Glittering green boots worn by actor and playwright Taylor Mac in “The Lily’s Revenge.” A lush purple coat worn by founding company member Karen MacDonald in “Oliver Twist.”
These one-of-a-kind pieces and nearly 20,000 additional garments and accessories will be available for purchase at American Repertory Theater’s costume sale at its scene shop in Cambridge, starting Friday, Oct. 18.
The sale opens up a large portion of the theater’s archive to the public, tracing back to its founding. A.R.T. Wardrobe Manager Alycia Marucci estimated that the pieces being sold are from shows produced in 1980 through the recent production of “Romeo and Juliet,” which wrapped its run on Oct. 6.
“There are things that date back to the beginning of the A.R.T. history,” said Marucci, “things that we’ve tried to archive and then things that we held onto because it never got utilized in productions.”
The collection includes custom-made costumes, vintage pieces, leather jackets, colorful shoes, top hats, character masks and more. Many of the items still have tags sewn on that includes information about who wore the garment and in what show it was worn.
A.R.T.’s producers, artistic directors, director of production and dramaturg were consulted on the decision of what pieces should be kept and what should be sold, Marucci said. The theater is keeping garments from around 10 shows with between 250 to 1,000 pieces each. The company will also consider holding onto items that don’t sell that they could find a use for or donating them.
The sale was open by appointment last weekend for school groups and theater companies to pick out new pieces for upcoming shows.
“We did find Norm Lewis’ jacket from ‘Porgy and Bess.’ That went off to one of the high school groups,” said Marucci. Lewis is known for his work on Broadway in roles like Jake in “Side Show,” Billy Flynn in “Chicago” and Javert in “Les Misérables.”
Part of the reason for the large-scale closet cleanout was that A.R.T. is renovating the loft where many of its pieces are stored.
“This is the space that’s going to be renovated so that it’s cleaner and the HVAC is better for taking care of the clothes and so we’re better equipped to make sure these things last for a long period of time,” Marucci said from the empty loft.
The sale also comes at a time of change for the theater. A.R.T. is in the process of moving from the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge to 175 North Harvard St. in Allston, which will be called the David E. and Stacey L. Goel Center for Creativity & Performance. The new space is expected to open in late 2026 and start producing shows in early 2027.
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Marucci explained that this event is A.R.T.’s first costume sale since July 2018 when they sold exclusively pieces from “Jagged Little Pill,” an Alanis Morissette jukebox musical, to A.R.T. members. The company also held a public warehouse sale in September 2021 to move out furniture pieces from shows like “Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812” and “Arrabal.”
Pieces at this sale are priced by type of item ranging from $1 for fabric scraps to $50 for special one-of-a-kind pieces and new items. Gently used Tory Burch sandals or Dr. Martens boots are $5 per pair, and leather jackets in all different styles are $20.
“We don’t want to hold onto them and have them live in a closet for a long period of time,” Marucci said. “If someone out there can use this piece of clothing in a way that we can’t use it, we want that to happen instead of having them go out and buy other things.”
All sizes are available at the sale. Marucci added that it is also a great place to pick up a unique Halloween costume.
A.R.T.’s costume sale will run Oct. 18-19 and Oct. 25-26.
