Allison Stroman - On Sunday June 16, Broadway’s greats gathered at Lincoln Center to celebrate and honor achievements across this season’s Broadway productions. On the red carpet, a popular theme emerged: sequins and embellishments. Stars like Sarah Paulson, Cynthia Erivo, and Brooke Shields donned sparkling garments.
Shoshana Bean, friend and supporter of Repurpose, was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for her performance in Hell’s Kitchen. She stunned on the red carpet in a custom Randi Rahm ensemble with a sparkling skirt. In a video by Women’s Wear Daily, Shoshana Bean reveals that this skirt was originally a dress. Speaking about the day of the Tony Awards as a performer, she details how early that morning each performance for the Tony’s is prerecorded in case anything happens live. Then she went and performed a matinee of Hell’s Kitchen, before getting ready for the Tony Awards on a “45-minute turn around” and heading the red carpet.
With the popularity of Broadway in New York City, Repurpose Wardrobe offers second hand luxury items perfect for mirroring the style of these stars.
Like Repurpose, Broadway is working towards a better future for the environment. At the helm is the Broadway Green Alliance, an “industry-wide initiative that educates, motivates, and inspires the entire theatre community and its patrons to implement environmentally friendly practices on Broadway and beyond.” Launched in 2008, the Broadway Green Alliance is affiliated with the Broadway League and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. At its core, the BGA is about working together to repair the damage done by climate change: “Change results from the cumulative effect of our actions”. They emphasize that their “climate positive” work must happen in tandem with racial justice stating, “There is no climate justice without racial justice.”
Since their opening in 2008, the Broadway Green Alliance has created a free database of educational resources for theaters around the country with topics ranging from production to opening and closing a show to events. These resources extend to specialized resource management guides and video guides. All of these resources are free and easily accessible to the public.
The BGA has spearheaded a wide variety of initiatives to make Broadway greener. Across Broadway, there are 100,000 light bulbs on the various marquees. The BGA led the shift to LED and CFL lights which saves over 800 tons of carbon each year. For these productions, laundry is a big task that takes a lot of time and resources to wash at times hundreds of costumes. Thanks to LG Electronics, these washing machines are now energy efficient washers “which saves enough energy to light the outside and marquee lights for nearly two months”. Theaters have also changed out disposable batteries for rechargeable batteries in microphones and flashlights which greatly reduces waste.
To help each company implement and maintain green practices, the BGA has Green Captains for each show. With 100% participation on Broadway, these Green Captains also work on tours, regional productions, off-Broadway, and at over 70 colleges and universities to support the shift towards a more environmentally conscious industry.
Outside of the theaters themselves, the BGA conducts textile recycling and collection initiatives which have “[k]ept over 22,000 pounds of textiles out of landfills” since their inception. Furthermore, they work to keep binders for readings and rehearsals in circulation rather than going into landfills. Since their founding, the Broadway Green Alliance has reused 10,000 binders. The BGA also has events for the general public, including textile and electronic-waste recycling events which occur twice a year in Times Square and are free and open to the public.
The Broadway Green Alliance emphasizes the power of shopping secondhand and utilizing upcycling and recycling for clothes and costumes. Similarly, Repurpose Wardrobe harnesses the secondhand market to contribute to a climate positive mission and to empower future workforce in fashion and design. Through donations, Repurpose keeps luxury clothing out of landfills and in circulation with some items going through an upcycling process. To support these initiatives, get involved with Repurpose Wardrobe. If you would like to see Repurpose Wardrobe at the Times Square clothing recycling event or in the Actors Equity Building, let us know so we can pursue a partnership with the Broadway Green Alliance.