Prior Lake High School’s musical Grease had a lot of moving parts and there were a ton of hard-working students behind the scenes making the magic happen. However, a key thing the cast needs in order to visually transport the audience to 1959 is costumes and that can’t be done without the hard work of the incredible costume department. A typical day in costumes varies depending on the work that needs to be done and the current progress in the show. As the show gets closer, the first hour of rehearsal is dedicated to helping actors with makeup and hair. Then, while the actors are running the show, costumers continue their work. They bedazzle dresses, make repairs, or clean the makeup room. They take costumes that were ordered by the director and assign them to people. The costumes of this production were made up of newly ordered costumes, costumes from the Prior Lake High School theater’s collection, and costumes that were rented from other places. 

       The musical Grease is set in 1959 and the costumes perfectly reflect the style of high school students of the time period. The girls’ style in the 50s was very fashionable and more formal than contemporary girls’ style. In the 50s, girls genuinely gravitated toward things like dresses and poodle skirts with crinolines under them to give them some volume. The dresses and skirts themselves typically went past the knee and for tops, they wore a ton of collars and pleats. Everything was neat and in order and you never saw a girl leave the house without some precise hairdo and some pearls. The boys’ style in the 50s was very “cool” and clean. They wore lots of jeans, tight T-shirts, and button-ups. However, some wanted an edgier look and frequently wore leather jackets much like the main male characters of the show. For hair, boys would put a lot of gel and grease in their hair to make it shiny. They would style it in a swoop, slicked back style called a pompadour and, if they were bold, a rat tail.

        There was clearly a ton of time spent on hair in the 50s and, besides helping with clothes, the costumes department helped the actors with their hair and wigs. They made sure every actor who is using a wig is brushed out with fresh curls which can be an extremely time-consuming process. There are many different steps to style and get a wig show-ready. The first step is to brush the wig out then section it into three parts while taking small pieces at a time and rolling them neatly then pinning them into place. Next, they put a garbage bag over the wig then take a clothing steamer under the garbage bag and steam the wig for roughly thirty minutes. From there, they dry the wig, douse it in hairspray, take out the rollers, brush the curls out, and shape it into whatever hairstyle they are going for. 

        Even though the job can be time-consuming, it’s also a great learning experience and a ton of fun. Ingrid Olsen, a member of the costume department said, “I have had so much fun working on costumes. It’s been wonderful to work alongside all my friends and make them look pretty! I have learned so much from Dylan, our director, who has helped me, especially with the wig process. I love doing hair sewing and doing makeup, and I’m so grateful for this experience.” Doing costumes for the Prior Lake High School musical takes hard work, patience, attention to detail, and a massive amount of creativity, but it’s extremely fun and rewarding to see a vision being brought to life on stage. 

Clearly, all the work from the Costume Department helped make Grease the amazing show it was!