The power of hats The power of hats (April 08, 2005)

TheatreWorks closes season with 'Crowns'

By Julie O'Shea

Wear a hat; wear a different outlook on life -- such is the motto of Ruth Garland-Dewson, a longtime San Francisco shop owner who made a name for herself dressing the heads of such celebrities as Bruce Springsteen, Samuel L. Jackson and Sharon Stone.

And now she can add one more name to her extensive client list: TheatreWorks. The Silicon Valley theater company commissioned Garland-Dewson to find a couple dozen hats for its new show, "Crowns," which has its regional premiere at the Mountain View Performing Arts Center on Saturday.

Adapted from the Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry book, "Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats," Regina Taylor's musical will bring TheatreWorks' 35th-anniversary season to a close.

"It's a very soul-searching type of musical. I think it's just a fabulous production," said Garland-Dewson in a phone interview from her San Francisco home on Monday. With a delighted laugh, she added: "There are hats everywhere."

That's no joke. The production makes use of some 200 hats, incorporated in both the costumes and the set design.

"I don't think you'll look at a woman in a hat the same way again," said director Anthony Haney. "It's more than a fashion statement, though."

Indeed, this show is more than just a tribute to the brimmed head accessory; it's also the story of family, and the celebration of spirit and faith.

"We are all looking for ways to redefine ourselves, that is really what this play is all about," Haney said. "It's not race specific; it's not gender specific. For me, the 'crowns' are a metaphor for the journey - life's journey."

In "Crowns," Yolanda, a streetwise kid from Brooklyn, is sent to live with her grandmother in South Carolina after her brother is murdered. Through song and story, Yolanda's grandmother and friends, who all wear one-of-a-kind hats, help the young girl push through the tough times and find her identity.

"What I didn't want on stage was a whole bunch of people pretending to be affected by the Spirit," Haney said, alluding to the show's religious undertones. " I wanted it to be genuine. We are all actors, but I didn't want it to be really funny or forced."

Haney needn't worry. Garland-Dewson, who's invited one of her most devout costumers, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, to opening night, has sat through hours of rehearsals and said the show's going to bring down the house.

"I'm really excited about it," she said. San Francisco's famed hat lady is setting up shop in the performing arts center lobby and will be selling the show's look-alike costume pieces during intermission as well as before and after the show. And when the production draws to a close at the beginning of May, Garland-Dewson promised: "We're going to have a sale. A big sale."

Garland-Dewson's Pacific Heights shop, Mrs. Dewson's Hats, is located at 2050 Fillmore St. in San Francisco.
E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com
Information: Regina Taylor's "Crowns," opens Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St. Shows are Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. (no performance April 26); Wednesdays through Fridays 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. (8 p.m. only on April 9 and 30); Sundays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., (2 p.m. only on April 17 and May 1); closes May 1.; Call 903-6000 or visit theatreworks.org

E-mail a friend a link to this story.