03/22/2026
What a treat it was to get to see the exhibit of ’s costumes while in Chicago for Hamilton fittings on Friday!! It is so moving to be a small part of the process of making theatrical art pieces such as Hamilton, that help shape the world (for the better, I hope 🙏), and to be recognized for our contributions too, as behind the scenes as they are, is very touching. The way this exhibit is set up, at the museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, there are video images flashing onto the walls all around, and I found myself spinning to catch them before they disappeared. In the room where Paul features his collaborations, Artur’s voice is part of it (which I’ll share in the next post) and his hands, Pavel’s, our cutter Lena’s, and my own (Tova), as well as a shot of Oksana, all flash up on the screens, larger than life. And there are rooms showing Paul’s costumes and footage from Hamilton, The Wiz Live, Harriet, the PNB’s incredible version of Sleeping Beauty (including the orange gown in the opening here), West Side Story, the film version of Wicked…... Loved too getting to see Janelle Monae’s Met Gala 2025 look up close — what a celebration of tailoring it is!! There’s also a room in the exhibit that is incredibly dear, with marionettes that Paul’s mother made (art pieces all their own) and ones he made too as a child, creating along side her. It makes me wish anew that every child had the resources and parenting to have their skills and interests nurtured as Paul did. How much we would all be blessed by the lives such nurturing helps to blossom.
