So the moment passed quickly. And then if you don't shrug him off, it drifts down even further. "I'm not saying I thought it was bad. I was really proud of myself for having snagged a theater job early on, when I was just 20 years old. Long has been nominated for 10 Tony Awards and won 4 ("The Producers," "Hairspray," "Crazy for You," "Nine"), and this week he will be inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. When the studio is busy, as many as 12 people might be working there, so flexibility is key. He is a costume designer, known for Grease, Live! I think it's encouraging to have their things around. I learned my work ethic from both my parents. "I'm guilty because I haven't made everyone happy and everything perfect," he said wearily. You learn by going over it." ", The current RIHA board chairman, Kevin Bradley, declined to be interviewed by NPR. Showing all 7 items. A Look Inside William Ivey Long's Studio March 02, 2020, 12:01am. "I try to come to the first meeting knowing just the written word," he said. It turned out that it wasn't just RIHA investigating accusations against Long. Watson believes that Long recounted this episode within earshot of several people, deepening his embarrassment. I felt like he had already put me through a nightmare experience, and I was hoping for a silver lining to the whole situation.". Alex Witchel is a staff writer for the magazine. Lane shouted to Long when he saw me standing beside him, notebook in hand. Though the contracts had not yet been signed, Long had already started researching "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial," which will open on Broadway in May. In an attempt to protect Diana from undue (albeit false and defamatory) publicity, Long asked the producers to permit him to step away from the production, and the producers agreed." Long, who was racing through the yellow house showing me his tiger maple furniture when I asked that question, stopped still. Long showed me his "bible" for "Hairspray," an enormous notebook packed with photos of the show's 350 costumes, including shoes, bags, hats and earrings, and measurements of the cast. Meanwhile, as the two investigations into Long were progressing, he was at work on his newest Broadway show, Diana: The Musical but questions about his behavior were being raised there as well. Not that he could hide. "Those accusations [in the lawsuit] included forcing one young man to have sex with another man at Long's direction, while an RIHA board member watched. Opened December 01, 2016. It's an outdoor theater production in North Carolina's Outer Banks that has become a training ground for young actors and designers, many of them still in college, who prized their chances to work alongside Long for the season, knowing he could either make a career or kill it. "I felt my dad did not achieve his potential," Long said. Costume Design. Right, by Paul Kolnik, both courtesy of The William Ivey Long Studio. While at Yale he studied under designer Ming Cho Lee, whom he has credited with being a major influence on his work. And most of his shows either preview out of town, sprout touring companies or both. When people saw Long, it was if they were seeing dessert -- eyes widened, mouths opened, then they grabbed. ", Michael Martin loved how much action was involved with his actor-technician gig at The Lost Colony. A friend of his from Yale, Karen Schulz, who was the set designer for a Broadway revival of Nikolai Gogol's The Inspector General, suggested that Long be hired to do costume designs for the show. Instead, he reached out himself to Curley, Hurtgen & Johnsrud LLP, the law firm that ATW had hired to conduct the investigation, to ask why he had not been interviewed. "She's just feeling, that's all," he said, as if it were akin to the flu. "William Ivey Long's costumes hover between taste and travesty," he wrote. Martin, who first came forward publicly in 2018, alleges that Long touched him inappropriately on about 10 occasions. Jerry Zaks, for whom Long has designed 24 productions, will direct, and David Schwimmer will star. William Ivey Long Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family William Ivey Long (born August 30, 1947) is an American costume designer for stage and film. William Ivey Long's income source is mostly from being a successful Costume Designer. [7] Long was accused of assaulting a costumer designer during the summer of 2001, and assaulting another props assistant/actor over multiple summers. "That's why the projects keep expanding. The school will make costumes for the new theaters and the Carolina Ballet in Raleigh. "I made sure the understudy had clothes," he said evenly. You could say there's something lost about William Ivey Long. She added that Long had only learned of Stewart's accusations in 2020: "Having lost confidence in the RIHA, he resigned from The Lost Colony. ", Martin says that soon, "lingering touches on the shoulder" progressed to more and more inappropriate physical contact on about 10 occasions. "I have to wear a uniform," he said. In conversation earlier that summer, Long had mentioned to Watson that he had been photographed for a new book by fashion photographer Bruce Weber and that he had several copies of the book. Usually, William Ivey Long and his team have a year-and-a-half or more to work on a project. ", As Long spoke, his eyes turned red and filled with tears while the rest of his face pretended not to notice. He says that immediately afterward, he was ashamed and humiliated by what had transpired. I was just so wounded with one hand, he was groping me, and with the other, he's pointing out something that I did well. But he couldn't find work in the theater and had what he calls "breakdowns" for two years. ", "Long's creations have had a tendency to become as much of a celebrity as the people who wear them," wrote Encore Magazine's art columnist, Lauren Hodges. When Mary Long passed away in 1998, newspaper headlines named her South Carolina's Grand Lady of History. Those accusations included forcing one young man to have sex with another man at Long's direction, while an RIHA board member watched. ), On the most alarming occasion, Martin alleges, Long slid his hand down under Martin's clothes to his bare buttocks. The Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, North Carolina featured an exhibition of Long's designs titled "Between Taste and Travesty: Costume Designs by William Ivey Long. (That's family the Southern way; every June, Long gives a Long family party, and 600 people attend.) But when it came to Grease: Live, you might say they moved like lightning. "The Roxies we've had never even had a suntan. Pump, pump. For one, costume designer William Ivey Long was not present during the Netflix filming process and will not work on the Broadway reopening of "Diana," the production confirmed Friday. 1866-1956. . He moved into the Chelsea Hotel to be near one of his idols, the couturier Charles James, who lived there and for whom Long worked, unpaid, until James died in 1978. The musical follow Diana's life from age 19, when she met Prince Charles, until her untimely death on Aug. 31, 1997. "That's what's on the tombstone.". Watson adds that what he wrote six years ago is still true: he learned a ton from Long teachings that he still incorporates into his own work but that didn't mean that Long hadn't also taken sexual advantage of him. [6] In November 2021, National Public Radio published an article detailing accusations of sexual abuse and predatory behavior against Long. He would say that in front of my entire props staff. And he came. William Ivey Long is an American costume designer for stage and film. The Broadway League is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. I relive all those, and I'm still designing several shows I already designed because I don't think I got them right. Other recent credits include Young Frankenstein, The Ritz, Chicago, and Curtains. When he can't sleep, he comes here, though when he's designing he gets inspiration from all over. You wonder if there's a sadness or a lack there, but it's hard to imagine him being satisfied with one person, one Tony Award, one town. Court Watson recalls hearing once that William Ivey Long was "a tornado made of chiffon." He hasn't stopped since. Join Facebook to connect with William Ivey and others you may know. It must have been 20 degrees outside. Long is also actively enamored of his family's exquisite 18th- and 19th-century furniture, much of which he has spent years restoring, and it fills his houses. "That happens.". "But later," he continues, "someone else would say to you, 'You have to go, you're not going to miss this opportunity, are you?' An aspiring Branson, Mo., it is to have live-performance theaters, movie theaters, restaurants, hotels and shops. "I'd be working on something and then suddenly, someone's behind you, scratching your back, and you turn and see it's William. Bruce Glikas/WireImage She also questioned the personal credibility of both Watson and Martin, pointing to provocative social media posts from both men. One was from a 98-year-old aunt, who said she wasn't up to seeing him during Christmas. The costumes in Tim Burton's 'Beetlejuice' have been reinterpreted for a Broadway musical by six-time Tony-winning costume designer William Ivey Long. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2020-2021. "For me the magic is it's where I'm from, therefore it's extraordinary." Jeanna de Waal, taking a bow after a Nov. 2 performance of Diana: The Musical, with costumes by William Ivey Long. He really made me feel like he was my mentor. "But getting rid of a cancer can only help theater thrive," he says firmly. William Ivey Long was born on August 30, 1947 in North Carolina. . Thumbnails. And by the way, with his love of history and tradition, why doesn't he live in the family house? ", Fournier also told Martin in that same email exchange that "although we have been retained by the American Theatre Wing to investigate certain matters concerning William Ivey Long, you have been misinformed about the scope of that investigation.". Highly caffeinated and in constant motion, he is rarely by himself. "When she wrote about me, I was the clown who cried, and you'll be the costumer who cried. [2] This marked Long's first Broadway production; he has since designed for over 60 Broadway shows. "I've never slept there," he said, as if he hadn't realized it before. His designsspectacular, fabulous works created after intensive . At first, Martin says, he was thrilled to be receiving positive attention for his actual work on the show. Check all the awards won and nominated for by William Ivey Long - Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Costume Design (2014) , Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design (2014) , Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical (2013) and more awards. They hugged as he congratulated her before leaving separately for the party at the Metropolitan Club. According to Martin, he told the older man that he had crossed boundaries and that if he touched him again, he would sue Long for sexual harassment. Dodds, Richard. From the Congressional Record, Volume 169 (2023) S. 349 A bill to amend title 5, United States Code, to authorize the appointment of spouses of members of the Armed Forces who are on active duty, disabled, or deceased to positions in which the spouses will work remotely; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. He looked worried. "It's the same old story. The two men who have come forward to NPR, Michael Martin and Court Watson, were college-aged actors and designers working at The Lost Colony in the mid-1990s and early 2000s, respectively. Watson now believes that the incident was not consensual, given his inebriation and the fact that Long was his supervisor and was poised to have huge influence over his burgeoning career. Their daughter, Laura, who still lives in Rock Hill, works with the Merry Pranksters, a theater company for the mentally challenged, which her mother helped found. But then, he alleges, Long became bolder. He closed an oversize architecture book that lay on the table -- he had picked it out in the dark the night before when he couldn't sleep, an insomniac's game. Paul Treacy/PA Images via Getty Images Costume Design. ", Long added that he did not call any meetings at The Lost Colony in his capacity as production designer, and "I never would have opined on the viability of a sex harassment claim. But Andr Bishop, the artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater, which produced "The Frogs" and a number of other Long-designed shows, said: "Most great designers I know are expensive. "It was great," he remembers. I would love to see who that match might be -- but they're probably buried at Westminster Abbey.". Michael Martin, the man who first publicly accused Long, in BuzzFeed News, says that in his experience as well, Long's predatory behavior deepened over multiple Lost Colony seasons. Later, Paul Rudnick tried to give some context. It is indeed true that Long has never had a partner. hide caption. Most recently, a re-creation of iconic outfits worn by the Princess of Wales: a meringue-like wedding dress, floppy bow ties and power shoulder pads for Diana: The Musical. When Watson returned to The Lost Colony in 2001, he says that he was promoted and given a pay raise. One costume in "Hairspray" began its life as a pink plastic shower curtain in a discount store on 14th Street; another as a bedspread in the Garnet Hill catalog. To Martin, it seemed like Bradley was eager to give the impression that this problem was now behind The Lost Colony. The bubble-gum brightness of Hairspray, with its teen dreaminess and feather-trimmed frocks. Martin says that Long quickly deflected the conversation, and said something along the lines of "Did you tell me you were exhausted? To see Long race through a day on the outside, with his very big brain and even bigger personality, is to see someone for whom the world has clearly not been an easy place. So no matter what city they are in, his houses feel vaguely the same. As part of her statement to NPR, Zuchlewski wrote: "Watson's blog and the disclosure of the Stewart case generated a social media feeding frenzy while Long was designing costumes for Diana: The Musical. He left UNC and went to the Yale School of Drama to study set design. ", Shortly after returning to college in the fall after his alleged assault, Watson told one of his professors at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond what had happened; the professor, who works in the industry and asked to preserve anonymity for fear of reprisal, corroborated Watson's account to NPR, as did one of Watson's family members to whom he told the story in March 2020. Staff writer for the magazine will star 's all, '' he said 's on the show wrote... 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