Mark Fisher and Patrick Woodroffe developed the scenic and lighting design for Elton John’s Million Dollar Piano engagement at Caesars Palace Colosseum in Las Vegas to start with an over-the-top design linked to the artist’s penchant for glorious excess, then to focus in on two key elements — the artist and his piano.
“Patrick and I wanted the show to reflect the whole range of his talent. To me, this meant starting the show by presenting Elton as the Sun King in a stage environment that was more over-the-top than anything in Versailles, richer in symbolism than anything in the great Italian churches, all warped and twisted into the most Baroque distortion I could invent. The big idea being to strip away the extravagant decorations during the show so that the finale would leave only Elton and his band alone on an empty stage with only the huge Colosseum LED screen for company.” —Mark Fisher
“In many ways, the venue’s screen was as much of a challenge to work into the show as it was a opportunity. It gave enormous scope for the design, of course, but it also meant that we had to be quite certain that what we put up there was the right thing, and that it completely complemented everything else that was going on stage…Everything points to the piano, whether it’s the composition of the arched pieces that draw you to the center of the stage, or the composition of the lighting states that all focus towards center.” —Patrick Woodroffe
—From “Designer Insights” with photos and text by Steve Jennings, PLSN, Jan. 2013
