As a veteran actor and director, Marilyn Hood has seen and sewn it all. She is in her fourth season as costume designer for the summer stock theater company, and you can see her work on stage when the musical “Young Frankenstein” opens its two-week run on Wednesday, July 28.
All of the clothing, shoes, wigs and accessories have Hood’s fingerprints on them. That can be hundreds of pieces for the more elaborate shows. And this year, she’s doing the work without an assistant.
“When I heard we were going to be doing ‘Young Frankenstein,’ I was a little scared,” she said during a rare break earlier this week. “Oh my gosh, and I’m going to do this by myself. So I took a couple of hours and just really worked through the script, did my charting. I felt a lot better. It’s going to be OK. That has to be your attitude. We’re going to make this happen and it’s going to be good.”
That certainly was Hood’s attitude when it came to fixing Brightbill’s pants. The actor playing lead Danny Zuko in “Grease” had to do some deep squats while catching Eleanor Panico (Cha-Cha) in one of the dances in the big party scene. His pants split during the first dress rehearsal, then ripped again in the last one before opening night.
“Once the costumes are done, I watch the two dress rehearsals and we find out a lot of things,” Hood said with a wry smile. “If the costume doesn’t function well I have to adjust it. That’s my role up to the opening night. Then it’s my job to repair anything that needs to be repaired; because things break. So I put some Spandex on Danny’s pants, and they never ripped again. It’s just silly things like that you discover and you figure them out. If there’s a problem it’s my job to figure it out.”
Marilyn Hood, costume designer for the Paul Bunyan Playhouse, takes a patch off a sweater that had been used in “Grease” on July 14, 2021, at the Chief Theater. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)
Hood retired this spring after teaching English for 36 years, with 12 at Bemidji Middle School and the last 24 at Bagley, where she and her husband Joel make their home. She will continue as the theater director at Bagley, where she has produced nearly 60 high school and community theater plays. She also has led the school to eight appearances in the state one-act play festival.
She also has acted in many plays, including a few at the Paul Bunyan Playhouse during the 1990s.
Holly Ward, president of the Playhouse board, got to experience Hood’s work firsthand when she was on stage as part of the ensemble in “Grease.”
“In my one gig as a performer there,” Ward said, “I appreciated that Marilyn works for what is in the integrity of the role as well as what works for the performer. As a board member, I love that she works to the integrity of the script while also being super conscious of our budget. She can make amazing things out of seemingly nothing. Marilyn has a costume carpet bag of resources from which to draw and pull and adjust. She has a vision and she makes it come to life.”
Artistic director Jim Williams agrees and said he appreciates everything Hood brings to the team.
“She’s a Godsend,” Williams said. “She doesn’t have an assistant, and she’s managed to either pull or build costumes, especially with these massive musicals. She’s really sweet; the actors love her, and if there’s a problem she gets it addressed right away. Some things happen on the fly. She’s very calm, nothing really fazes her, regardless of how complex the costume needs to be.”
Marilyn Hood, costume designer for the Paul Bunyan Playhouse, organizes clothing and accessories on July 14, 2021, at the Chief Theater. (Jillian Gandsey / Bemidji Pioneer)
Marilyn started sewing at age 9 as a 4-H member in Bagley, learning along with her three sisters from their mother and aunt. These days, when she’s not making costumes for actors, she enjoys sewing items for her three grown daughters and their families, including four grandchildren. Last year during the pandemic, when her Bagley musical and the Paul Bunyan Playhouse season were shut down, Hood said she made 20-30 baby bonnets and hundreds of facemasks.
“I was gifted with this skill to be able to sew,” she said. “I have chosen to do this. I want to do this.”
If you go:
What: Paul Bunyan Playhouse production of “Young Frankenstein.”
When: 7:30 p.m. July 28-31, Aug. 5-7; and 2 p.m. Aug. 1 and 4.
Where: The Historic Chief Theater, 314 Beltrami Ave. NW.
Tickets: All priced at $27, available at Chief Theater box office and online at paulbunyanplayhouse.thundertix.com.
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July 24, 2021 at 07:30PM
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Paul Bunyan Playhouse costume designer can do it all, or sew it seams - Bemidji Pioneer
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