On reflection, I think I was basically being given a test run." As part of her statement to NPR, Zuchlewski wrote: "Watson's blog and the disclosure of the Stewart case generated a social media feeding frenzy while Long was designing costumes for Diana: The Musical. Do you have too much work? Despite a certain amount of eye-rolling, the staff clearly adores him; most of them have been with him for years. At a party held at one of Long's homes that second year, the still-underage Watson was given plenty of alcohol and one of Long's assistants, Watson says, took him to a bedroom upstairs, where they had what Watson believed at the time to be consensual sex. Martin, who first came forward publicly in 2018, alleges that Long touched him inappropriately on about 10 occasions. ", The original Roxie was Ann Reinking, on whom the clothes were built, a process Long says is all about defining the character. "She saw me struggling with art history, and she could see that my heart wasn't in it," he said. The suit, filed by former production manager named Mary Elizabeth Stewart, includes reports of several other serious allegations of sexual misconduct against Long. He reciprocated in kind. Facebook gives people the power to. I just was like, 'I guess this is the world you're walking into, buddy. The two men who have come forward to NPR, Michael Martin and Court Watson, were college-aged actors and designers working at The Lost Colony in the mid-1990s and early 2000s, respectively. "I was trained to send out notes like that at Christmastime and for opening nights," he says. In the recent Lincoln Center production of Stephen Sondheim's "Frogs," for instance, Long gave the chorus girls in Hell headdresses that flamed up like cigarette lighters. While in Italy he was able to view works by Michelangelo, Giotto, and Caravaggio. He was born on August 30, 1947 and his birthplace is North Carolina. This exhibition, organized by The Mint Museum, explores Long's most recent work, from 2007 to today. A friend of his from Yale, Karen Schulz, who was the set designer for a Broadway revival of Nikolai Gogol's The Inspector General, suggested that Long be hired to do costume designs for the show. It's an outdoor theater production in North Carolina's Outer Banks that has become a training ground for young actors and designers, many of them still in college, who prized their chances to work alongside Long for the season, knowing he could either make a career or kill it. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. On the night that the movie "The Producers" had its premiere at the Ziegfeld in New York, William Ivey Long, costume . Only? Fourteen houses and no boyfriend!"'+. A previous version of this story suggested that both Michael Martin and Court Watson were at The Lost Colony from 1996 to 2002. At the party, Long ignored the sumptuous buffet tables. His clothes were the same, the furniture felt like North Carolina and Mear and company were present and accounted for. After they left, a train whistled mournfully in the deadly silent night, and Mear or no Mear, I hardly slept a wink. William grew up in Manteo, North Carolina and Rock Hill, South . Which insulted me to the core because I was being myself. William Ivey Long Studios | 95 followers on LinkedIn. William Ivey Long's collection reflects his talent for creating whole worlds out of the details, the little pieces that bring stories to life in our imaginations. Soon after reading Martin's account, Court Watson tried to come forward publicly as well. According to this cast member, the Diana performers did not know about Watson's allegations or the 2002 lawsuit they went to the producers only knowing about the BuzzFeed News article containing Michael Martin's accusations. But when he was accepted, he was the only one who celebrated; his parents regarded his career change as quitting. When Mary Long passed away in 1998, newspaper headlines named her South Carolina's Grand Lady of History. I don't have to apologize for being strange because I'm from a long line of strange people who were here from the beginning of time and that's it.' ", Forget about avoiding intimacy -- he won't even share plumbing. Watson now believes that the incident was not consensual, given his inebriation and the fact that Long was his supervisor and was poised to have huge influence over his burgeoning career. While the investigation did not corroborate specific allegations, it raised serious concerns about the workplace environment. "I saw every bra strap in captivity, or not in captivity, more to the point.". I ran around with Long for the rest of the afternoon, to the farm and all the houses. So no matter what city they are in, his houses feel vaguely the same. Ute Lemper performs a scene from "Chicago" in 1997, with costumes by William Ivey Long. Watson says that the ATW lawyers seemed to be surprised by both of those developments. "That's why the projects keep expanding. But he's not that old, so you never know. Neither ATW nor Fournier responded to multiple requests for comment by NPR. Long has been nominated for 10 Tony Awards and won 4 ("The Producers," "Hairspray," "Crazy for You," "Nine"), and this week he will be inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. And in between guessing the correct answer and the morphine pump, she would say, 'Oh, I still hope you find some nice girl and settle down and have children, because children are the greatest happiness in anyone's life.' It is indeed true that Long has never had a partner. . The Longs moved to a house after their second son, Robert, was born. The kids downstairs know that's code for 'William's really nervous, nothing is personal.' So, how much is William Ivey Long worth at the age of 74 years old? We have estimated William Ivey Long's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets. Costume Designer: The Producers. Spouse Name: N/A: Children Name: Number of Children(s) N/A: Partner Name: N/A . "As he's spreading butter on his biscuits," Watson recounts, Long "starts going into graphic detail about what I had done I thought privately with the assistant the night before. It's why I try to be so thorough, why I work so hard. The worst episode, Watson alleges, came the next season in mid-August 2002. [2] This marked Long's first Broadway production; he has since designed for over 60 Broadway shows. But then, he alleges, Long became bolder. Their daughter, Laura, who still lives in Rock Hill, works with the Merry Pranksters, a theater company for the mentally challenged, which her mother helped found. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/magazine/william-ivey-long-keeps-his-clothes-on.html. The notion of inviting me to stay at his house never seemed to occur to Long, nor did he volunteer to stay with me. "If I were wearing something people commented on, it would be distracting. That's why I think 'dilettante' is the word I fear most. Diana will continue to use Long's costume work. Highly caffeinated and in constant motion, he is rarely by himself. I feel like in the 1990s, this culture of victimization was really normalized. Watson published a personal essay about his allegations on Medium in March 2020. Mear would stay with me. Michael Martin heard about RIHA's investigation in July 2020 when Bradley sent him a lengthy text, which NPR has viewed, informing him of the investigation and apologizing for "the pain" that Martin had endured. I, of course, was red in the face. Dodds, Richard. hide caption. Skip In 00 : 02 prev next. "If we get the wrong fabric or something is stitched the wrong way, I get so angry and so flummoxed that I start spelling my words, just to slow myself down. The town was incorporated in 1877 and renamed Seaboard after the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. ), Michael Martin's headshot in the 1996 Lost Colony program. The race ends back home, any home, surrounded by his books, his projects, his things, safe! Pump, pump. Additionally, Stewart said, her own husband at the time was sexually propositioned by one of Long's assistants, with the intention of having Long watch. The show is having a splashy rebirth as Broadway tries to emerge from the pandemic: A filmed production began streaming on Netflix on Oct. 1, and the play will have its opening night in New York this Wednesday. William Ivey Long's income source is mostly from being a successful Costume Designer. Jerry Zaks, for whom Long has designed 24 productions, will direct, and David Schwimmer will star. That was followed by a bonnet he whipped up from a pattern he traced around his hand. His mother played one of the lead characters, Queen Elizabeth I, for years. No matter the activity -- whether professional or one of his endless good deeds -- he is there, then he's gone, like a comet, barely establishing a welcome he could possibly overstay. "But ugly is to the bone. (When called to corroborate Martin's story, this person, who has asked to remain anonymous for fears for his professional reputation, told NPR that Long also came on to him several times that summer, sidling up to him and putting his hand on the young man's knee as well as making promises to make introductions for him in the arts world. (2007), This page was last edited on 17 February 2023, at 15:18. "I didn't want Michael to be left alone out there," he says. William Ivey Long, Tootsie. 'Billy, calm down and be someone else' is what they were trying to say. He made this incredible leap from farm boy to playwright, though he was never able to make the leap to professional theater. December 5, 2008. William Ivey Long, the prolific, multiple-Tony Award-winning costume designer, has drama - and Raleigh - in his blood, and in every single one of his earliest memories. "It wasn't a great marriage, but they stayed together because, at the end of the day, they were best friends. false. I would love to see who that match might be -- but they're probably buried at Westminster Abbey.". ", Shortly after returning to college in the fall after his alleged assault, Watson told one of his professors at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond what had happened; the professor, who works in the industry and asked to preserve anonymity for fear of reprisal, corroborated Watson's account to NPR, as did one of Watson's family members to whom he told the story in March 2020. "For me the magic is it's where I'm from, therefore it's extraordinary." He then attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to pursue a Ph.D. in art history. Offsite Link. And I was looking for work as an actor. Long, on his knees, reached up and pushed her breasts closer together before starting to pin. ", By the time Long graduated from Yale in 1975, he had been in college and graduate school for 10 years and had no idea how to look for a job. Long, 71, was born in Raleigh, N.C., in . Turning to greet someone else, Long accidentally knocked the cap off the actor Ernie Sabella's head. Back then, I didn't really have a language for what had happened to me, and a lot of people encouraged me to keep up the contact no matter what. You would expect no less from a designer whose wit and inventiveness have consistently bolstered the standards of musical-theater glitz. Harvey Fierstein and Marissa Jaret Winokur onstage in the musical Hairspray in 2008, with costumes by William Ivey Long. But then at night, you'd go to parties where people were drinking, and they would regale each other with war stories about what a creep he was. In 1975, Long moved into a $400-a-month apartment at the seedy Chelsea Hotel, two floors below his idol, the eccentric . How lucky was he, Watson thought, as just a college student, to have the chance to learn from the very best in the business a true legend in Broadway costume design. www.williamiveylong.com. You know how you relive things? Marriage: 14 November 1883. ", "They died in 1998, six weeks apart after being married for 52 years," Long said. Instead, he reached out himself to Curley, Hurtgen & Johnsrud LLP, the law firm that ATW had hired to conduct the investigation, to ask why he had not been interviewed. Seeing Long again after our trip to Seaboard was unexpectedly reassuring. William Ivey Long is an American costume designer for stage and film. William Ivey Long was born in North Carolina, United States on Saturday, August 30, 1947 (Baby Boomers Generation). "Hopefully there's not a previous production or a movie, a previously owned vehicle, as I say, because I don't need to know that someone was wearing the red dress. ", Certainly in the last decade or so, Long's singular flair for color and good-natured glamour has jibed with the increased amount of spectacle on Broadway. It was here that he met Sigourney Weaver (his roommate at the time), Wendy Wasserstein, Meryl Streep, Christopher Durang, and Paul Rudnick, who were all also students at the university. When Watson returned to The Lost Colony in 2001, he says that he was promoted and given a pay raise. "I'm not saying I thought it was bad. William Ivey Long is an American costume designer for stage and film. "I have to wear a uniform," he said. A great percentage of the time, the person who offered it to you will never offer you another job again. When he can't sleep, he comes here, though when he's designing he gets inspiration from all over. William Ivey Long moves in rarified and powerful circles. NPR's report also includes excerpts from a 2002 lawsuit that detail further allegations against Long and how his employer at the time responded to complaints that were . On the night in question, which Watson says was on or around August 18, both men attended a party near Long's home. ", Finally, Martin says, he confronted Long one on one. By Alex Witchel. Meanwhile, Long's star continued to rise. "When I came to New York, I was so scared that I would eat one banana and one yogurt a day, and I weighed 135 pounds," he said. Givens is the first African-American to play Roxie, and since the clothes are variations on black negligees, Long had to make adjustments. . On the night that the movie "The Producers" had its premiere at the Ziegfeld in New York, William Ivey Long, costume designer for both it and the hit Broadway show, sidestepped the red carpet and went quickly inside. "In no instance is it acceptable for someone in a position of authority to take advantage of someone younger, someone who's new to an industry," Watson says. William Ivey Long is an iconic presence on Broadway, designing costumes for shows such as Diana: The Musical and Chicago. Months later, Bradley told Martin that Long had resigned, and that there was a new creative team in place. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Jeanna de Waal, taking a bow after a Nov. 2 performance of Diana: The Musical, with costumes by William Ivey Long. Walter McBride/WireImage via Getty Images. Designing for Murder on the Orient Express (2017), William Ivey Long - In Search of the Heat (2016), Broadway's William Ivey Long honored in Raleigh (2016), The Most Memorable Broadway Costumes of All Time (2016), The Broadway Professor: Dressing for the Tony Awards (2017), Iconic and Influential: Career Shaping Influences (2014), Broadway's Fairy Godfather: William Ivey Long (2013), He Dresses the Goddesses of Broadway (2002), William Ivey Long Keeps his Clothes On (2006), Carson Elrod Tips his hat to the stage costume king (2015), Christine Ebersole makes an Entrance fit for the Tonys (2017), The Tony Awards make a fashion statement (2016). ", Martin says that for him and his peers, working at The Lost Colony "was like an ongoing audition to work with William Ivey Long in New York" and that for a lot of college and grad student-aged workers, "it really felt like this was their first foot in the door. "He made long, lingering eye contact with me," Martin says. We have no knowledge of any sexual misconduct by William presently or at any time in the past, and we know that William categorically denies these claims. Mr. Feingold, right, in 2015 at the Obie Awards with, from left, the costume designer William Ivey Long, the performer Lea DeLaria and Heather Hitchens, the president of the American Theater Wing. It turns out that for 10 years, Mary Long played Queen Elizabeth there in "The Lost Colony," and that is where she preferred to spend eternity. hide caption, From then on, Martin remembers, Long made a point of singling him out. Check all the awards won and nominated for by William Ivey Long - Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Costume Design (2014) , Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design (2014) , Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical (2013) and more awards. A year after Long became the awards' chairman in 2012, The Lost Colony won a Tony Honor for Excellence in Theatre. 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