It Takes a Village to Put on a Show

When the cast of “Bye Bye Birdie” takes the stage for the spring musical, they will be wearing costumes created with love, care and tradition.

Pleasantville High School’s volunteer costume designers have been meeting since the fall to create the perfect clothing for Conrad Birdie and the gang.

Eileen Cerrati, who was hired to be Costume Designer and Costume Chair for “Bye Bye Birdie,” said she is surprised by the number of local residents – many of whom no longer have children in the district -- who volunteer to shop for fabric, design and sew the costumes that turn students into performers.

“I have never seen this kind of commitment in other districts,” Cerrati said. “Generally, there are maybe four or five parents helping out, but here in Pleasantville I have an email list of 36 volunteers.”

While most high schools in the region rent costumes for their spring musicals, Pleasantville’s storerooms are so stuffed with handmade costumes that the district rents its costumes out to other schools.

In January, volunteers organized a “Sewing Saturday” that featured four or five tables full of people cutting fabric, sewing and ironing seams.

Amy Franks first volunteered to sew costumes for Pleasantville’s 2008 production of Grease and went on to become FOPA Chair for the district. Her youngest child graduated from Pleasantville High School in 2014 but Franks continued to volunteer. In 2016, she started as Costume Design Chair, a position she held until 2022. For the past decade or so she has run the student Costume Crew, which teaches the next generation how to read a pattern, cut fabric and use a sewing machine.

“Last year one girl made fur monkey vests for Seussical,” Franks said. “They have made tunics, skirts, hats, scarves and aprons. For dress rehearsals and performances Costume Crew serves as runners delivering repaired costumes to cast, and they can be dressers backstage if they commit to every dress rehearsal and performance.”

Several students have gone on to pursue costuming or fashion in college, she said.

Debbie Paruolo, a retired college administrator who was Costume Design Chair for seven years, volunteered this year to make Conrad Birdie’s signature gold lame jumpsuit.

“My favorite road trip is to a fabric store,” Paruolo said. “It is really nice to make the kids feel happy about how they look. The costumes definitely help them become the character. Of course, I also do this because I love theater.”