Trends

Broadway’s Top Do It Yourself Halloween Costumes: Cyrano

TheaterMania’s favorite DIY Broadway Halloween costumes, Part I.

Broadway is the best place outside of Comic-Con to grab inspiration for a Halloween get-up, but we’re aware that not everyone has access to Evita’s dress or costumer Susan Hilferty’s budget. So we tapped our own in-house make-up and costume guru Josh Hibbard to put together our Top D.I.Y. costumes inspired by shows currently running on Broadway.

With the exception of his larger-than-life schnozzola, Cyrano, the romantic title character in ‘‘Cyrano de Bergerac,” now playing at the American Airlines Theatre, is a fairly-simple costume. Just get a tricorn hat, velvet cape and any other bits of 17th century couture (swords and daggers work nicely) and you’ve got it.

What young lover wouldn’t want to be Cyrano? The costume offers ample opportunity to perform impromptu ballads, challenge your rivals to duels, and woo your beloved with sweet words whispered in florid neo-romantic English (even though you’re supposed to be French). Swords and capes and poetry? This costume sits firmly in the theater geek’s sweet spot.

Most of your time will be spent on the nose, specifically getting it to fit seamlessly on your face. Josh explains that, “Any prosthetic nose will do, but Foam Latex is the most realistic.” Getting the nose to be the same color as your face can be tough, but if at first you don’t succeed: blend, blend again. After only a half hour of work, our staff reporter-turned-model David reported, “It feels like it’s actually a part of my face.”

Items Needed
(Click on the links below to buy everything you need online):

1 oversized prosthetic nose

Adhesive (either Pros-Aide or liquid latex)

Flesh-tone makeup

Baby Powder

Tricorn hat

Cape

Sword and other accessories

Click here for more costumes.

Step-by-Step:

1. Attach the nose with a skin adhesive: Pros-Aide water-based adhesive is preferable, but liquid latex will do the trick.

2. Once the nose is firmly in place, color over it with a basic flesh-tone makeup.

3. Lightly powder the completely-colored nose in preparation for blending.

4. Use another layer of flesh-colored makeup, but continue onto your face, blending appropriately to ensure that the nose color matches your actual skin tone.

5. Detail the nose by adding shadows and redness as desired.

6. Add a cape, tricorn hat, sword, and other accessories: customize your Cyrano.

Check back all week as TheaterMania unveils more fabulous Broadway Halloween costumes!