Chances are — if you’ve gone to a play at The Old Globe or La Jolla Playhouse, attended a WOW Festival or explored some of San Diego’s museums — you’ve seen the work of David I. Reynoso.
The soft-spoken, 45-year-old father of two moved to San Diego 15 years ago and has gradually built an international design career.
In those years, he has launched his own immersive theater production company, created multiple museum exhibitions, and designed costumes and scenery for nearly 50 theater and ballet productions from San Diego to Shanghai.
Portrait of San Diego’s David I. Reynoso, the Tony Award-nominated costume designer for the Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Show” at Studio 54 Theatre in Manhattan. (Rich Soublet II)
He has designed costumes for Shakespeare plays, 1950s rom-coms, Latin-American dance shows, a Regency-era comedy, mythical characters, classical ballerinas, 1930s cabaret singers, ’60s hippies, lucha libre wrestlers and circus acrobats.
The circus bear costume, incorporating a cape and head covering designed by David I. Reynoso for the Broadway production of “Water for Elephants.” (Matthew Murphy)
In 2024, Reynoso made his Broadway debut designing costumes for the new musical “Water for Elephants.” The Depression-era circus-style costumes earned him his first Tony Award nomination. Then last spring, he earned his second Tony nomination for costume design for the eye-popping Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Show,” which opened in March.
It’s an extraordinary feat for an artist to earn back-to-back Tony nods for their first Broadway shows. But Reynoso’s success in those shows is the result of more than 20 years of experience in the theater industry. And he admits it hasn’t always been easy.
“There have been peaks and valleys, like a roller coaster. When things get a little slower, it puts me in the mindset of panic. The idea of always thinking, well, alright, did I peak, or am I on my way to something?” he said. “I try to switch my mindset … I’m on a path. That allows it to feel like anything that comes my way will expand or educate me or provide something for me that is just a vibrant.”
Juliette Lewis (as Magenta), center, in the Broadway production of “The Rocky Horror Show.” San Diego designer David I. Reynoso was nominated for a 2026 Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical for this show. (Joan Marcus)
“Rocky Horror,” directed by Broadway darling Sam Pinkleton, has been Reynoso’s most high-profile show to date. In August, The New York Times interviewed Reynoso and other designers from the show about how they collaborated on the whimsically trashy and queer production design.
Reynoso collaborated closely with Pinkleton on the costume design concepts. But when it came to sketching out his “Rocky Horror” designs, he called on a lifetime of visual reference points that he absorbed from Mexican mythology, 1930s Art Deco designs, ’50s sci-fi films, ’60s suits and uniforms, ’70s disco and fetish fashions, ’80s TV sitcoms and the music group B-52s, the ’90s dance group Deee-Lite, and more.
The Serra Mesa resident, who has a 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son, said that sketching out designs is only the first step of costume design. The critical part is working with a director, other designers and cast members to bring the vision for the show and its characters fully to life.
“What I love is the malleability the costumes have. They’re meant to transform but also empower the performer,” he said. “There are ways to make minor tweaks to the costumes that allow the cast members to make them their own.”
Reynoso is still flying out periodically to New York to make costume tweaks and updates when new actors join the “Rocky Horror” cast.
In recent weeks, Rosie O’Donnell has been filling in for vacationing Rachel Dratch as the show’s Narrator. To give O’Donnell a sense of ownership in the role, Reynoso invited her to personalize the character’s jacket with a brooch or pin of her choice. O’Donnell idolizes Barbra Streisand, so Reynose found a cursive capital letter B pin that O’Donnell has worn on the jacket’s lapel at each performance.
Juliette Lewis (as Magenta), Andrew Durand (Brad), Stephanie Hsu (Janet) and Amber Gray (Riff Raff) at the opening-night performance of “The Rocky Horror Show” on Broadway at Studio 54 Theatre in New York. (Joan Marcus)
Because “Rocky Horror” is famously known for its sexy and skin-baring costumes, Reynoso said part of his job as costume designer is to be empathetic to the performers’ concerns and win over their trust.
“When it comes to something where someone will be wearing very little clothing, I don’t want them to have to really be thinking about the costume,” he said. “I want them to feel powerful. I want them to feel like they are able to be superhero-like in what they do onstage.
“Ultimately my role is to be a visual storyteller, but to work with the performer to ensure that they are going to tell a story in the best way possible. They’ll be inhabiting the role in a way that I never will.”
Welsh film and theater actor Luke Evans originated the role of this “Rocky Horror” revival’s lead character, Frank-N-Furter, a intergalactic mad scientist and highly extroverted transvestite.
In multiple TV and social media interviews last spring, Evans talked about the costumes Reynoso created for him. He said that at first he expected to feel self-conscious and exposed in the characters corset and codpiece, and unsteady in his 7-inch-heeled boots. Instead, Evans said he felt powerful and confident onstage.
Reynoso said one of his favorite parts of the costume design experience is the final costume fitting sessions with the performers.
“There’s a moment near the final fitting when they’re in a room surrounded by mirrors, staring at themselves in their costume,” Reynoso said. “I watch the performers eyes as they look at themselves in the mirror and suddenly they’re recognizing someone else. There they are. It shifts their posture. It shifts their demeanor. That’s when I know we’ve landed somewhere.”
Portrait of San Diego’s David I. Reynoso, the Tony Award-nominated costume designer for the Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Show” at Studio 54 Theatre in Manhattan. (Rich Soublet II)
A theatrical ‘imagineer’
Although much of Reynoso’s work is in costume designs, he’s also an accomplished scenic designer and he runs his own immersive design company, Optika Moderna, which creates museum exhibitions and interactive theatrical productions inspired by Mexican mythology, history and culture.
Reynoso was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, to parents who were missionaries, a White mother from Texas and a Mexican-born father who grew up in the U.S. As a little boy, Reynoso said he built walk-through environments in the family home with blankets and furniture and dreamed of one day become a Disney Imagineer, designing theme park rides and attractions.
He was 12 when his family moved to San Antonio, Texas, where he began taking theater classes in middle school. Later, a high school guidance counselor recommended Reynoso study scenic design, which he did, on scholarship at Boston College. It was there that he discovered his passion for costume design.
After graduating from BU in 2003, Reynoso worked as a craftsman in the costume department at American Repertory Theatre (ART) at Harvard University in Boston. His first professional assignment was to create a single dress for a one-woman show. After that, the jobs kept coming.
In 2009, London’s Punchdrunk theater company brought “Sleep No More,” its immersive adaptation of “Macbeth,” to ART and Reynoso was invited to create the costumes. His lush and detailed designs won him an OBIE Award, and he has since designed costumes for the New York City and Shanghai productions of “Sleep No More.” Next spring, he’ll fly to Shenzhen, China, for the next one.
In 2011, Reynoso moved to San Diego. He worked as a freelance designer for two years until he joined the costume shop at The Old Globe. Since 2014, he has designed designed costumes or scenery, and sometimes both, for 22 productions at the Globe. And since 2015, he has designed 13 shows and projects at La Jolla Playhouse, including five WOW Festival production created through his Optika Moderna company: “La Lucha,” “Portaleza,” “Optika Piñata,” “Las Quinceañeras” and “Waking La Llorona.”
A scene from David I. Reynoso’s Optika Moderna’s production of “La Lucha” at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego – Downtown in 2023. (Optika Moderna)
Some of the many other theater companies he has designed for include Arena Stage, American Conservatory Theatre, the Finnish National Ballet, Ballet West, Seattle Rep and Meow Wolf.
Reynoso’s upcoming design projects include costumes for “Sleep No More” in China next spring, costumes for “Holy Moses” a new comedy opening next May at The Old Globe, and a new, as-yet untitled show he’ll write and produce through his Optika Moderna theater company. He’s also working on a new off Broadway musical that’s under wraps for now.
He’s also hopeful that “Regency Girls,” a musical comedy that premiered last year at the Old Globe, may make it to Broadway someday. He created the costumes for that show.
A scene from the 2026 Broadway revival production of “The Rocky Horror Show.” (Roundabout Theatre Co.)
The road to ‘Rocky Horror’
Roundabout Theatre Company’s “The Rocky Horror Show” opened on March 26 at Studio 54 Theatre in Manhattan and it was recently extended through next February. The revival production received nine Tony Award nominations, including one for Reynoso.
It was a show six years in the making.
Reynoso met “Rocky Horror” director Sam Pinkleton in 2019, and says of their friendship, “We clicked right away. We were really excited about making something really wacky with ‘Rocky Horror.’”
Over the next year, they collaborated on a production of “Rocky Horror” for American Conservatory Theatre (A.C.T.) in San Francisco. The set was built and the show was cast. But the very day rehearsals were set to begin in March 2020, the COVID-19 lockdown began. When theaters reopened 18 months or so later, A.C.T.’s rights to the show had expired.
Reynoso and Pinkleton assumed their “Rocky” ship had passed so they moved on to separate ventures.
In spring 2024, Reynoso earned his first Tony nomination and Drama Desk Award nomination for Costume Design for “Water for Elephants.” And that fall, he and Pinkleton worked together again on a production of “La Cage aux Folles” at Pasadena Playhouse.
Then in June 2025, Pinkleton won the Tony Award for directing Cole Escola’s smash play “Oh, Mary!” Suddenly, every major theater leader was courting Pinkleton with offers to direct the piece of his choice, and his choice was “Rocky Horror.” When Roundabout Theatre agreed, Pinkleton called up Reynoso to see if he’d considery trying again.
“I didn’t let him finish the sentence,” Reynoso said. “I said ‘yes, absolutely!’”
“The Rocky Horror Show” is a campy horror-fantasy musical that debuted in London in 1973, starring then-little-known actor Tim Curry. British-New Zealand actor-writer-singer Richard O’Brien wrote the book, music and lyrics for the stage musical. He also co-wrote the screenplay for its 1975 film adaptation, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” which made Curry an international star.
In the show, the sexually repressed couple Brad and Janet get a flat tire on a stormy night and find shelter at a gothic mansion owned by Dr. Frank-N-Furter, who describes himself as a “sweet transvestite from Transylvania.” Other occupants of the strange mansion are the butler/handyman Riff Raff, maid Magenta, groupie Columbia, delivery boy Eddie and the lab-created muscle-man Rocky Horror. Over the course of one evening, there are lab experiments, a murder, a glitzy floor show, a rebellion and lots of seduction and sex.
Reynoso said Pinkleton’s vision was to reimagine “Rocky Horror,” while still paying homage to the musical’s 53-year legacy.
“We thought, yes, we’ll do something that feels unique to our take on it. It would be an absolute error for us to negate, or do away with, things that feel really iconic and beloved. We wanted to create a show that celebrates everything we and the fans love about ‘Rocky Horror’ and never make a decision that was too much of a detour.
“Costumewise, we do things that honor the ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ and shadow casts, but it’s very much its own beast,” Reynoso said. “It’s a show that really feels like it has its own visual iconography and language, but doesn’t feel outside the ‘Rocky Horror’ playground.”
The inspiration behind the ‘Rocky Horror’ costumes
Reynoso said the Tony-nominated “Rocky Horror” costumes were a team effort. He collaborated with the show’s Associate Costume Designer Matthew C. Hampton, Assistant Costume Designer AJ Jones, Costume Coordinator Andrew Burns and Costume Assistant Devon Horn.
“It’s a testament to the team of people that work with me,” he said. “When you find the alchemy of a good team, you hold on to them.”
Reynoso also praised the show’s wig and makeup designers.
“The costumes, wig and makeup are what make our ‘Rocky Horror’ stand out,” he said. “That includes San Diego local Alberto “Albee” Alvarado’s hair and wigs and Sterling Toll’s wild, extraordinary makeup looks. Too often those details can make or break the costume, but in this instance, without question, the wigs and makeup have only enhanced and elevated the costume design in a way that it feels really important to highlight.”
In Reynoso’s comments below, he mentions building costumes for the original cast of the Broadway revival, and these actors faces are pictured in the costume sketches. Several original cast members have left the show since last spring, and their roles have been recast.
Tony-nominated costume designer David I. Reynoso’s original rendering for the alien showgirls in the Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Show.” The eyeball now sits on top the performers’ heads like a hat, rather than over their faces. (David I. Reynoso)
Alien showgirls: The show begins with these alien showgirls with a giant one-eyed headpiece. Originally the eyeball went over the performer’s head but we found it was more efficient to put the eyeballs on top of the actors’ heads. These characters are completely specific to our show. They come in during (the opening song) “Science Fiction Double Feature” and walk down the aisles. It’s a delightful, silly way to start the show. It lets you know what we’re in for — the whole world that Sam (Pinkleton) has created. It’s a mix of highbrow, lowbrow, ridiculous, gorgeous and trashy.
Rachel Dratch appears during a performance of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in New York on March 25, 2026. (Joan Marcus)
The Narrator’s jacket: The print for this jacket was a collaboration I had with local San Diego graphic designer and print illustrator Sonia Calderón. We met in 2016. We worked together at The Museum of Us on multiple exhibits. For Optika Moderna we’e done lots of exibits and illustrations. She has incredible taste. I’m a big fan of hers. I commissioned her to do a line drawing of a design that was inspired by motifs that are referenced in “Rocky Horror” and the films referenced in the song “Science Fiction Double Feature.” So there are drawings of King Kong, Frankenstein, the robot from “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” tentacles, spiderwebs, alien spaceships, a castle, hot dogs (in honor of Frank-N-Furter) and the lips we see singing in the “Rocky Horror” film.
Tony-nominated costume designer David I. Reynoso’s rendering for the character Brad in the Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Show.” (David I. Reynoso)
Brad’s look: I wanted something that felt ’50s and ’30s and ’70s all at the same time. It’s a suit with pink/burgundy tones with burgundy trousers, a purplish tuxedo jacket and tuxedo shirt. It was built for Andrew Durand but he’s no longer in the cast. It’s cool to see Kevin McHale take over the role.
Tony-nominated costume designer David I. Reynoso’s rendering for the character Janet in the Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Show.” (David I. Reynoso)
Janet’s look: It’s a very sweet look. The color was inspired by Tim Curry’s green lab coat in the movie “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” but it’s a little more the day tones of the green.
Tony-nominated costume designer David I. Reynoso’s rendering for main Frank-N-Furter look costume in the Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Show.” (David I. Reynoso)
Frank’s look: Frank wears a corset with some femme-presenting undergarments. He wears tattered-looking fishnets, tall boots, fingerless gloves that are Latex, a harness that’s in rhinestones and a garter around the thigh that’s covered in rhinestones. Frank also has a cape. It’s made of Mylar party curtains like what you’d buy from a party store, but the way he wears them is absolutely glamorous. We started out with a collar on the cape made from rubber gloves, but now the gloves are more like epaulets on the shoulders. The cape has incredible movement in how it catches the lights.
Tony-nominated costume designer David I. Reynoso’s rendering for Frank-N-Furter’s floor show costume in the Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Show.” (David I. Reynoso)
Frank’s floor-show look: Ultimately there’s the moment of Frank’s floor show arrival that I won’t give away. But it’s spectacular and it felt like an incredible Busby Berkeley moment of extreme glamour and beauty. And yet there’s a way we are really aware of the rough edges of it and the fantasy. I think the delight of it is that it’s both high camp, extremely high gorgeous glamour ,but it still feels very lowbrow, in terms of what the materials are. We really wanted to capture that as a creative team, that it felt like we’re inviting you to participate in this fantasy but we’re not essentially trying to fool you into thinking that anything is more expensive than what you see before you. Frank has this amazing robe. It feels a bit Erté, a little bit like religious iconography. Sort of messainic, in that it feels like this great savior is delivering this amazing idea of “don’t dream it, be it” for us all to be invited to participate in.
Tony-nominated costume designer David I. Reynoso’s rendering for Frank-N-Furter’s laboratory costume in the Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Show.” (David I. Reynoso)
Frank’s laboratory look: It felt important to have bit of a departure from what we’re familiar with in the film. This costume has this Grace Jones shoulder, cinched waist, naughty nurse, semi straitjacket garment made out of patent vinyl. There are all these layers where you don’t know what to make of it, but it still feels absolutely correct for Frank. There’s a jaunty, semi-devilish nurse cap. And there’s an embroidered “F” sutured on it to ensure he’s labeled correctly. I remember in (the TV show) “Laverne and Shirley,” Laverne always had an L on her clothes, so it reminded me of that. It’s weird how things stick in your brain and they end up informing your decisions. Originally there were spats boots. But they didn’t serve the rhythm of the show, the performer or the story, so we let go of that. Now we get to feature Frank’s legs a lot more.
Tony-nominated costume designer David I. Reynoso’s original rendering for the character Columbia’s laboratory costume in the Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Show.” The eyeball now sits on top the performers’ heads like a hat, rather than over their faces. (David I. Reynoso)
Columbia’s laboratory look: In the film, she doesn’t have a costume change but we felt it would be kind of fun to. She’s a showgirl. She needed to have this fabulous lab coat inspired by fetish wear with sequins in it. We ended up changing the tights quite a bit. Originally it was a plaid. Valentina, a fabulous drag performer, is in the role now. I couldn’t be more delighted to have her in the cast. She’s someone I’ve looked up to forever.
Tony-nominated costume designer David I. Reynoso’s rendering for Magenta’s alien costume n the Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Show.” (David I. Reynoso)
Magenta’s alien look: “It felt interesting to establish this volume. The hair and wigs were designed by San Diego local Alberto “Albee” Alvarado. Albee also did the wigs for “The Outsiders.” We needed a wig with the volume of a beehive but that also looks like a monster with locks that look like tentacles. She has an extraordinary cape. Magenta is now being played by Sheri Rene Scott. She’s a Broadway legend. Her costume has been adjusted. It doesn’t have the full trousers. It’s more a body suit. The mint green-teal color is a jumping off point from Tim Curry’s lab outfit in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” movie.
Tony-nominated costume designer David I. Reynoso’s rendering for the Usherette in the Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Show.” (David I. Reynoso)
Usherette look: This is the color tied to Tim Curry’s lab coat. It feels like an unusual uniform for an usherette, but it really sets the tone for us to dive into this strange journey. It’s made from a rubbery snakeskin material. There’s this lime green piping that’s flourescent, and gold buttons that temper the wildness of it. Ultimately it’s much like Studio 54 (the famed ’70s disco that’s now a theater where “Rocky Horror” is playing). There’s an aspect of it feeling highbrow and lowbrow all at once, with this gilded patina throughout the space.
Tony-nominated costume designer David I. Reynoso’s rendering for the character Riff Raff in the Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Show.” Originally the costume had much higher shoulders. (David I. Reynoso)
Riff Raff look: (The actor playing this character) Amber Gray and I went to school with each other at Boston University. In the original drawing, this costume had high shoulders but we changed that. Now it has an improvised tux tail coat with a semi-Regency quality with cut sides and safety pin moments. The character has these amazing cornrows that reference how you’ve seen Riff Raff, but they are very specific to our production.
Back view of the vest worn by the character Eddie in the Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Show.” Tony-nominated costume designer David I. Reynoso created a design featuring characters from Loteria, the Mexican card game of chance. (David I. Reynoso)
Eddie’s motorcycle vest look (rear view): This shows Harvey Guillén (as Eddie) but now George Salazar in the role. The jacket has a design on the back that is very much inspired by our shared Mexican heritage. There’s an image of a Loteria-inspired cards of El Diablo and the La Sirena with Betty Page bangs. That’s one of the easter eggs (hidden homages) that performers can connect with.
Tony-nominated costume designer David I. Reynoso’s original rendering for the character Rocky in the Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Show.” (David I. Reynoso)
Rocky Horror: This one is controversial. Typically, Rocky is presented in gold shiny or metallic briefs. Sam and I were interested in something a little bit different. He wears a sheer wrestling singlet over briefs. Oddly, we were of the mind that in some ways having a bit more fabric that’s sheer and hugs the body feels more interesting than in some ways having Rocky nearly nude. It sparks the imagination a bit more. It’s quite successful, but I know there’s been a lot of criticism about changing Rocky’s outfit from the way it’s always been done. I love that it kind of spurs conversation. There’s something about making decisions that honor source material and then make departures.