Into the Woods

Select Characters | project for Costume Design course, UMBC Fall 2019

This design for Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods is inspired by the art of Edouard Duval Carrié and set in the 1830s in the Caribbean, drawing influences from Haiti, Jamaica, and other Afro-Caribbean cultures. The clothing of wealthier characters leans in a more formal, Eurocentric direction, as it would during this period in the Caribbean, and the lower class characters wear garments closer to traditional folkwear. The elements of magic throughout the show are attributed to voodoo in this interpretation, and this is most clearly seen in the costuming of the Witch and the Wolf. Overall, this design concept leans into the already-existing class issues within the piece, and ties into Into the Woods’ central message that “wishes come true, not free.” Much like within the world of the play, worshipping wealth and doing whatever it takes to achieve the material things one desired often came with serious consequences within the political context of early postcolonial Caribbean countries. The art of Edouard Duval Carrié combines traditional Haitian themes, such as voodoo and a connection to nature, with eurocentric influences brought on through colonialism, all within a realm of magical realism. The elements of fantasy in his work mesh nicely, both thematically and aesthetically, with the fantasy elements in Into the Woods.