Marriots Show costumes live on!

General discussion about Marriott's GREAT AMERICA
Post Reply
Cliffhanger
Buzzy Bee
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu May 17, 2012 2:20 pm

Marriots Show costumes live on!

Post by Cliffhanger »

Hello everyone!
I just thought i would share a little bit of nostalgia with you all.
Unfortunately, being a child of the 90's, I didn't get to experience the heyday of Marriots Great America. But nonetheless, i am fascinated with it. It seemed like such a cool place back then. I live in Zion, just a few blocks away from the Wisconsin border, and i discovered a treasure trove of Marriot goodness. I was involved in our high school theater program for 4 years, and was the stage manager for two, so i got to explore our theater inside and out. On a tour of the costume room, i discovered loads of costumes from Marriot's. There were two whole rows of nothing but marching band costumes. Each one had embroidered badages with the Great America logo. There were about 15 sequined dresses and mens vests too. There were also many green and blue checked pinafores. I was going through everything in shock, because i figured they would have been thrown away when the park changed hands. I talked to the Director, and she was surprised that i knew so much about them. She said that she had got them from a friend that worked in the park theater. I really wish i could have gotten pictures of them to show you, but alas, i have graduated. :(

But the good thing is, is that the costumes are still being used! This past year, we used the Band coats and hats(different than the ones pictured, they were tall, white, and fluffy) as costumes for "The winkies"(oh wee oh yoooo oh) in The Wizard Of OZ.

If anyone has any idea where some of these costumes came from, please share!
Here is a picture i found of the band costumes we have, Image
They are real costumes too, very heavy fabric and beautiful detailing. (I even tried one on!)
User avatar
RLAiello
Tidal Wave
Posts: 207
Joined: Thu Aug 25, 2005 8:23 pm
Location: Chicago, IL USA
Contact:

Re: Marriots Show costumes live on!

Post by RLAiello »

Thanks for this great story! Good to know those costumes are still being used in some way.

Love the picture too -- I remember dancing with Daffy Duck in the plaza with the marching band playing, just like this photo shows. That was probably 1977 or 1978.
Rick Aiello
SFGAm Employee 1988-1999
Post Reply