Donna McKechnie Remembers Theoni V. Alredge

As BroadwayWorld reported, Theoni V. Alredge, the costume designer for such Broadway stage hits as A Chorus Line, the original production of La Cage Aux Folles and Annie, has passed away after suffering from an infection. She was 78 years old.

Ms. Aldredge was the mind behind some of Broadway's most recognizable costumes: little orphan Annie's famous red dress, the gold top hats and dancers' outfits in the 1975 and 2006 productions of A Chorus Line, the lush dresses worn by the Dreamgirls, and the fabulously glamorous outfits for La Cage Aux Folles, to name a few.

BroadwayWorld has spoken to A Chorus Line's original Cassie, Donna McKechnie, who worked with Alredge throughout the development of the show, collaborating with her in creating Cassie's now iconic red leotard/skirt ensemble.  

 

Says McKechnie of her old friend: "She was a great artist, not just a designer.  She could do any medium.  Working on A Chorus Line was personal in so many ways.  At the time, we were breaking new ground by approaching the show in a way in which the performers were not so detached from the characters, and Theoni contributed to this attitude considerably.  When designing the costumes, she spoke to each one of us about our own experiences as actors and how we interpreted what our onstage counterparts would wear, accordingly.  This was never an approach I had experienced before with a designer.  When we spoke about Cassie, I told her that I wanted a skirt, because Cassie, like me, would have been conscious of her body, being a bit older than the other auditioners and having had down time between shows.  Cassie would have had the professional wisdom to know to wear something that would elongate her line.  And then Theoni created the 'Cassie look.'  Theoni got behind us as people, not just behind the characters, and was so generous in opening up the creations to our participation.  And that was quite special of her, especially for a theater artist."

Alredge received three Tony awards for La Cage, Barbum, and a tie for Annie. She also won an Academy Award for her designs in the 1974 film The Great Gatsby, which starred Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. In 1990, Ms. Aldredge was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

Over a prolific career that spanned fifty years, Ms. Aldredge's designs made their mark on many shows and their subsequent revivals. In fact, during the 1980s, it was a rare month when there were not at least two shows running that featured her costuming - with a peak of five contemporaneous shows to her credit in 1984.

Aldredge, who was born in Greece in 1932, is survived by her husband of 57 years, actor Tom Aldredge.