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Black Satin Brocade Bodice with Yellow Flowers and Green Velvet Bows

c.1890

made by American designer Miss Foley

brocaded silk satin, cotton net, and beads

Phoenix Art Museum

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Thierry Mugler - Fall 1988 RTW

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Ann-Margret and Elvis Presley on set of VIVA LAS VEGAS (1964)

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Knight Errant. Stephanie Seymour photographed by Herb Ritts for British Vogue, September 1990.

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Quiet mornings….

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So I did a Winslow Leach post Paradise design cuz u know that boi's unfairly going to hell so we might as-well make him look good

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the sad man being happy! yippee!!

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Bettie Page

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Odalisque by Luis Ricardo Falero (1877)

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I am fascinated by the “Phantom of the Opera” ads where they use the real actors, but in settings and situations that doesn’t occur in the actual stage show. Or if they happen, they don’t happen as depicted. It kinda expands on the POTO universe (though I don’t necessarily always agree with the choices…)

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The run of the Synetic Theater’s all-new adaptation of the Phantom of the Opera is officially done!

Did any of you go to see it? What did you think?

Production images by Johnny Shryock. Graphic Design by Megan Kueny.

Photo from their Facebook

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A new interview with Lucy! Some passages I found particularly interesting:

She has wanted to play the part since her mother and grandmother saw Sarah Brightman in the role; they introduced St Louis to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s score as a child.

“To finally be in this position and to open that door to so many other women of colour is very special,” said St Louis, who added that it is rare to see black women in roles that give them “beauty, power and grace” and to be “desired on stage by two men”.

…

After what she calls one of the hardest years of her life, away from theatre, she was cast in English National Opera’s Man of La Mancha at the London Coliseum in 2019. It allowed her to show another vocal quality that ultimately led to her being cast as Christine. She said the production will “dig deeper into the story and portray her with such strength and determination but still have the compassion and kindness that she shows the Phantom”.

Her invitation to meet with Lord Lloyd-Webber resulted in the surreal, “bucket-list” scenario of performing Phantom’s songs in a room with their composer. Lloyd Webber said that when she sang for him in between the first and second national lockdowns, he was “utterly bewitched” by her performance.

…

On Phantom, said St Louis, “being the first black woman to play this role in the West End, it was very important for me to represent right. And to show that there is beauty in black hair and afro-textured hair. I wanted to celebrate that on stage.”

She provided her own notes on hair and makeup and there have been detailed conversations about her look as Christine “within the context and period style” of the musical.

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Interior of the Don Bosco Chapel in Brasilia by Rick Ligthelm on Flickr

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Titania & Oberon

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Traveling suit, 1905

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Tony Ward | Spring/Summer 2023 Couture