Artistic Directors of theaters do not tend to give specific criticisms (constructive feedback?) during the “notes” session after a Preview Performance. I have gathered that etiquette dictates the Artistic Director (AD) give all of their feedback to the director, who then decides what to do with it. I have most commonly heard the AD use their moment to give feedback to give words of encouragement or praise.
So, “Too Many Costumes!” was either such an egregious wrong that it required a break from etiquette or maybe this AD makes her own etiquette. Carey Perloff was the AD at American Conservatory Theater (ACT) when I was there designing a new musical. Like most musicals the story had some sprawl and the performers each played a number of roles. The tricky thing about this show was that the characters themselves did some significant shape-shifting, as well. So, an audience member had to keep track of a variety of characters, disguises, actors, time periods, dream-states, etc.
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