A Family Affair
Constanza Romero and her daughter, Azula Carmen Wilson, attend the opening of August Wilson’s Radio Golf on Broadway in 2007.
Things are getting personal over at Seattle Repertory Theatre—in a good way. August Wilson’s play Fences, opening tonight, will feature costumes by his widow, Constanza Romero, a talented designer who’s also created the outfits for the cast of Broadway’s Fences, starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis (and, coincidentally, opening in two weeks). Suddenly, Romero’s a jet-setter, crossing the country to bring a special, familial touch to one of Wilson’s greatest dramas: the story of a Negro League ballplayer-turned-garbage collector who watches Jackie Robinson rise to fame as his own American Dream turns to dust.
Romero says she’s happy to be working again—she took a break after Wilson’s passing in 2005 to manage his estate—but she admits that the dual production schedule is daunting. “I designed this show a long, long, long time ago when I was just getting out of grad school,” she said over coffee back in February. "It just seems like nothing I did then is helping me now!” Romero weighs in…
…On her costumes…
My approach is kind of like a portrait. I can think of the face and the inner workings of the character, and clothes come last.
…On working with Wilson…
He had an amazing amount of respect for visual artists. He kind of always wanted to be like Picasso or Matisse. We’d be working on a play and I’d be sketching in my studio, and I’d draw a character. He’d go up and look at it really closely, and sometimes he’d say, let me go downstairs and write the character so it fit more with the sketch. It was really cool.
…On why Fences matters now…
Fences is about a lot of deferred dreams. In 1957, there was a man who could have been anything, done anything, and yet the limitations of his time, his race and economic state limited him to being a garbage collector. But that did not lessen the greatness of his spirit. There should be a reason for everybody to hope for the better. That is as true now as it was then.
Fences, celebrating its 25th anniversary, runs at Seattle Repertory Theatre through April 18. For tickets, go to SeattleRep.org.
