Hutton Wilkinson * Tony Duquette Inc. is a full service interior design firm based in Beverly Hills with current projects in Los Angeles, New York, Palm Beach and Thailand with completed projects in Paris, Venice, Hawaii and Saudi Arabia.
Camelot Original Broadway Production
New York, 1960
Tony Duquette designed the Tony Award winning costumes for the original Broadway production of Camelot. Produced by Lerner and Loew.
Duquette’s three dimensional costume design of a crow and an owl from Morgan Le Fay’s dominion, costumes designed by tony Duquette for the magic forest scene for the original.
“Two deer from Morgan Le Fay’s dominion” three dimensional costume designs by Tony Duquette for the original Broadway production of “Camelot”.
Actual performance of Camelot starring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews. All costumes and props by Tony Duquette c. 1960. (Color copiess obtained from the archives of the Museum of the City of New York)
Duquette’s three dimensional costume design of a knight on horseback and page. People who saw the original production marveled how Duquette got the enormous horses to behave on stage. In fact, the horses were actors on stilts holding up a horses body via suspenders over their shoulders, like a child’s hobby horse with fake legs dangling in stirrups above the ground. This way the horses would rear up and prance and looked completely real since they were draped to the floor in their Duquette designed jousting costumes.
Actual performance of Camelot starring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews. All costumes and props by Tony Duquette c. 1960. (Color copiess obtained from the archives of the Museum of the City of New York)
Early Medieval figures by Tony Duquette c. 1940’s were precursors to his work for “Camelot” c. 1960.
A watercolor rendering on velum of the magic forest scene for the original Broadway production of “Camelot”. The costumes for this production were designed by Tony Duquette c. 1960. Duquette’s creations won the tony award for best costume that year. Tony Duquette begged Lerner and Loew to insert a ballet sequence into the production. They fought and fought and finally Tony won his point. The magic forest sequence was Duquette’s invention, to have all the animals of the forest in Morgan Le Fay’s dominion take on human attributes and dance. Here little children dressed as frogs and beetles dance in front of tree people and flower people. Lerner and Loew thought Duquette’s idea would either stop the show or slow it down and they were wholeheartedly against it. In fact, the ballet sequence was a huge success causing one spectator to quip “It is the only musical where you leave whistling the costumes and sets”. Needless to say, Lerner and Loew never asked Tony to design for them again.
A”Toad” costume from the magic forest sequence of “Camelot” c. 1960’s.
A “Crow costume” for the magic forest ballet sequence, “Camelot” c. 1960’s
Actual performance of Camelot starring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews. All costumes and props by Tony Duquette c. 1960. (Color copiess obtained from the archives of the Museum of the City of New York)
A group of fabric swatches, chiffon and Thai silk used by Tony Duquette for the costumes for the original Broadway production of Camelot (Duquette claimed that it was the first time Thai silk had been used on the Broadway stage).
Actual performance of Camelot starring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews. All costumes and props by Tony Duquette c. 1960. (Color copiess obtained from the archives of the Museum of the City of New York)
Actual performance of Camelot starring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews. All costumes and props by Tony Duquette c. 1960. (Color copiess obtained from the archives of the Museum of the City of New York)
Duquette’s three dimensional costume designs of two noble tree and flower people from Morgan Le Fay’s court, the magic forest scene.
Tony’s original watercolor rendering on velum illustrating hear ravens, owls, and quails (little children in costume) dance in front of plummed people holding plummed parasols.
“Two nobles from king Arthur court” three dimensional costume designs by Tony Duquette for the original Broadway production of “Camelot”
Actual performance of Camelot starring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews. All costumes and props by Tony Duquette c. 1960. (Color copiess obtained from the archives of the Museum of the City of New York)
Actual performance of Camelot starring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews. All costumes and props by Tony Duquette c. 1960. (Color copiess obtained from the archives of the Museum of the City of New York)
Actual performance of Camelot starring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews. All costumes and props by Tony Duquette c. 1960. (Color copiess obtained from the archives of the Museum of the City of New York)
Actual performance of Camelot starring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews. All costumes and props by Tony Duquette c. 1960. (Color copiess obtained from the archives of the Museum of the City of New York)
Actual performance of Camelot starring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews. All costumes and props by Tony Duquette c. 1960. (Color copiess obtained from the archives of the Museum of the City of New York)