Napoli Milionaria [2004]

Portfolio time again. Here is a little something from my time as a Stitcher.

A jacket from a two-piece suit worn by Mark Corkins as the character Pepe "the Jack" in Napoli Milionaria at Milwaukee Repertory Theater; Milwaukee, WI. Written by Italian playwright Eduardo De Filippo and translated by Maria Tucci, this production was directed by Lillian Groag. The show ran from January 14 - February 15, 2004 in The Rep's Quadracci Powerhouse Theater. Martha Hally designed the costumes.

Our team in the Costume Shop consisted of Alex Tecoma as Draper and myself as Stitcher. 

 

Men's suit coat made for Napoli Milionaria, Milwaukee Repertory Theater 2004.

Men's suit coat made for Napoli Milionaria, Milwaukee Repertory Theater 2004.

Front detail.

 

Napoli Milionaria is a dark comedy about desperation, greed, and endurance set in WWII Italy, Milwaukee Rep's production was set in 1943. 

Desperate to survive during the Second World War, Matriarch Amalia directs her family’s activities in the Italian black market, despite the disapproval of her husband, Gennaro. When Gennaro returns from his time as a prisoner-of-war, he discovers that his family has descended even deeper into the criminal world. First written in 1945, de Fillippo's play examines the plight of the poor and the moral corruption of the black market.(dramaonlinelibrary.com)

Men's suit coat made for Napoli Milionaria, Milwaukee Repertory Theater 2004.

Men's suit coat made for Napoli Milionaria, Milwaukee Repertory Theater 2004.

Center back detail.

Our team was responsible for the majority of the men's wear on this show and our build list included three,  two-piece 1940s period men's suits, one single breasted and two double breasted. In addition to the builds, we also had alterations on  any pulled or rented items. Since we didn't have a First Hand, Alex performed those duties with our regular First Hands at the time, Jef and Rey, giving us quite a lot of help too (we really needed it).

 

Men's suit coat made for Napoli Milionaria, Milwaukee Repertory Theater 2004.

 

Men's suit coat made for Napoli Milionaria, Milwaukee Repertory Theater 2004.

 

We were a bit short staffed at the time because just before the Christmas holiday our Head Draper of twenty-one years had left the shop for a job with the national tour of Phantom of the Opera and her position was left vacant for the remainder of that season. The Milwaukee Rep Costume Shop typically works on up to three shows at one time, I think there were only two shows in the shop during this build.

 

Men's suit coat made for Napoli Milionaria, Milwaukee Repertory Theater 2004.

Jetted pocket detail.

 

 I believe I also stitched the matching trousers for this suit but have only one (not very good) in-process photo of them. Alex also had me cut one of the three pair of men's trousers our team built for this show, but I don't remember if this was the pair. Alex was the one that cut out this jacket.

 

Men's suit coat made for Napoli Milionaria, Milwaukee Repertory Theater 2004.

Pad stitched lapels, prior to attaching the facings.

I recall that the construction of this jacket did not go very smoothly and may have given me a bit of a nervous breakdown back then. The sleeves were evil little devils, the lapel facing and lining didn't play nice together, and I messed up the placement on one of the jetted pockets. I think the right pocket ended up being about 1/4 inch closer to center front than the left one (shhh, don't tell anyone). This was only the fourth 20th Century style suit I had ever built. I had a handful of other tailoring projects at The Rep prior to this, mostly non-20th Century period shows including A Christmas Carol. I didn't really learn basic costume construction and how to sew until my senior year of college in 1996/97. So other than having made a welt pocket or two, I didn't have any men's tailoring skills when I started at The Rep for the 1998/99 season. I was lucky to have one of the drapers willing to teach me men's tailoring on one of the shows that first season. Over the years I have supplemented my knowledge of tailoring via self-teaching through books and online articles, but the vast majority of my skills were learned, on the job, from my former colleagues in the Milwaukee Rep Costume Shop. I am forever grateful for their patience and generosity in sharing their knowledge of the craft.

 

For a closer look follow this link to my Flickr album--

https://www.flickr.com/photos/vintagestitches/albums/72157623246346902