J. M. Hummel

“I want it the way I see it,” said Mrs. Gail Hummel, the new costume designer who is creating the amazing works that will be seen in the upcoming high school musical production of Kiss Me Kate. She is a woman that, although funny and cheerful, has a very serious, detail-oriented side. She got her start at the age of twelve when, at the time, everybody sewed. Her mother Edith Weiner of Edison was the first and most influential teacher she had in the ways of the needle. Mrs. Hummel began by drawing things that she liked and creating patterns out of believe it or not, newspapers. Although, her first school teacher was Mrs. Beck in her seventh grade home economics class,  it was Ms. Connie Tominski, that inspired her to do great things. She loved Ms. Tominski and even though her mother put down a strong foundation, her skills were built up by this young teacher that gave Mrs. Hummel the abilities to excel.

As the “Queen of Costumes,” Mrs. Hummel’s favorite designer is Bob Mackie a costume designer known for his over-the-top designs which is her favorite thing to fabricate. She has created almost anything you could ever imagine ranging from blowing up the character Violet in Willy Wonka, to creating 5 horse costumes for Jill Harkins and her family to be used in the Greenwich Village Halloween parade

Mrs. Hummel rose to prominence in the community working under Barbara Cottrell, a music teacher at Appleby Elementary School. The show was known as A Froggy Day in Lindentown and she was required to create a number of costumes in a very short amount of time. She created a number of animal costumes ranging from miniscule tadpoles to a muscular bullfrog, that consisted of headgear depicting the animals similarly to how they were depicted in The Lion King. After that show, she cemented herself in the minds of the residents of Spotswood as a talented individual of the community.

Six years ago Mrs. Hummel met Christopher Slavicek the director of the elementary school musicals. There she worked with him on what will be nine shows, the tenth this coming spring. Her first show with him was The Wizard of Oz, a show in which she designed the costumes of numerous, “Ozians” (the people from the emerald city). Since then she has worked on five shows during the normal school year and four during the summer. These shows have included include, Aladdin, Mr. Bell’s Magnificent Ringing Machine, Once on this Island, The Tale of the Drowsy Shepherd, , Granny Mcbee’s Christmas Eve, The Music Man, and Elfis and the Elves Get all Shook up.

Over time she has amassed a following of fans who believe she is one of the best things which has happened in this town. Some of her favorite creations include Violet Beauregard [Willy Wonka], ( she actually blew her up) Renaissance Era Costumes created for East Brunswick, The Pick-a-little ladies [The Music Man] , Door Guard of Oz [Wizard of Oz], and all 80 Costumes of [Aladdin].

Mrs. Hummel has created a menagerie of costumes for people, creating different characters that are personified through physical appearance. Be it a girl turning into a blueberry or a man riding an elephant, She has created a unique look for every single one of them. Mrs. Hummel is a goddess of sewing  who vows to “never send anyone out [onstage] unfinished.”