I don't normally write about musicals
on here, so for now I won't obsess much about how
fascinating and convincing and generally brilliant I find the
personification of death (der Tod in German) in the musical
Elisabeth. However, the costumes alone are dazzling and close enough
to my usual taste in clothes to be worth a post on their own 8D.
For starters, der Tod always wears
[nearly] monochromatic outfits. I think my favorite is the black
outfit Uwe Kröger wore in the 1992 production...
I also like the neatness in some of the
more recent costumes (for example, the ones worn by Oliver Arno.)
Der Tod's costumes are usually fairly
simple (even the outfit with the elegant frock coat has what appears
to be a simple mock turtleneck under it) but not without making an
impact. The make-up and jewelry worn by some versions (not to mention
Uwe Kröger's hair in the original production =D) add a sense of
androgyny that I also enjoy and find highly appropriate for the
character.
The idea of the inevitability and
necesity of death as a theme is also very appealing, and I find the
way der Tod in Elisabeth is presented as something as familiar as
another human to be a highly effective (although subtle) way of
expressing that. I find it preferable to accept and embrace one's mortality rather than fear it (and by "embrace" I do NOT mean being suicidal, but rather resisting the urge to avoid thinking about death or taking worthwhile risks out of fear of death), and the way der Tod is woven into the unraveling of the power of the European royalty and the end of that era feels somewhat similar to the unfolding industrial collapse in this era and our collective refusal to make our lifestyles more conducive to our long term survival as a species.
Even though one is never really allowed to forget what der Tod really is, he looks and acts like a human (albeit a highly intrusive and possibly unhinged one), and although a lot of this is expressed in how purposeful his actions seem and how ominously they line up with the mental processes of the living, the way he's dressed like he gives a shit (as opposed to the rags or simple cloak of your usual grim reaper type) certainly adds to the familiarity while at the same time setting him apart from the cast by having him always wear mostly black or all white.
Even though one is never really allowed to forget what der Tod really is, he looks and acts like a human (albeit a highly intrusive and possibly unhinged one), and although a lot of this is expressed in how purposeful his actions seem and how ominously they line up with the mental processes of the living, the way he's dressed like he gives a shit (as opposed to the rags or simple cloak of your usual grim reaper type) certainly adds to the familiarity while at the same time setting him apart from the cast by having him always wear mostly black or all white.
Although they make him stand out,
der Tod is not the only character to wear monochromatic costumes.
Luigi Lucheni also has a tendency toward mostly-black costumes, and
Elisabeth herself tends to wear a lot of white (or, later, all
black.) These commonalities tie the three characters together nicely
(although Elisabeth's outfits are usually based off the clothes the
real Elisabeth wore in the existing paintings and photographs of
her.)
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