Dress Suits to Hire
| Dress Suits to Hire | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Holly Hughes |
| Characters | Michigan Deeluxe Little Richard |
| Date premiered | 1987 |
| Place premiered | Performance Space 122, New York, New York |
| Original language | English |
| Genre |
Pulp Fiction Film Noir Feminist Theatre |
| Setting | A dress shop |
Dress Suits to Hire is a play written by Holly Hughes and originally performed by the Lesbian and Feminist performance group, Split Britches. It premiered in 1987 at Performance Space 122 in Manhattan's East Village. The play is essentially a lesbian love story told in the overheated style of film noir, also drawing upon images from pulp fiction; The show has been revived several times since its premiere, with the original cast of Peggy Shaw (Deeluxe/Little Richard) and Lois Weaver (Michigan) reprising their roles. The show won OBIE Awards for both Shaw and Hughes (Shaw for her performance in the original 1987 production and a special citation for Hughes for the 1993 revival).
Described as a "lesbian noir" piece, Dress Suits tells all about two women, Deeluxe and Michigan, who are shacking up in the lobby of a clothing rental shop in the East Village. As the action begins, the more butch partner, Deeluxe (Peggy Shaw), slips on a pair of nylon stockings while singing a love song in a husky baritone. She wears gender roles as one might put on a shirt, seeming equally comfortable in a button-down item or a camisole. Moments later, she asphyxiates herself with her right arm, but this becomes only a minor obstacle; even death is but a costume for these women. (Incidentally, the aforementioned arm develops into its own character named "Little Peter" later in the play.). The show's heated fantasies, brassy broads and sexual charades make for a carnivorous free-for-all.
Michigan
Deeluxe
Little Richard, a mysterious Italian bully who sometimes possesses Deeluxe's right hand. An abusive sock puppet without the sock.
The show takes place entirely in a rental-clothing store on Second Avenue.
Feminism, LGBT Drama, Lesbian Drama, Film Noir, Pulp Fiction
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