She started out making a costume for her daughter, now Kerry Younie has costumed over 20 years worth of Soundstage productions.
Experience she will need to draw from as she faces one of the more daunting challenges in her two decades with Soundstage Productions, Broadway Musicals in Concert, which features over 20 numbers from some of Broadway’s best musicals.
The room at the Lakeside Resort that Younie operates out of is covered with outfits and materials as opening night, Jan. 20, draws near.
“We’re probably close to being finished costuming. By Sunday (Jan. 10) the cast has to start performing in their costumes, and there is a lot of costume changes in this show, so they have to get used to it,” Younie said.
It’s an organized chaos, something she’s picked up over the past two decades.
“I think now I have a system and it just works because I’ve done it so often. Everyone has their stuff and their names on everything on the racks and it stays organized,” Younie said.
She has a background and expertise in historical clothing and used to own a vintage clothing store, Vintage and Vogue, in Penticton. Experience that made Younie a unique asset for Soundstage Productions.
“Over the years I was a collector of vintage clothing and did a lot of research on it. So if we’re doing Les Mis I can tell right away what’s true to period, or Sweeny Todd,” Younie said.
Having collected a wide variety of costumes over the years, Younie was in a good position to revisit some old Soundstage favourites.
“Because we’ve done so many productions in the past, we have quite an extensive costume collection. So while we have had to make a lot of things for the show, we’re also using things that we have had from the past,” Younie said.
There’s a particular focus on costume work this year, mainly due to the fact that there are 44 performers representing 20 different shows.
“It’s costume heavy because it’s not one show,” Younie said. “Usually you do a show and you have one, maybe two, costumes for that show. Where in this case, everybody has a costume for every different show that is represented.”
Thankfully, Younie doesn’t run the whole operation alone.
“It’s a challenge, but it’s working out well because I have lots of people who help me. I have Debbie Dancey who sews for me and a couple other people who help me out.”
Broadway Musicals in Concert runs Jan. 20-23. Tickets are $45 plus tax and are available at the Penticton Lakeside Resort.