News on your favorite shows, specials & more!

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA

By: Nov. 11, 2019
Get Show Info Info
Cast
Photos
Videos
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

On Thursday night, November 7, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical celebrated opening night at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, and following in the great Broadway tradition, ensemble member Katie Webber was awarded the Legacy Robe from Moulin Rouge recipient Bahiyah Hibah.

Webber's other Broadway credits include: Rock of Ages, Wicked, Jersey Boys, Memphis, Catch Me if You Can, Honeymoon in Vegas, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Following the tradition, the Robe recipient circles the stage three times while cast members reach out and touch the Robe for good luck. The recipient of the Robe then visits each dressing room to "bless" the show. A decorative panel representing their show is then sewn onto the Robe, which is passed on to a recipient in the next chorus musical that opens.

This ritual began in 1950 when Bill Bradley, a Chorus member of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, persuaded fellow Chorus member Florence Baum to give him her dressing gown. As a lark, he sent it to a friend, Arthur Partington, a Call Me Madam Chorus member, on opening night, telling him it had been worn by all the Ziegfeld beauties. Arthur added a rose from star Ethel Merman's gown and sent it to a chorus member on the next opening night of Guys and Dolls.

It was then passed from show to show and was often presented to a friend of the previous recipient or awarded to a chorus member based on popularity. Through the decades, the passing of the Robe became a specific ceremony with official rules stating how it is to be presented, worn and paraded on stage. Three retired Robes are at the Lincoln Center Library of the Performing Arts; there are also Robes at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, and at the Museum of the City of New York. All others are with Actors' Equity.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Cast members making their Broadway debut

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Katie Webber

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Bahiyah Hibah, Katie Webber and David Westphal

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Katie Webber

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Daniel J. Watts and Adrienne Warren

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Katie Webber

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Adrienne Warren and Daniel J. Watts

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Katie Webber

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Katie Webber

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Katie Webber

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Katie Webber

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Adrienne Warren and Daniel J. Watts

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Daniel J. Watts, Katie Webber and Adrienne Warren

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Daniel J. Watts, Katie Webber and Adrienne Warren

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Katie Webber, Adrienne Warren and Daniel J. Watts with cast

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Katie Webber, Adrienne Warren and Daniel J. Watts with cast

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Katie Webber

Photo Coverage: Katie Webber Receives the Legacy Robe on Opening Night of TINA  Image
Katie Webber




Videos