Cameron Art Museum in southeastern North Carolina will showcase the first exhibition of William Ivey Long's costume designs and sketches during an April 29 through October 14 exhibition, Between Taste and Travesty: Costume Designs by William Ivey Long.
In celebration of the four-time Tony Award recipient and North Carolina native, the exhibit will encompass Cameron Art Museum's 12,000sq-ft. galleries. Costumes, sketches, film clips, and accessories will be on display from shows such as The Producers, Hairspray, Nine, Crazy For You, and La Cage aux Folles. Some of the renowned individual costumes will include the Pearl Girls from The Producers, the Lace Body Suit from Nine, and the Yellow Dress from Contact.
Long has designed costumes for more than 50 Broadway productions, in addition to numerous ballets, operas, and other theatrical venues. From sleek and chic in Chicago to outrageous in Stephen Sondheim's The Frogs, Long's work has received professional and popular acclaim. He was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 2006 and was honored with the “Legend of Fashion'' Award by the Art Institute of Chicago in 2003. More recently, Long's work was seen in Mel Brooks' and Susan Stroman's 2005 film version of The Producers, a production that required thousands of costumes.
“I have always thought of myself as a worker bee,'' Long said. “I figure that in 100 years, someone will decide if a) they even remember me and, b) if I was an artist. To have an exhibit of my life's work so far at the Cameron Art Museum in my home state of North Carolina is truly an honor for this worker bee.”
The exhibition's title was inspired by New York Times critic John Simon's 1983 review of the off-Broadway play, The Lady and the Clarinet, in which he wrote, “William Ivey Long's costumes hover between taste and travesty.”
The exhibition will open to the public with a reception on April 29. An April 28 gala will include a first preview of the exhibition, while also celebrating the fifth anniversary of the opening of Cameron Art Museum's 42,000sq-ft. facility. The museum is in the midst of a $20 million Endowment Campaign.
An illustrated catalog and public programs will accompany the exhibit.