Joseph’s Coat’ names 29 colors,” shares Claire. “I knew we needed to have every single color. That is no easy feat when we live in a small town. I managed to find all 29 colors in person at the handful of stores that we have in Vernal. Knowing that there are 7 different shades of pink/red colors was part of the challenge, but I think I managed to do it.” Cutting the strips from all the fabrics for her original design was a tedious process and then of course there was the constructing, sewing, ironing, and embellishing. Claire says the sewing and finish work of the coat took around 50 hours but it was worth it to see the reaction of Mike Sorenson as Joseph when he first saw the coat during the rehearsal scene in which it is given to him. Come see Claire’s, I mean Joseph’s Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat opening April 21st. Get tickets soon at www.vernaltheatre.com before they are gone!
