by MIKE CHAIKEN
CTFashionMag.com
Were you sitting in the audience at Torrington’s Warner Theatre, watching the latest musical production, and thinking to yourself, “That tux on stage would look so fire to wear to my senior prom?”
Well, now’s your chance to make a theatrical statement at your prom and impress your date and friends in the process.
The Litchfield County theatrical institution is renting the tuxes from its costume shop – the second largest in Connecticut – to high school students who want something different for the dance floor.
The theater is hosting a rental event on Saturday, April 5 in which students can peruse the offerings that occasionally grace the stages of Connecticut.
Renee Purdy, the Warner’s costume shop manager, said there are about 200 tuxes in its collection for rental. All have been seen in the spotlight by audiences seeking to indulge a craving for musical theater and stage dramas.
“They’ve been in ‘Follies’ (at the Warner),” said Purdy. “They’ve been in ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying.’… A couple of them have been in ‘Murder on the Orient Express.’ They’ve been in murder mysteries. They’ve been in comedies. They’ve been in musicals.’”
The decision to rent the tuxedoes out to the community arose from an effort by the Warner leadership to make “the costume shop more accessible and a little more visible in the community,” said Purdy.
“We started thinking of things we could do,” said the costume shop manager. “We had a Halloween event last year. We… started advertising a little bit more that we do individual rentals for people for events that they may be going to or parties they may be having.”
Purdy said she then had the idea of renting tuxes for proms.
“I told our marketing department that I aways felt bad because as a mama to three boys, everything’s always about the girls (for prom),” said Purdy. “It’s always the girls need this, and the girls need that. The poor boys who take them to the prom are getting nothing.”
Purdy told the Warner powers-that-be “I have a plethora of formal wear (in the costume shop) … I thought, well, wouldn’t it be fun if we opened it up to … anybody who wants to wear a tuxedo to the prom and let them come see what we have?”
Purdy said, “We have some quirky stuff. We have some fun stuff. We have the standard black and white stuff. We have tails. We have a lot of really fun things that can make them interesting and more exciting. I have a lot of really fun things. I have great suits, great vest fronts. I have some really quirky colors, colorful tuxedos… I have ruffled shirts from the ’70s. We can really doctor (the tuxes) up. (The students) can have some fun or if they want to just be very dapper and do the black and white tuxedo with the black tie, we could do that, too.”
Some high schools have dress codes for the proms. Purdy said students should be aware of the dos and don’ts of their particular prom and bring that information with them to ensure that their selections won’t get turned away at the door of their prom. The costume shop at the Warner then will work on them to find something appropriate.
The tux rental event will be held Saturday, April 5 from 12 to 3 p.m. at the Warner Theatre Costume Shop, 69 Main St., Torrington. Rentals begin at $40.
For details, visit www.WarnerTheatre.org.
