In the fall 2025 semester, student Izzy DeFlice received a gift any costume designer would relish: the opportunity to serve as costume designer on the Theater Department’s production of Madeleine George’s comedy Hurricane Diane. The play focuses on a gaggle of modern-day Jersey housewives who encounter the Greek god Dionysus, and the catch (or one of the catches) is: Dionysus shows up in the guise of a lesbian permaculture gardener named Diane. Diane’s mission: to save the Earth from the devastations of climate change.
In other words, the costume possibilities were endless. And DeFlice was tasked with delivering a costume that would function in collaboration with actor Justine Raith (pictured) and George’s script to fully express Diane’s supernatural powers.
“To highlight the desperation of Diane’s mission to save the world, we wanted her to look ready to go to literal war for her cause,” DeFlice says. “The moment and costume are intense: We’re at the brink of the world ending, and Diane is at her wit’s end trying to stop it. She’s dressed for the final ‘battle’, wrapped in rich gold and purple,” a nod to the visuals of ancient Greek myth. “We wanted an air of authority and even intimidation. The kid gloves are fully off, so to speak.”
Here, DeFlice shares images of the process, including her “God Look” transformation sketches:
But, DeFlice adds, God is 100% in the details here.
“We also wanted to have beauty in this look. She’s the reincarnation of a once widely revered god after all,” DeFlice says. To that end, the mighty breastplate is ornamented with sinuous grapevines dreamed up by alum Brian Mulligan, hitting just the right notes of fierce and romantic. The golden gardening tools and knee pads subtly remind us that the play takes place in modern-day New Jersey, DeFlice says, and lends “a bit of cheeky humor” to the aesthetic.
DeFlice designed the blustery Diane’s militant get-up under the supervision of Interim Head of Costume Design Shane Ballard, with assistance from Mulligan, assistant designer and student Maddie Donabauer, and Costume Director Denise Wagner. Ballard, DeFlice says, helped steer the team toward a costume that would not only wow the audience at the back of the house, but would remain functional, easy to wear, and avoid straining the production budget. With that in mind, the main portions of the costume, the breastplate and the gauntlets (gloves), were constructed of lightweight foam and foam clay.
Still, the costume had to pack a punch.
“We wanted a look that not only was awe inspiring, but easy for our Diane to achieve a quick transformation onstage” as she revealed her godly self to a shocked housewife.
“After what felt like ages of trouble shooting and planning ideas—ranging from rip cords used to make the poncho ‘melt’ off her form to hidden wires and run crew pulling the over layer off à la Frozen The Musical—we found that less was indeed more,” DeFlice says. “A sudden, dramatic ‘flip back’ of the poncho and pulling down of the hood to reveal the purple lined cape and battle armor underneath would become our key moment.”
Sure, a costumer’s imagination runs wild, but even when engaging in goddess dressing, it seems you’ve got to come down to earth.
Image Credit: Student Justine Raith as the title character in the fall 2025 production of Madeleine George’s play Hurricane Diane. Raith is in a costume designed, in part, by student Izzy DeFlice. Photo by Brad Resnick.