“Fashion, the Musical!” Joseph Altuzarra, Public School, & More Reveal Their Broadway Ambitions
Model Vanessa Axente wearing Altuzarra, with the designer. Photo: Getty Images
The Tony Awards have always been fun, moving, and sometimes astonishing. But fashion-forward? Not so much. Enter Anna Wintour, whose devotion to Broadway moved the style empress to summon her troops this spring.
Suddenly, major designers were dressing theater geeks, and catwalk queens—Kendall Jenner and Amber Valetta among them—were posing en masse on the Tony red carpet. (It’s all just in time for the hot Broadway rumor claiming a Devil Wears Prada musical will soon hit the stage.)
To celebrate, we asked fashion folk two important questions: would they ever consider appearing on Broadway, and if not, who would play them in a musical?
“We had to do plays every year in school, but thankfully I didn’t have to sing—they were just plays… although Bye Bye Birdie is my favorite musical ever, and I would have loved to do that!…So no, I don’t think I’d be on Broadway, but if someone was going to play me on Broadway, it should be Idina Menzel! Because I love Wicked…She’s Princess Elsa from Frozen… Sometimes I just want to be her.” —Hilary Rhoda, model
“I went to French school, and I had to be in a Molière play—The Misanthrope. It was so fun, but oh my gosh, there’s a reason I’m a designer and not an actor… but if someone were to play me onstage, it would obviously be Darren Criss!” —Joseph Altuzarra, designer
From left: Dao-Yi Chow, model Grace Mahary, and Maxwell Osbourne. Photo: Getty Images
“I was in Huck Finn. I was not any good and I still have nightmares about forgetting my lines. Nobody would cast me in a fashion musical. I would be an extra who stands in the back and thankfully doesn’t have any lines. I would obviously do costumes, though, because my Huck Finn—I mean, when I floated down the Missouri River, I did it spectacularly, and in style.” —Wes Gordon, designer
“I don’t think I need to do any more plays. It was mandatory to do theater here in New York City as a kid. Every year, we had to do a play in school. I sang a solo in the second grade. I sang “This Little Light of Mine” and I was nervous as hell, and I got a standing ovation from my mother. So no more theater for me, but if someone was gonna play me onstage, it should be Hugh Grant, right? Because he can sing and da—wait… not Hugh Grant. Hugh Jackman. Hugh Grant could be cool too, though.” —Maxwell Osbourne, designer for Public School and DKNY
“I was in Christmas pageants every year. I played one of the angels. I had a halo and wings, and I loved doing it, because it was a really magical feeling… But who would play me in a musical? Can we wait and see who wins the Tony tonight, so I can pick them?” —Ivanka Trump, socialite and designer
“My claim to fame in school was as a backup dancer. We would write all our own plays in class and then perform them. And I would do a dance in every one. But I think Tony Bennett should play me in a musical, don’t you? The similarities, I mean, how have they not done this already? I’m actually being serious.” —Dao-Yi Chow, designer for Public School and DKNY
“Why don’t the casting directors call me? I’m open to playing myself!” —Prabal Gurung, designer
