“Designing has everything. It’s difficult, it’s hard work, it’s harassing, it’s full of drama. But the thing that holds my interest always is MORE; what’s next, what’s going to be the next exciting thing.”
So said Roy Halston Frowick, the iconic subject of playwright Raffaele Pacitti’s one-man show “Mister Halston,” making its world premier at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor next week.
Opening on Tuesday, June 2, the play launches Bay Street’s 35th theatrical season, highlighting the rise, artistic legacy and ultimate fall of the acclaimed American fashion designer, set in the chic and glamorous world of 1970s and 80s New York City. The play follows the famous designer, known mononymously as Halston, who redefined American fashion with minimalist yet modern glamour and elegant design. Directed by Michael Wilson, produced in association with Tony Award-winning producer Bruce Robert Harris, and executive produced by fashion designer and East End resident Donna Karan, the play stars Bay Street veteran actor Matt McGrath in the title role.
“‘Mister Halston’ brings one of fashion’s most iconic names to the stage in Sag Harbor for the first time,” says a press statement from the theater. “From the runways of New York to the energy of Studio 54, this world premiere invites audiences inside the dazzling, demanding and deeply personal world of a man who built an empire around elegance, image and reinvention.”
Originally hailing from Des Moines, Iowa, Halston was born in 1932. He studied at the School of Art Institute of Chicago in the early 50s, eventually launching a small business designing and crafting women’s hats. He quickly gained a following and opened up his own boutique in 1957 on the Windy City’s Magnificent Mile. His knack for hat-making is what brought him to New York, earning the top spot of the craft for Bergdorf Goodman. He gained national fame for creating the pillbox hat worn by Jackie Kennedy at her husband JFK’s inauguration in 1961. His sleek designs helped to define the fashion looks of the 70s and 1980s, until several bad business decisions led to his ultimate downfall. Halston ended up losing control of his brand and died in 1990 of complications from AIDS.
His legacy remains in the fashion world as someone who liberated women from constrictive, antiquated clothing options and played a major role in innovative, designer and lifestyle brands and thusly, the collaborations between the two.
Tickets to the play start at $60 and are available here. “Mister Halston” will be on Bay Street through June 21.
