Six weeks into rehearsal, Elana Lapetina knew all of her lines.
Yet it took dressing in full costume for the Hurrah Player to feel like a Disney princess.
In a burlap skirt, hand-beaded corset and cropped auburn top with dangling seashells, Lapetina became Moana from the 2020 production of the same name.
“Putting that costume on, I had the realization of stepping into another character and bringing it to life,” Lapetina said. “Costuming is so important, so joyful. It seals the process.
“Every little detail is thought out.”
Outfits and accessories vary by show, but Anne Hilton, Hurrah's costumer for nearly three decades, never wavers in her commitment. Along with assistant Robin Powell and a revolving number of volunteers, Hilton sews, hems, bastes and troubleshoots each costume of every cast member for The Hurrah Players, whose next production, “Disney's Newsies,” opens in July.
Founded by Hugh Copeland, The Hurrah Players is celebrating its fourth decade as the premier family theater company in the region.
“Hugh tells me his vision, and we go from there,” Hilton said recently. “I’ve had a lot of fun doing it. I don’t do it all myself. I’ve always had people willing to help.”
Last year, the nonprofit moved to a bigger space on Olney Road in Norfolk’s NEON District. The campus includes two education centers, a set design studio, an intimate theater and a $300,000 state-of-the-art costume shop, which was long overdue.
The former costume space in the old Norfolk Academy Building on St. Paul’s Boulevard was a basement that lacked climate control.
“We had a lot of mildew and trouble with moths down there,” said Hilton, who became adept at killing odor by spraying the costumes with vodka and airing them outdoors.
Many of the older clothes didn’t make it to the new space. Some were purged, and the rest donated, though some moth-eaten wool coats come in handy for urban scenes on stage.
In the new space, costumes, fabrics and accessories are cataloged by production or clothing type and stored on 12-foot high, space-saving movable shelves. More fragile items, such as hand-painted masks from “The Lion King,” peek out from the highest shelves.
Everyday men’s and women’s clothing is plentiful, as are military uniforms from every branch.
Labeled bins make it easy to find everything from cummerbunds to chef’s hats. Want feathers? There’s a container for real ones and another for fakes.
When actress Gabriella Waite scans the shelves, she becomes nostalgic for the many roles she’s played over the years.
“There’s a lot of history here,” she said.
Last year, she got her dream part, Elsa, in “Frozen.” She wore what’s called a transformational dress, meaning her outfit changed from the ordinary to a stunning gown with just one twirl on stage.
It’s a pivotal moment in the production, and Waite remembers her reaction during the first dress rehearsal.
“The dress reveal had gone smoothly, and I could tell the audience loved it,” she said. “All the pieces had finally come together. I looked in the mirror during intermission, and there was Elsa.”
In the early years, Copeland said the nonprofit relied on thrift store finds and donations from parent volunteers.
“Our costumes then reflected that we were new and needed to grow,” he said.
Hilton came aboard when her son showed an interest in drama.
“He’s 33 now,” she said. Last fall, she won a regional award for costume design in “Cinderella.”
She and Powell, Hurrah’s director of donor engagement by day, still do thrift shopping and plan an annual trip to New York in January. They take pride in operating on a small budget. Shopping at a few fabric stores in midtown Manhattan, they bring home fabrics at a discount. Feeling its texture is much preferred over ordering online, Copeland said.
“The first years we all brought back four huge bags in our cars, but now we get everything shipped,” Copeland said.
Shows for small children typically rely on simpler costumes, whereas anything Disney requires no deviation.
“Elsa’s dress cannot be green,” Powell said. “It has to be blue.”
Once it’s opening night, last-minute hitches require Hilton and Powell to stand by with safety pins, a needle and thread, and hot glue. Powell has sewn many an actor into a costume backstage because of a broken zipper.
“Something usually rips or pops or breaks,” said Powell, grateful for the 20-foot rule. “If you can’t see it if you’re 20 feet away, let it go.”
Recently, Hilton handled an unusual snag. Hurrah alumna Moriah Mitchell didn’t receive her wedding dress on time. The day before the afternoon ceremony, she called Hilton.
“Can you come a half an hour early to the wedding?” she asked.
Two dresses were in play when Hilton arrived that morning. When Mitchell got it down to one, Hilton helped hide the straps so that the top lay perfectly.
Magic once again.
“Doing this is very rewarding,” Hilton said. “When you first see everyone on stage in costume, and you know you designed or helped create something, it’s special.”
Visit hurrahplayers.com for more information about the July production of "Disney's Newsies!"
