Word: beaton
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...those lavish reminders that the assembly line is not the fountain of inspiration, that known quantities gathered together do not necessarily produce the elusively unknown quantities of fine dramatic art or exciting entertainment. Wands are wielded by Katharine Hepburn, Alan Jay Lerner, Andre Previn and Cecil Beaton, but no magic ensues. No wish is fulfilled. No dream comes true...
Admirable though it is, her work does not work, precisely because it is all work and no play. She gets little help. Andre Previn's score always misses, without ever swinging. Beaton's costumes are a slight modification of the timeless Edwardia that he prefers to inhabit, and scarcely reflect the spare Mondrian modern that is the mark of Chanel. Lerner's book manages to suggest a rough draft rather than a finished libretto. He must be somewhat chagrined that the biggest laugh of the evening comes when Hepburn spits out the short word for excrement...
...reincarnation of Romeo and Juliet. Candice Bergen poses as though she belongs on the prow of a ship-and says that she "can't think of anything grimmer than being an ageing actress; god, it's worse than being an ageing homosexual." Rudolf Nureyev romps with Cecil Beaton; Jeanne Moreau presses her fingers nervously to her mouth; Malcolm Muggeridge scowls in fearsome closeup. And Fashion Designer Douglas Hayward remarks: "Everyone is so insecure . . . what can a Rolling Stone do at forty...
Designer Cecil Beaton has drawn up only two basic sets: Chanel's salon and her ornate, book-filled apartment above the salon. But they are mechanical marvels that split, spin, break apart and generally transform themselves from the identifiable into the abstract, depending upon the mood of the scene...
...with two sets, Beaton ended up designing 253 Chanel-style costumes for the show (total costume cost: $150,000) including 11 that will be dismantled during the performance, as Coco rips them apart and starts all over again. The musical's finale is a fashion show that features Chanel designs spanning 1918 to 1959. "It's like a Busby Berkeley number," says a member of the troupe. "The whole set is transformed into mirrors, platforms and rings going in different directions. Everything is turning and flashing at once...