When it comes to costume design, Barnes is a legal eagle

By Patricia Morris Buckley

SDUN Theatre Critic

If Gregg Barnes’ life had gone the way he planned, he would have been teaching high school English somewhere rather than designing costumes for Broadway plays such as “Legally Blonde.” The show’s national tour will be at the Civic Theatre from March 30-April 4.

In fact, Barnes’ story starts right here in San Diego – El Cajon, to be specific, where his mother still lives. He attended SDSU as a lit major and dreamed of teaching high school and being the school’s “drama guy.”

“I came to costume design in a round about way,” he said from his home in New York City. “While at SDSU, I started designing costumes at Grossmont College’s theater department. I thought it was just a hobby. But that’s when I discovered I had a knack. But I did finish getting my teaching certificate.”

When he heard a lecture by Robert Morgan, who designs sets across the country, he realized he had to give New York a shot.

“At that time, I had no ambition to leave San Diego,” he said. “But after that lecture, I knew I had to try. So I went to graduate school at New York University. And when I graduated from there, they offered me a job teaching costume design. I’ve been there 20 years now.”

Other Broadway shows he’s designed include “The Drowsy Chaperone” (for which he received the 2006 Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards), “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” “Flower Drum Song” (Tony nomination) and “The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular.” Barnes earned Tony and Drama Desk nominations for his work on “Legally Blonde.”

He began his work on “Legally Blonde” by getting familiar with the movie version that starred Reese Witherspoon. It tells the story of Elle Wood, the ultimate UCLA sorority girl who expects her perfect boyfriend to propose at the sorority formal. Instead he dumps her for a more “serious” girl as he transitions to Harvard Law School. She decides the only way to get her man back is to get into Harvard as well. What follows is a fluffy yet enjoyable journey of self-discovery and empowerment.

“The first thing I did when I got the job was to run and see the film,” he said. “I didn’t realize that it was also a book. I was excited because Jerry Mitchell, the director and choreographer, has a singular vision and is very good at focusing the story.”

Barnes approached Mitchell with the idea of making the costumes completely different from the movie.

“As fun and witty as the costumes in the movie are, we wanted a more classic look, so we ended up not referencing the film much,” he said. “Modern dress goes out of style so quickly, the costume vocabulary in the film would date fast, so we decided to not land much on trends.”

Barnes had friends in LA take photos of people at the trendy Beverly Center, another friend take pictures in Boston, and then he made a visit to New York City’s Bergdorf Goodman. From that he came up with a strategy that more closely referenced the film “The Devil Wears Prada,” another story of a young girl plunged into an alien community.

“We wanted to be sure that Elle is always the focus, so we dressed her in pink and no one else wears that color,” he explained. “Everyone else is in cool colors, such as blues and lilacs.”

Shape was also an important factor. All of Elle’s costumes are tightly fitted, while the others are loose “sloppy chic.” Only one piece of Elle’s wardrobe was purchased – the rest were made specifically for her, to look as if they’re designer labels from Rodeo Drive.

Barnes followed the show to London’s West End where the show received an even warmer reception than it did in New York, something he speculates has to do with the Brits’ fascination with the Yanks and vice versa. Next up for him is a return to San Diego this summer, where he is designing the new adaptation of the film “Robin and the Seven Hoods” at the Old Globe Theatre. He has designed numerous times there, which is where “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” began.

“It’s going to be great staying with my mom and getting my San Diego spirit together,” he said. “Then it’s back to New York where there are so many new musicals coming up.”