Long Lost Plans For Costumes

Any Broadway show takes an enormous amount of planning. A Broadway musical takes even more. Compare early sketches of costumes to the final version!

Ebay offered up yet another "It's a Bird It's a Plane It's Superman©" treasure.
We've found some of the original plans for costuming the actors.
Let's see how these initial plans compare to the costumes that actually made it to Broadway.

Lois Lane

This initial sketch of a costume for Lois Lane (played on Broadway by Patricia Marand, originally played by Joan Hotchkis during Philadelphia previews of the show) features a yellow ensemble paired with a pink blouse. Swatches of the fabric are attached. These show an orange-yellow solid fabric with a light texture for the skirt and jacket, a wild 1960s-era paisley for the trim on the jacket (I once had wall paper that looked a lot like this fabric), and a soft pink fabric for Lois's blouse. Let's run through images of Lois Lane to see if these sketches were followed or overruled.

Act I, Scene 3 (or 4 in some versions)
Patricia Marand as Lois Lane and Don Chastain as Jim Morgan
As the MIT (Metropolis Institute of Technology) nuclear reactor comes close to blowing up, Lois and Jim squeeze into a protective fallout shelter.

In this tight little shield from the radioactive MIT nuclear reactor, Jim and Lois find themselves a bit at odds. This is a musical, so of course they sing "We Don't Matter At All." As you can see, Lois's outfit looks nothing like our sketch, despite the sketch being labeled as Act I, Scene 3. And even though the photo is black and white, there is no way that this production fabric could be yellow. Further, the swatch on the photo has a slight texture, but the on-stage photo shows a heavy tweed was used in the final costume. The style of costume is quite different from the original sketch: no hat, no gloves, and no decorative pockets, plus the collar and princess seams are much more flattering than the sketch depicts. This is definitely not the same costume.

Could the outfit in the sketch have appeared in another scene?

Act I, Scene 5
Patricia Marand as Lois Lane and Jack Cassidy as Max Mencken
In the offices of The Daily Planet.

Everyone falls in love with Lois. In this scene, gossip columnist Max Mencken tries his best to woo the lovely Lois Lane, singing an egotistical tribute to himself, "You're The Woman For The Man" ... who has everything. And once again, we can see that this production costume bears no resemblance to the early sketch. The jacket is form-fitted instead of boxy, and the skirt is pleated instead of straight.

Act I, Scene 7
Patricia Marand as Lois Lane
The Screening Room at The Daily Planet.

In this scene, we see Lois Lane singing "What I've Always Wanted." Her life has just been changed by a single, passionate kiss from the man she used to disdain, Jim Morgan. Suddenly, she feels that Superman cannot offer her the life she wants, and finding a down-to-earth man like Jim Morgan is exactly what she's been waiting for. Finally, we see a photo that could possibly be a yellow dress, but beyond the color, it bears no resemblance to the costume sketch.

Act II, Scene 2
Bob Holiday as Superman and Patricia Marand as Lois Lane
Clark Kent's Apartment.

When we again catch up with Superman and Lois Lane, they have accidentally met up in Clark Kent's apartment. Superman has been rejected by the Citizens of Metropolis. He has just sung "The Strongest Man in the World" and is feeling utterly dejected. Lois has unexpectedly surprised him in Clark's apartment, and naively wonders why Superman is there. While the audience knows, Lois does not, and Superman tells her that Clark allowed him to use the apartment for the weekend. (We know that Superman does not lie, and we also know that this, quite frankly, is the truth.) This is the first time we see Lois in Act II, so we do not know what lovely ensemble is beneath her coat. All we know is that this coat is not a part of the original sketch.

That's it. We have no further photos of Patricia Marand as Lois Lane, except for the finale. There's nothing in any of these photos that looks remotely like the early costume sketch.

But in the beginning, Patricia Marand did not play Lois Lane. In the beginning (in the Philadelphia tryouts), Lois Lane was planed by Joan Hotchkis.

Act I, Scene 5
Joan Hotchkis as Lois Lane and Jack Cassidy as Max Mencken
In the offices of The Daily Planet.

During the Philadelphia tryouts of "It's a Bird It's a Plane It's Superman©" Joan Hotchkis was replaced by Patricia Marand in the role of Lois Lane. While this costume does not match Ms. Marand's in Act I, Scene 5 (above), the fabric is quite similar.

Take a look at the next two photos!

Act I, Scene 2
Bob Holiday as Clark Kent and Joan Hotchkis as Lois Lane
In the offices of The Daily Planet.

And the mystery is solved. Yes, this blouse could be pink. Yes, the fabric swatches are the right texture. And yes, the style is virtually identical to the costume sketch.

Act I, Scene 3 (or 4 in some versions)
Joan Hotchkis as Lois Lane and Don Chastain as Jim Morgan
As the MIT (Metropolis Institute of Technology) nuclear reactor comes close to blowing up, Lois and Jim squeeze into a protective fallout shelter.

And finally, we see a close approximation of the jacket from our early costume sketch. True, the hat is not a perfect match, nor is Lois wearing gloves. But the cut of the jacket and its collar are perfect, and we even see a hint of the wild paisley print trim from the fabric swatch. The decorative pockets are missing, but every designer has to make changes when recreating a drawing with fabric.

In conclusion, the early sketch for Lois Lane's costume was actually sewn and worn on stage. Of course, when the role of Lois Lane was re-cast and given to Patricia Marand, costumes had to be re-designed to suit Ms. Marand's statuesque anatomy. The most important consideration for any costume designer is that the costumes suit the actor while creating the illusion that transports the audience to, in this case, Metropolis!

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Footnotes:
"Costumes by Florence Klotz"
per the "It's a Bird It's a Plane It's Superman©" program.
While the sketch is unsigned, the style is quite similar to known sketches by Ms. Klotz.
Also in the program are the following notes (CREDITS, p.40)
Wardrobe Mistress ........ Lillian Beuttel
Costumes executed by Costume Associates, Inc.
Shoes for Superman and the Flying Lings by LaRay Boot Shop.
Other shoes by Capezio.
Misses Marand's-Lavin's hats by Archie Eason.
Stockings by Jessie Zimmer.
Fabrics by Julian Tomchin.
Raincoats courtesy of Fashions by Claudia
Miss Marand's yellow ensemble by Bill Blass for Maurice Rentner, Ltd.
Miss Marand's eyelashes by Eylure.
First Act Finale costumes executed by Grace Costume Co.
Handbags by Coblentz.
Men's shirts by Excello.
Men's hose by Marum.
Superman Sweat shirts courtesy of Allison Mfg. Co.
Raincoats courtesy of Fashion by Claudia.
Watches by Sheffield.
What a super team was needed simply to clothe the cast!