Christel Murdock was first “mesmerized” by theater when she was just five years old. Her parents took her to see a local production of “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.” “At one point, Molly jumped on top of an upright piano,” Murdock recalled. “I remember thinking, ‘We have one of those. I’m going to do that as soon as I get home.’”
Despite Murdock’s early love of theater, she never expected to forge a career in the industry. “As a child I didn’t know I could work in theater, so my dream job was a secretary like Carol on ‘The Bob Newhart Show,’” she said. “Once I hit middle school I was focused on music. I knew I’d go to college for music and probably become a music teacher.”
Two of Murdock’s high school teachers (Mr. Floyd Frisbie and Ms. Virginia Kozerski) shepherded her toward performance. After studying for a year at Berklee College of Music, she transferred to Boston Conservatory. Murdock began performing in summer stock shows, but when she moved to New York City — one gig changed her course.
“A friend introduced me to fashion week,” Murdock said. She wound up dressing for fashion shows. “Another person I met at fashion week was looking for dressers at the Roundabout Theatre Company. I figured I’d fill in as a non-union sub dresser on [the Off-Broadway play] ‘A Flea in Her Ear’ for a few months and that would be it.” But when “Flea” closed, Roundabout offered Murdock a full-time dressing role. As Murdock said, “I took the job and never looked back.”
Murdock eventually supervised wardrobe for Roundabout at the company’s Off-Broadway venue, the Laura Pels Theatre, from 1999 to 2003, before taking on the position of principal dresser for 2003’s “Flower Drum Song.” She quickly ascended to wardrobe supervisor on Broadway with 2003’s “I Am My Own Wife.” Today, she serves as wardrobe supervisor for “Aladdin,” where in 2014 she first began as assistant wardrobe supervisor.
Here, Murdock breaks down the ins and outs of supervising a production that features approximately 337 costumes.
What does a wardrobe supervisor do?
Christel Murdock: The wardrobe supervisor’s job is to maintain the costume designer’s vision. [For “Aladdin,” that’s Gregg Barnes.] The costumes should look exactly as they did on opening night. Achieving this takes skilled, hardworking individuals.
With whom do you work on a daily basis?
Murdock: The wardrobe department at “Aladdin” consists of the wardrobe supervisor (me), assistant wardrobe supervisor Ron Tagert, four tailors, one laundry person, a daily work crew of eight to 10 [people] and 15 dressers.
Describe a typical day at work.
Murdock: I start my day around 8 a.m. by checking emails. I need to see if there have been any schedule updates or unscheduled callouts by actors, dressers and day workers (who steam and iron costumes, check for repairs, etc.). If a day worker has called out, we must fill that spot immediately. If a dresser has called out, we must find a swing dresser to run their track.
After emails and schedule updates, I head to the theater or our storage space — I’m usually there by 11 a.m. Ron and I are available during day work to help with any repair/alteration questions or to shop for any needed supplies. This could also include swatching, [which is] gathering pieces of fabric for the designer to look over when an original fabric is no longer being produced.
We supervise fittings for new actors coming into (or returning to) the show. Some of the fittings take place at costume shops around the city and some are held in our wardrobe room. For new actors, we pull costumes from our storage and confirm that we have the appropriate costumes for that track.
We work on future schedules. This includes costume-fitting times and fulfilling time-off requests for the dressing crew as well as the day workers. We facilitate onstage rehearsals and put-ins. If a new actor is going into the show, we have a “put-in” for that person [in which we run the show].
During the show we are available for any emergency that may arise. If a dresser must drop out, we need to jump in or shift people around to keep things moving. We troubleshoot costume-fit issues that may be brought to our attention. If a zipper breaks or a shoe falls apart, we can help fix it or find an alternate costume. If an actor drops out [mid-show], we help get the understudy onstage.
We update our costume logs so we can track what costumes have been assigned to each actor. We submit requests for new costume builds. We finalize weekly dry-cleaning and laundry lists. We finalize day work and dressing schedules, as well as payroll. I leave the theater when the show comes down around 9:20 or 10:20 p.m., depending on the day of the week.
What is the piece of your job that you love, that you never tire of
Murdock: Hearing the audience after one of the big production numbers. That roar is something else!
What are some of the challenges of your job?
Murdock: The biggest challenge is keeping all the timelines on track. Right now, we are in the middle of a cast change, we are bringing in two swings, we just had a Disney convention in California and we have a few press events. I am on site for all appearances. There are always moving parts, and we cannot drop one item.
Tell me a story from a day on the job that you’ll never forget.
Murdock: When Broadway reopened after the COVID shutdown, we were on very shaky ground. We were faced with COVID outbreaks constantly. Around Christmas we had an enormous outbreak that included 11 of our 15 dressers. I was faced with the task of finding dressers, hiring them and teaching them the show. Once we had enough people hired, we set about teaching the new dressers the [individual] tracks that they would be running.
We didn’t have actors to use for the rehearsals, so our remaining four dressers [of the original 15] would stand in as the actors so the new dressers could get a feel for the costumes. The new dressers would pack their baskets, do their presets and mime the costume changes. We did this for a few days until the cast was called into the theater for a run-through.
Describe a moment when you felt hugely proud to be doing what you do.
Murdock: Watching that run-through and seeing everyone make their changes! The opening of Act 2 is “Prince Ali” — the changes are many and very fast. I watched from the house and could not believe the magic that was unfolding before me. I still get a bit choked up thinking of how stressful that time was. But every dresser worked tirelessly to make it happen.
What is Broadway to you?
Murdock: A community of incredibly skilled individuals. The commitment that we make to Broadway is indescribable. It is a very special place, and we are very lucky to be a part of it. I get to listen to wonderful music played and sung by the best of the best six days a week! Not a bad way to make a living.
If you could change one thing about your job or Broadway or theater, what would it be?
Murdock: I wish the cost to produce a show was not so high. The price of a ticket keeps going up. So many people are left out, especially young adults. If ticket prices could be lower and more accessible, we could reach even more kids, who are the future of Broadway.
What is one thing you wish audiences understood better about theater?
Murdock: I think most audiences are very appreciative. I do find it amusing when I hear someone say, “You do this eight times a week?” I don’t think people realize the number of hours we spend in the theater.
What is one thing you wish other industry insiders understood better about your job or theater from your perspective?
Murdock: That we do make magic happen but it’s not easy. We do not rest because we are always thinking about what is needed next. The magic of theater is created by dedicated individuals that take pride in their work and are committed to this business.
