From the Ashes; a Golden Opportunity

From disaster to opportunity

Broadway costume designer rebuilds 'Lost Colony' wardrobe

By DAVID NICHOLSON | 247-4794

August 10, 2008

William Ivey Long has been called the busiest costume designer on Broadway with a career that spans more than 50 shows. But a tragic event hundreds of miles away from New York made this past year his busiest ever.

In September 2007, an early morning fire swept through the home of "The Lost Colony" on Roanoke Island, N.C., destroying more than 5,000 costumes that had been assembled over the show's 71-year history. Long grew up in the summertime world, and in many ways, he never left it. He maintains a home there, and for many years, has served as set and costume designer for the long-running outdoor drama.

"I remember great sadness and shock," says Long, recalling when he first heard about the fire. "It took me two months to realize that this was an opportunity instead of a disaster."

The "opportunity" meant a chance to redesign the show's entire sweep of costumes from a historical perspective using newly available research. Long canceled commitments on two Broadway shows to work on the "The Lost Colony" project. He and his 60-person staff worked in New York and at the North Carolina theater to build the 1,000 costumes needed for the show. Some funds came from state and federal park services, but the majority of the $2.7 million needed to reconstruct sets, costumes and stage buildings came from individuals.

Long has been associated with "The Lost Colony" almost since the day he was born. His father, William Long Sr., held many jobs there, including technical director from 1949 to 1962. His mother, Mary Wood Long, worked in the costume shop while playing several onstage roles, including the part of Queen Elizabeth I from 1949 to 1953. During his early childhood, Long recalls sleeping in fabric bins underneath the cutting tables of the costume shop.

Continued here:

http://www.dailypress.com/features/dp-gl_williamiveylong_0810aug10,0,962645.story

Supporting Lost Colony Drama is a Family Tradition

Fearing family continues tradition of support for The Lost Colony

Keeping the longstanding Fearing family tradition of generosity and support for The Lost Colony, Mollie A. Fearing & Associates has again renewed their $5,000 corporate sponsorship to offset overall costs of the production.Fearing's family ties to The Lost Colony story pre-date the symphonic drama. In the late 1920's her great uncle, the late D. Bradford Fearing chaired a committee that organized "The Pageant of Roanoke". The idea inspired Fearing and others who persuaded Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Green to write a play about Roanoke Island's famed "lost colony."

The elder Fearing, a local merchant and politician, oversaw the production its inaugural year and served as producer and general manager for many years until his death."When you're in our family, you are in service to The Lost Colony," said Grizelle Fearing, president of the Manteo insurance company. "As a kid, I saw The Lost Colony almost every night. Half of the family was in The Lost Colony every summer as costumer, actor-tech, principal, or board member and I was often there to help."Grizelle Fearing's mother, the late Mollie A. Fearing, was one of the production's greatest champions. A gifted hostess, "Miss Mollie" organized The Lost Colony's opening night receptions, board dinners and other social events for years, in addition to serving as a long-time officer and board member.

Fearing's husband, Tom McDonald (grandson of the late Irene Smart Rains, the show's former costumer) has long lent a helping hand, from creating exhibits at places like the Outer Banks History Center, alumni committee work, and even donating items for fundraising auctions from their personal collection. He performed in the show in his youth.

First staged in 1937, The Lost Colony tells the real-life story of America's "lost colony" of men, women and children who sailed from Plymouth, England, in 1587 to establish an English colony on Roanoke Island (N.C.). Predating Jamestown by 22 years and Plymouth by 35 years, the settlement disappeared with hardly a trace, leaving historians and archaeologists with a mystery that has never been solved.

Cont. here:

http://obsentinel.womacknewspapers.com/articles/2008/07/16/business/bus1692.txt

Opening Night Nears for Lost Colony Drama's 71st Season

Lost Colony production rises from the ashes


ROANOKE ISLAND, NC (WAVY.com) -- A local production company is getting ready for an opening night unlike any they've seen before.

WAVY News 10 was there last September, when a fire destroyed the Lost Colony's shop and its costumes. Eight months later, a piece of American history prepares to take the stage once again.

Friday, May 30th is opening night for the outdoor drama.

"The Lost Colony" depicts the first English settlers, who vanished without a trace. The production that battled back from a devastating fire is breathing new life into its 71st season.

Tony-award winning designer William Ivey Long's life has been a blur of fabric and thread for months. What began in his New York studio now overflows in the Lost Colony's new costume shop. Long grew up in the show. Even so, he went back to the drawing board, recreating the pieces with historical accuracy. "Now was the time to really show some of the reasons the colony may have failed. It was quite top heavy with gentry, and investors and merchants and upper class people of the 116 people that came over, only 40 were workers," said Long.

Again, opening night is May 30th at 8:30 p.m.

While the production is back on its feet, it still needs donations to help pay off the rebuilding efforts.

For more information about The Lost Colony, click HERE.

To read all this story and watch a video, click HERE.

Lost Colony Outdoor Drama Readies for Opening Night

ROANOKE ISLAND, N.C. (WAVY.com) -- Where there once was ash and wood, stands a two story building, dedicated to the spirit of community. "I can't think of another place that would celebrate the arts of the theater in this extraordinary manner."

The Lost Colony's costume shop is no longer lost. "Totally made by hand Roanoke Island creations, that's really what we're celebrating today with this specific shop," says award winning production designer William Ivey Long.

Long stood alongside a dozen others to celebrate the opening of the new shop. Last September a fire destroyed the shop and its costumes. Actor Andy Griffith and his wife Cindi cut the ribbon.
Griffith got his start on the very stage that burned in the 1940's. "All of the ladies dressing rooms, two-thirds of the stage burned in 1947. I was here, I was playing the first soldier that year."

And like so many others, he helped rebuild it in six days. " I was a carpenter...I was part of one of the carpenters who built the ladies dressing room. Good choice, yes."

As was then, is now says Executive Director Carl Curnutte. "People from all across the country have been contributing with costumes, donations, fabrics, the labor of the building, its just been amazing seeing the outpouring of support we've actually had."

More here:

http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=8367104&nav=23ii

Costumes returned to the Lost Colony

Fire destroys vintage costumes used in 'The Lost Colony'