A dress made some 140 years ago recently stepped into the spotlight for Sterling College Theatre’s production of the play A Doll’s House, Part 2. 

The show is set in 1894, 15 years after Henrik Ibsen’s original in which the main character Nora Helmer walks out the door on her husband and children. In PART 2, Nora returns as a successful writer of some wealth. 

Rather than creating a new dress in an 1890’s style, SC Artistic Director and Costume Designer for this show, Lesa Brown happened on a picture-perfect actual period dress that is estimated to be about 140 years old. 

The show was presented in an intimate setting with the audience seated on the stage with the actors, which meant all elements had to be ultra realistic since the audience was merely inches away from the actors. 

Retired, long-time theatre faculty member Diane DeFranco-Kling recalls the dress being in a box that was donated to the department about 25 years ago from an estate sale. It had never been used because she felt it was too fragile and too small to be used. But she kept it, thank goodness! 

Nora was played by Sterling College junior Mary Little, who lives up to her name, and is one of the few who could wear a size 00 by today’s measure. Brown and her costume students spent an estimated 30 hours adjusting, ironing and reinforcing the garment of silk faille and velvet to prepare it for use in the show.

Show director Betsy Dutton said. “The deep rust/maroon color, the velvet trim, the mutton sleeves and even the peach blouse underneath made it absolutely perfect for the character and the show!”

During the climactic confrontation scene, Dutton had Little jump onto the back of Noah Svaty, the actor playing her husband, then she fell to the floor. At Saturday night’s performance the skirt of the vintage dress split apart. Little skillfully held the skirt together to get through to the end of the show, but Brown had to spend an additional five hours afterwards repairing the waistband and hem for the show’s final performance.  

“While it’s exciting to have such a wonderful vintage piece to work with, we had to treat it very delicately,” Brown explained. “Though it was very, very stained to begin with, thankfully that didn't show up on stage. It had obviously been worn in the past, based on the stains and past repairs. But generally, on the inside, the construction was pristine, using materials from the 1890s. It was pretty incredible and really a perfect piece for the show!”

Many of the costumes for Sterling College Theatre shows are designed and sewn from scratch. But many costumes are made from repurposed old drapes or old prom or wedding dresses. Brown said, “we are very appreciative of donations of actual vintage clothing like this piece, but we also really appreciate patrons donating drapes, tablecloths, bedspreads – any kinds of fabric that can be repurposed,” said Brown. 

Anyone interested in making a donation of such items or vintage clothing may do so by dropping it off at Spencer Hall any weekday.  

Next up for SC Theatre is William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream which will be staged March 7-9 in Culbertson Auditorium. 

Sterling College Theatre is dedicated to entertaining, educating, and enriching the community through high-quality theatrical productions. Rooted in a Christian liberal arts tradition, the program fosters creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration in an environment that inspires artistic and personal growth.
 

Sterling College is a Christ-centered, four-year college located in Sterling, Kan., with a mission to develop creative and thoughtful leaders who understand a maturing Christian faith. For more information, visit www.sterling.edu.