Keeping Pace with the Mean Girls
Movie-to-musical adaptations have become an overcrowded playing field on Broadway, but Tina Fey’s song and dance rendition of her hit 2004 film, Mean Girls, is… Read More »Keeping Pace with the Mean Girls
Designing on the Fly
I usually cover Broadway and other large-scale productions for PLSN, but there is often much to be learned from more modest shows, particularly those faced… Read More »Designing on the Fly
The Rhythm (of Transitions) is Gonna Get You
As it crisscrosses the country, the Tony Award-nominated musical On Your Feet continues to bring the story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan vividly to life onstage, chronicling their ascension from modest beginnings to musical royalty through their group Miami Sound Machine. Six months in, the national tour has picked up after the show finished a nearly two-year run on Broadway. The original production, which features scenic design by David Rockwell and projections by Darrel Maloney, sweeps through dozens of scenes as it compresses decades of real life into key narrative moments.
Building a Better Backdrop
While more and more Broadway shows have been shifting from traditional scenery to video walls and more elaborate practical sets, the art of the painted backdrop appears to be slowly waning. But in reality, many scenic designers still rely on this familiar stage element to create dynamic backdrops, and they can create a heightened sense of perspective when used the right way. Scenic designers Beowulf Boritt, Anna Louizos and Kevin Depinet all shared stories about their experiences with traditional backdrops on various productions they have worked on over the years.
SpongeBob in the Sea with Boulders
There have been few Broadway shows as exuberantly trippy as SpongeBob SquarePants, a crowd-pleasing, family-friendly show inspired by the television series. This live version — which features original songs by the likes of Panic! At The Disco, Cyndi Lauper, and the Flaming Lips, among many others — crams as much colorful scenery and costumes and energetic song and dance numbers as it can into its two and a half hour stage time.
M. Butterfly
David Henry Hwang’s play M. Butterfly re-emerges at a relevant moment in our history as the show delves into politics, gender identity and cultural stereotyping of the East by the West. Featuring some new material written in by Hwang to update it, the Broadway revival, the first since its original 1988-1990 run, was directed by Julie Taymor (of Spider-Man and Lion King fame), who is known for large, lavish productions.
‘Time and the Conways’ on Broadway
Neil Patel Devises Scenic Transitions for a Vintage Time-Traveling Play
Time and the Conways is one of those rare Broadway revivals that truly makes vintage material relevant for a modern audience through a magical blend of performances and technical wizardry.
The Tetris of Broadway
Beowulf Boritt is known for his bold, ambitious scenery in shows like Act One (a musical with a three-story revolving turntable) and Thérèse Raquin (a play with a river upstage). But for Prince of Broadway, the musical revue of the work of Broadway legendary Harold Prince, the Tony Award-winning scenic designer got a chance to create numerous old-school set pieces. The challenge was not to make everything fit onstage; it was storing it all in the wings of the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, which has not had a musical production mounted there since the Prince-directed Lovemusik, which Boritt also designed sets for, back in 2007.
‘1984:’ Feeding The Machine
The play 1984 has shocked audiences on Broadway with a mind-bending stage adaptation of the famous George Orwell novel that predicted our grim future. Perhaps that is why, in these tumultuous times, it has resonated with people; that, and the graphic torture scenes which have allegedly caused heart palpitations for some audience members. A big part of the show’s intensity emerges through Tom Gibbons’ jackhammer sound design and Tim Reid’s essential video design, which both creates intimacy for key off stage scenes, and a sense of disorientation and danger for some disturbing moments.
Turning the Tables
Set Designers Discuss the Pros and Cons of Turntables
I remember the first time I saw a turntable in action was in a performance during the original run of Les Misérables in the spring of 1987. My teenage self had never experienced a Broadway show before, and it was all rather overwhelming, including the sequence where Jean Valjean races through a series of important events in his life that were represented through rotations on the show’s turntable. While I’ve always recalled that the sequence felt rushed (for the time), it was novel to me, it was state-of-the-art at the time, and it hinted at the direction that moving scenery would head towards in the future.
Winching in the Wings
Mark Thompson Solved a Scenic Puzzle for Broadway’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Broadway’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been dazzling audiences with its fast pace, dazzling set pieces, and the buoyant energy of a nearly 40-person ensemble; notably, charismatic star Christian Borle as eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka, who offers an exclusive tour of his factory to five lucky children.
Going Big and Bold for ‘Bandstand’
The Tony Award-nominated musical Bandstand is not quite what it appears to be. While it has been promoted as a peppy post-WWII musical, it is not simply extolling the big band virtues of that era. Underneath its dazzling veneer is the tale of a WWII veteran (Corey Cott) who returns home with few job prospects. He desires to form a jazz band with veterans to enter a television competition geared towards finding a great song dedicated to the service of American soldiers. Not only does he corral a spunky, talented group, but the wife (Laura Osnes) of his late best friend, who died in combat, becomes their charming singer.