Costumes for Broadway Production “Flying Over Sunset”

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J. Theresa Bush, assistant professor of costume design at The University of Southern Mississippi, served as Costume Design Associate for “Flying Over Sunset,” a Broadway musical written and directed by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award® winner James Lapine.

Bush also got to work along the side of Award-winning Broadway Costume Designer Toni-Leslie James, who originated the designs for production with the Lincoln Center Theatre.

USM Students in the Master of Fine Arts in the Design and Technical program and Hattiesburg, Miss. natives, Madison Queen, Rebecca Earehart, and Taylor Busch, received funding from the Southern Miss Graduate School to fly out to New York City for five days and see Bush in action.

Bush highlights that her favorite part of the process of working in Broadway has always been its people—they are all generous collaborators who understand trust and shared responsibility.

“From conversations with the creative team and writer and director James Lapine to working with the wardrobe crews, it truly took a village to bring this majestic production to life,” said Bush. “Broadway wardrobe crews are great to collaborate with, as they always make you feel so supported; they ensure that your performers have everything they need to do their work and the designs are executed in the cleanest most efficient way,” she added.

The production was set in the 1950s and the characters played by some major players including Carmen Cuzak who headlined aside Robby Sella, Tony Yazbek, and Harry Hadon Pattenson, were based on real people. Bush points out that they had a lot of direct research for the costumes, which were mostly built by the one-of-a-kind professional costume shops in NYC.

“The challenge was that the clothes had to be real, but they also had to meet the productions standards set for the set, lights, projections, and sound. Also, when I came in, Broadway had just opened up from the COVID-19 shutdown, so the shops were completely booked. I was able to commission a few custom pieces for Tony Yazbek, but I otherwise had to get creative about new looks for the other characters.”

“The most challenging was a look for Sophia Loren who appears in one of Cary Grant’s fantasy trips and dances a spectacular choreography with him. The original dress created for the dancer was too heavy for the new choreography, so we ended up buying 6 dresses off the rack and applying crystals to them. They sparkled like crazy under the stage light, which made a spectacular dazzling effect,” said Bush.

USM Graduate Students got to experience the NYC dream: They shopped in the garment district, they visited the flagship department stores and the niche markets, got to see Bush work with professional technicians to create original pieces, and experienced some of the most beautiful art complexes in the city.

“They were not only able to see the play and speak with James Lapine, but also got to spend a day pulling costumes from the different fabric and garment stores,” shared Bush. “We tend to order all of our fabrics online from the fabric stores in Manhattan’s garment district, so it was very special for me to take the students through Mood Fabrics and allow them to swatch freely for their own personal fabric swatch libraries.”

“For our upcoming USM Theatre production, Blithe Spirit, you will see some of the selections from our visit to a major costume rental house, the Theatre Development Fund Costume Collection,” she added.

As an educator and mentor, Bush says that it is important to engage in opportunities that help you stay relevant and that also expand your professional network.

“One of my strongest assets is my professional presence. I have to stay relevant, so the students can use my network when they graduate. I need to know what is happening in the field, so my students can get to know the environment into which they are launching their careers in.”

Learn more about the Master of Fine Arts in Theatre.