Harriton Theater Company is presenting its spring musical Gypsy this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and it is a must see!

Gypsy is the story of a mother who forces her dream of being a star on her two daughters who work their whole childhood in hopes of becoming vaudeville stars. June, the baby, is talented and eager to please, but ultimately lets her mother down. Louise, always obedient, steps in to placate her mother.

The characters end up at a house of burlesque, which is where the fun begins! Once she meets burlesque dancers who each have a unique “gimmick,” Louise begins to come out of her shell. The show is funny, dramatic, glitzy and entertaining.

The Harriton Banner sat down with costume heads and seniors, Lily Strailey and Miranda Brennan, to get the inside scoop on the show.

Harriton Banner: How many shows have you done with HTC?

Lily: I have done 12 shows in HTC and have been co-head since my sophomore year with Miranda! When I went to my first meeting, I didn’t know anyone and I ended up making all of my best friends through HTC.

Miranda:  I have done 10 shows; I started kind of late because I was too scared to go. I then became head in my sophomore year and ran 6 shows with Lily and Jamie Epstein.

 HB: What is your favorite costume in the show?

Lily: My favorite costumes in the show are the glitzy white showgirl dresses because the girls who get to wear them love them. It’s so fun when an actor connects to the costume and gets deeper into character by wearing it.

Miranda: Definitely Harleigh’s light up costume (Editor’s note: Harleigh plays “Electra,” the burlesque dancer whose talent is her “electrifying” outfit.). It was so exciting to make and we really had the chance to be creative.

HB: What was the most difficult costume(s) to make/put together?

Lily: The hardest part of this show was trying to figure out how many of each costume we would need and what they would all look like. Trying to make or find convincing doubles was super stressful. Also, assigning all of the matching costumes and trying to keep everyone’s separate was a challenge!

Miranda: Surprisingly, it was all of the toreadorables and the broadway suits. We had to make all of the hats for the toreadorables and the suit jackets for Broadway. It was mostly difficult figuring out what fit for the dance scene.

HB: What is your favorite part of the show?

Miranda: Definitely the quick changes — they’re super hard but once everyone goes out and it goes well it’s really exciting.

Lily: I have to agree! When the actors come out in completely different costumes than they had on moments before, the audience is always surprised and the energy during a quick change is always thrilling.

HB: What has been your favorite part about being head of costumes?

Lily: Becoming a leader within the company. The experience is incredibly rewarding and I take great pride in my work and my department. I have never been more proud of anything than I am of costumes, I love it.

Miranda: Sewing. It is fun to get to make everything yourself and see it on stage. The girls in the department are so excited when they get to learn how to use the machine and it gets to be really fun to create the leads’ costumes together.

HB: What advice would you like to give to future costume heads?

Lily: I want the future heads to have fun more than anything else. I would tell them to put their whole hearts into the shows and the company. Also, to form a bond with our director Neill because he is the best ever.

Miranda:  Read the script more than once and ask Neill for specific answers. Sometimes we’ll find out a major costume is missing or entirely different right before the show. It gets super stressful. I would also say steal as many of the actors as you can to have them try everything on early.

HB: Anything else you want to tell the readers?

Lily: I love love love HTC and cannot believe this is my last show! Everyone should consider joining, it’s an incredible experience.

So please, let HTC “entertain you” at Gypsy this weekend!

Thursday, April 12th @ 7pm

Friday, April 13th @ 7pm

Saturday, April 14th @ 2pm and 7pm

Tickets at the door or at harritontheater.com