BLING’S THE THING
The Wick Theatre shows off the ab fab outrageousness of Liberace.
Lavish? Liberace? Wick exhibit crowns king of bling
As unbelievable as it sounds, there was a moment in the career of Liberace when the fabulously over-the-top piano virtuoso didn’t look like the human embodiment of a sequin.
At the behest of television producers, he “changed out of the elaborate costumes into Brooks Brothers suits, calm sedate looks,” says Jonathan Warren, of the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts.
Not surprisingly, “it completely backfired almost immediately,” Warren confirms. “He couldn’t wait to go back to bling.”
And that’s why 15 pieces from the late entertainer’s very shiny performance wardrobe are the centerpiece of the Costume Museum at the Wick Theatre’s new exhibit, appropriately called “Bling.”
“He created it,” Warren says, of Liberace’s pioneering use of the bejeweled and baubled as part of his theatrical stagecraft. “Prior to him, men (on stage) wore black, white, gray or blue. He wore gold lamé. He created that look. He was the King of Bling, Mr. Showmanship.”
The Liberace pieces, which include gloriously sparkly capes, pantsuits and shoes, populate a significant place in the “Bling” show, which features 140 costumes from “La Cage aux Folles,” “The Producers”, “42nd Street” and others , says museum curator Kimberly Wick. Visitors can see beautiful cruise show costumes recently bought from the Jean Ann Ryan collection for Norwegian Cruise Lines and even try on boas and headpieces.
The 15 pieces on loan from the Liberace Foundation’s Museum Collection, including the jewelencrusted Neptune costume whose cape suggests a coral-colored seashell, exemplify the artistry
of theatrical costuming, she says. Liberace “was the origi- nal one to be this flamboyant. He was doing this quite early, and it got crazier and crazier.”
Warren says that Liberace’s costumes are not only heart- stopping to look at, but are of cultural and fashionable sig- nificance in entertainment history, because of his influence on pretty much every performer who succeeded him and ever thought about attaching a sequin to a piece of fabric.
“His jewels are on display at the Paris Museum of Modern Art and are a harbinger of hip-hop jewelry,” he says. “Michael Jackson’s costumer referenced him. Lady Gaga references him. Cee-Lo Green mentioned him in lyrics. He’s mentioned in over 200 songs.”
The weight of Liberace’s costumes isn’t just historical, but literal.
“The suits weigh at least 40 pounds, and the capes can be 50 to 100,” Warren says. ‘He has 200-pound capes that light up, where the costume (under it) can weigh 78 pounds itself. The technology to make some of these no longer exist. They were hand-sewn and hand-created. His largest expense was not his cars, not the shows, not his houses. It was his cos- tumes.”
Often, the pianist was asked how he managed to play in such heavy clothing. His answer? “‘Quite well, thank you,’” Warren says.
Because of Liberace’s fash- ion-forwardness, Warren says that the musical establishment “forgot that he was a musician first, a child prodigy. He was the youngest-ever soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He could literally play backwards and forwards.”
So while he could have had a legitimate career as a tradi- pianist ,“to be honest it bored him ,” Warren says .“People thought that meant that he couldn’t play, but he was an incredible musician. He could morph any style into another. Just when you thought you had him pegged as nothing bu tb ling, he would completely turn it over .”
Warren says that Liberace, whose street style was less flamboyant but still “pure elegance ,” would love not only his influence on current showbiz fashion but his continued presence in pop culture. Images of him are featured in the new“Blade Runner 2049” as part of a“dy stop ian Las Vegas ,” in the“Family Guy” video game and in upcoming episodes of Amazon’ s“Mozart in the Jungle .”
“He loved leaning into the joke ,” Warren says .“This is the kind of thing he would have done .”