Best Wit With a Stitch
Susan Branch Towne
Any actor armed with a sufficiently snarky wisecrack or a spit take can get a laugh onstage, but a frock? It's the rare garment that can garner a guffaw. But when Edna Turnblad emerged from the plus-sized can of Aqua Net in Zach Theatre's production of Hairspray, her over-the-top, Technicolor, early Sixties gown was what gave folks the giggles. That's because it was crafted by Susan Branch Towne, a costume designer who can do for stagewear what Oscar Wilde did for epigrams: make ’em sharp, witty, and memorable. Her unerring sense of style, color, and texture ensures that her outfits are never less than gorgeous, but when the work calls for comedy – say, The Drowsy Chaperone at Zach, The Bat for Austin Lyric Opera, or Ballet Austin's The Magic Flute – Branch Towne twists those qualities to make fashion funny. She sews the joke right into the clothes and makes the line between style and satire seamless.
