Discover Broadway Costumes By Susan Hilferty and More In Exhibition At McNay Art Museum

The McNay Art Museum presents Something Wicked | Susan Hilferty Costumes, featuring thirty of the Tony Award-winning artist's costumes-some from the Broadway musical Wicked, and some never seen before. The exhibition demonstrates Susan Hilferty's avant-garde approach to designing for the stage and is now on view in the Tobin Theatre Arts and Brown Galleries at the McNay. Visitors can discover and enjoy the designs through Sunday, March 26, 2023.

Artworks from the McNay collection by Judith Godwin, Louise Nevelson, Grace Hartigan, and more are paired with Hilferty's designs throughout the dynamic presentation. Through costumes for numerous Broadway musicals, such as Annie, Wonderland, and Lestat, Something Wicked displays the breadth of innovation throughout Hilferty's decades-long career. "It was a great experience collaborating with Susan Hilferty," said R. Scott Blackshire, Ph.D., Curator, The Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts. "Helping her honor the makers, artisans, knitters, fabric painters, and others who bring her designs to the stage was a privilege. Susan relies on creative collaboration for every production she designs. To that end, the community of San Antonio theatre makers who visit the exhibition will find many of their art forms represented and reflected in the costumes."

A world-renowned costume and set designer, Hilferty has created more than 300 productions. When Hilferty received the 2004 Tony Award for Best Costume Design for the Broadway musical Wicked, she wore an evening coat embroidered with the names of all her collaborators to honor them. Both the evening coat, including signatures by Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth, and Joel Grey, and the Tony Award itself are featured in the McNay's exhibition-along with costumes for Glinda, Elphaba, and other characters from the Land of Oz.

Hilferty will be at the McNay on Thursday, March 23, for the Museum's annual Tobin Distinguished Lecture, a program of The Tobin Theatre Arts Fund. Tickets will be available at mcnayart.org.

Something Wicked | Susan Hilferty Costumes was fashioned for the McNay Art Museum by R. Scott Blackshire, Ph.D., Curator, The Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts; and Susan Hilferty; and tailored by Kim Neptune, The Tobin Theatre Arts Fund Assistant Curator, The Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts; with Amanda Whidden, Costume Coordinator, Wicked Worldwide, and Camilla Dely.

Something Wicked | Susan Hilferty Costumes is a program of The Tobin Theatre Arts Fund.