Southeast grad returns as costume designer for 'The King and I'

For Tom Vaughn, a 1984 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, returning to the campus as costume designer for "The King and I" represents coming full circle.

Spools of thread rest in the costume shop at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus on Thursday. (Glenn Landberg)

Since graduation, Vaughn has forged an impressive career in the theater business.

He initially focused his work on singing, having been the second graduate from Southeast to earn a degree in vocal music. At one time, degrees in music were limited to those who played instruments.

His professional career, which was based in New York for 26 years, began as a feature soloist and cast member for a Switzerland-based production company, performing in the international tour of "The Golden Musicals of Broadway," a show with which he traveled throughout Europe.

Back in New York, he played roles in cabarets and worked in many off-Broadway productions, including "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and "The Merry Widow."

Tom Vaughn stands among costumes from "The King and I" in the costume shop at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus on Thursday. (Glenn Landberg)

Competition in the theater business in New York is fierce, and Vaughn quickly added to his singing other performance skills -- dancing and acting.

"You have to be a triple threat," Vaughn said of success on stage.

Along the way, he made the foray into costume design and production.

"Your career morphs," he said.

By 1998, he started a production company, Unique Productions.

Tom Vaughn sits among costumes from "The King and I" in the costume shop at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus on Thursday. (Glenn Landberg)

"My production background caught up with my performance background," he said. "Most of what I did was put together costumes."

In 2013, Vaughn moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to focus once again on his first love, vocal music.

A native of Cape Girardeau, he attended Cape Girardeau Central High School with Kenn Stilson, who is chairman of the Department of Theater and Dance at Southeast, and went to college with Stilson's wife, Rhonda Weller-Stilson, director of the Holland School of Visual and Performing Arts based at Southeast's River Campus.

When his pals called him and asked him -- as he put it, "Can you come and play with us?" -- on the current production of "The King and I," Vaughn was more than happy to oblige.

Vaughn's role as costume designer is to work closely with the director of the show, Broadway veteran Dennis Courtney, who also directed "Carousel" at Southeast. Vaughn said he and Courtney decided at the onset to stay true to the design of the original production, which opened on Broadway in 1951.

Tom Vaughn touches up a wig in the costume shop at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus on Thursday for a performance of "The King and I." (Glenn Landberg)

The character Anna in the play frequently is attired in intricate costumes. It simply wasn't feasible to build all the costumes at Southeast.

With an average cost of $2,500 to $3,000 to construct costumes worn by Anna, it made sense to rent most of those worn by her and the 57 other cast members.

"Anna's costumes alone would take months," Vaughn said. "Each costume has layers. It's not just the hoop skirt, but what's underneath and the 12 to 25 yards of fabric that cover it."

Some of the 138 costumes used in the show, which consist of about 400 individual pieces, are so heavy and cumbersome, Vaughn said some of the female cast members have lost weight because wearing the heavy garments is so physically taxing.

Deana Luetkenhaus, the department's costume shop manager, also has played a pivotal role in the production of "The King and I."

"She was key in getting this done," Vaughn said.

Performances continue at 8 p.m. today, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday.

After the show ends, Vaughn will return to Nashville to focus on his musical career, and he plans to start auditioning for more roles in repertory theater.

For now, he said he is pleased to be back in his hometown, pitching in at the university that gave him the skills for his career.

"It's my alma mater," Vaughn said. "I'm invested in this."

Pertinent address:

518 S. Fountain St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.