Costume bodysuit for Tin Man in The Wiz on Broadway: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This bodysuit is part of a costume worn by Dr. Siri Sat Nam Singh as Tin Man in "The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical 'Wizard of Oz'" on Broadway. The union suit is made from a heavy wool machine knit fabric and has full-length sleeves and a turtleneck collar. A double layer of the knit fabric is sewn at both forearms and at both front knees for extra padding. Black machine knit wool socks are sewn to the inside hem of the ankle-length legs. The union suit closes at the center back with a metal zipper and one (1) large hook-and-eye closure at the center back neck. There is an additional zipper at the front fly. There are two self-fabric shoulder straps, one on each shoulder, that are sewn and turned nearest the sleeve and fasten near the neck with two (2) large metal hook-and-eye closures each. The union suit is not lined.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1975
• Designed by: Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian American, 1930 - 2014
• Worn by: Dr. Siri Sat Nam Singh, American
• Subject of: Black Fashion Museum, American, 1979 - 2007
• Type: union suits
• Medium: wool knit with metal zippers and hook-and-eyes
• Dimensions: H x W x D (Flat): 65 1/2 × 55 × 2 in. (166.4 × 139.7 × 5.1 cm)
• Place used: New York City, Manhattan, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Costume design
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Men
• Topic: Musical Theatre
• Object number: 2007.3.7.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.