As the cast and crew prepared to stage Jefferson’s Garden for its first American production, we asked them to share their experience with you via Instagram. See proof of backstage hijinks and get a closer look at the show’s history-inspired costumes below! 

To prepare for the show, cast, crew and Ford’s Theatre staff took a trip to the real Jefferson’s Garden in Monticello this summer…

 

Cast & crew of @fordstheatre's JEFFERSON'S GARDEN ready to begin our tour of Mr. Jefferson's digs, aka @tjmonticello. #FordsGarden #monticellotour #takeover #thomasjefferson #assistantdirectorlife

A post shared by Ford's Theatre (@fordstheatre) on Jul 9, 2017 at 8:18am PDT

Months later, as the actors don their costumes, Thomas Keegan finds himself in a red coat once more… 

 

Day 1 of Tech for #JeffersonsGarden at @fordstheatre #womensvoicesfest

A post shared by Thomas Keegan (@thethomaskeegan) on Jan 12, 2018 at 5:54pm PST

Ivania Stack’s costumes, made of Tyvek, were too unique to keep to ourselves! Here’s a close-up photo from a local seamstress who joined an Instameet to get close-up pics…

 

Last night I got to attend a small talk with @ivaniastack, the costume designer for the play #jeffersonsgarden at @fordstheatre. The story is set during and shortly after the revolutionary war and features a mix of real historical figures (like Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings) and original characters. She explained that in designing the costumes for the historical figures, she thought about the fact that what we know about them is mostly through portraits and written documents - i.e. paper. So the idea to make “paper” costumes was born! She found prints for dresses, coats and waistcoats, blew them up and printed them onto huge sheets of tyvek. I plan to write up a blog post for all my fellow sewing geeks. In the meantime, can we just imagine sewing a coat or gown out of tyvek??!