Inside Theater

Despite the extensive experience one can have working on Broadway shows, there is always something new to learn, and sometimes the seemingly simplest things become the most difficult to tackle. Scenic designer Michael Yeargan has well over three decades of experience in theatre and opera, and when he began working on the current revival of That Championship Season in late 2010, the initial challenge seemed to be the quick turnaround that was needed.

While most Broadway musicals seek to razzle-dazzle us with big numbers, flashy lights and glitzy sets, many dramas seek to bring us down to reality and delve into the lives of ordinary people with less fanfare. The funny thing is that often in order to immerse us more in the real, the craftsmen at work on straight plays need to incorporate much of the technology that is used on more over-the-top shows. In the case of Good People, technology and realism struck a solid balance.

Imagine being the video and scenic designer for a one-man show – more specifically, a comedian's irreverent take on the history of the world – and that person is Colin Quinn. His director is Jerry Seinfeld, and the show is a special history lesson that lasts only 75 minutes. But you only have a couple of weeks of prep time before getting into a Broadway venue. Sounds a bit challenging, doesn't it?

The recent revival of David Mamet's A Life In The Theatre stands out for many reasons. It was one of the edgy playwright's earliest works, one that is more sentimental and relatively epithet-free. It is an intimate show that would work well in a small repertory house, yet stars Patrick Stewart and T.R. Knight, who imbued it with a larger-than-life quality that allowed it to thrive in a larger Broadway house. And its hilarious exposé of backstage life – specifically an older actor mentoring and berating a younger compatriot in a low-budget regional theatre – gave Tony Award-winning scenic designer Santo Loquasto the opportunity to apply his magic and make things look far simpler than they were.

Rock operas, jukebox musicals and tribute shows have been bringing the rock to the Great White Way over the last few years, and one of the most striking productions in recent memory is Rain: a Tribute To the Beatles, a tour that has landed on Broadway for a three-month run extended until Jan. 9, 2011.

Promises, Promises production stage manager Michael J. Passaro calls PLSN just after his show has brought Molly Shannon in the key supporting role of Marge McDougall. It's the same role that won Katie Finneran her second Tony Award this year.

It's arduous enough directing a massive Broadway musical like The Addams Family, but Julian Crouch tackled three roles at once: co-director, scenic designer and costume designer. "I actually handled some of the puppets as well, but it's like a hidden credit," he adds with a laugh. "I come from a small theatre company, so I often have to do everything. I look back and think, ‘Wow, that was a lot to say that I would do.'" But he pulled it off.

For years, LEDs have been increasingly used in video projections on many theatrical productions to dramatic effect, most notably on last year's Seattle-based production of Catch Me If You Can, which incorporated LED walls that flew in and out of the set. But many people envision the next step for LEDs is to be used in area lighting, not just for video projections or background illumination, as has been the case on many larger and flashier Broadway productions. The question remains as to whether the technology has evolved enough to provide the necessary power and color palette.

When Green Day released their raucous rock opera American Idiot back in 2004, no one knew that the album would turn out to be one of the biggest of their career, that it would lead to a massive world tour, win two Grammy Awards and multiple MTV Video Awards and ultimately become a Tony Award-winning Broadway show at the St. James Theatre.

In what is evidently the first major Emo musical, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson deconstructs our concept of the first Democratic President of the United States. It revisits his legacy of uniting and dividing while utilizing modern slang and rock songs to portray a pivotal point in history – particularly his decimation of the Native American population – while connecting it to modern political conflicts and agendas.

Video and still projection technology has become an increasingly integral part of the professional theatre world, and its presence has become inescapable. But when it comes to materials that have been pre-assembled prior to a performance, a big challenge has emerged: What happens if one or more of your leading role performers happens to be out and the understudy takes over? It can be a bit of a problem, and one that can be a headache for the video crew.

Scenic designer Scott Pask is admittedly a perfectionist. When PLSN called him to discuss his work on the new Martin McDonagh play A Behanding in Spokane, he was examining a set piece on the new musical Promises, Promises. "I'm on stage," he reveals. "We'll talk, but I'm kind of looking at something as well. So if I break away for a second, forgive me." This is a polite but unnecessary disclaimer. It actually takes a matter of moments to work out what he is doing, and then the passionate Pask is ready to chat in-depth about Spokane. But that moment emphasizes how he is committed to his work at every phase of creation.