Broadway Revives Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell
He’s baaack …
Broadway revivals of the Messianic musicals, Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell, are helping The Great White Way find religion, once again. Although this is the fourth time Superstar has been staged on Broadway (it’s only the Second Coming of Godspell), the music and grand story arcs of these Jesus sagas remain as gripping and powerful as ever.
Although she’s not really made of gunpowder and lead, Miranda Lambert is comfortable around firearms. But if lighting and production designer Chris Lisle jokingly claims to be “legitimately afraid of her,” the country singer who first gained national attention as a finalist on TV’s Nashville Star in 2003 can bank on her talent, and not just fearsomeness, for her fans and critical acclaim.
Regal Looks for Romeo Santos’ First Solo Tour
When Romeo Santos kicked off his Formula Vol. 1 Tour with three sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the audience was treated to an elaborate design — and one that was conceived and pulled together in a mere 45 days. Creative producer and tour director Veikko Fuhrmann and production designer Eduardo “Wady” Rodriguez collaborated on the sourcing as well as the set, lighting, and video designs.
A Mountain of Color, Texture and 3D “Infinity” Looks
The album Lenny Kravitz is supporting with his 2012 tour may be called Black and White America, but the colors revealed in the jagged-edged lighting and set design, a collaboration between LD Steve Cohen and production and set designer Es Devlin, are anything but.
Mapping 3D Video Projection in Another Dimension
It started innocently enough. In 2006, the wild idea to use fluorescent lighting for a live music production flashed in the mind of lighting designer Jeff Lavallee, of 44 Production Designs. But for nearly a year and a half, Lavallee couldn’t find the missing piece of his concept: the right band with which to match it.
Pyro and Lighting Bring the Death Bat to Life
LD Trevor Ahlstrand, who worked for Ringling Bros. for two years after graduating high school as head electrician on one of their productions, calls that experience “a fantastic first exposure to the touring industry, giving me a huge amount of hands-on experience in a very short amount of time.”
This year’s well-received Bridgestone Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show featuring Madonna was a great success, both artistically and technically. Once again the team led by executive producer Ricky Kirshner of RK Productions, director Hamish Hamilton, production designer Bruce Rodgers and lighting designer Al Gurdon presented us with a dynamic and innovative production that appeared effortless, which we all know means it took a tremendous amount of effort and hard work to bring together.
Twists, Turns and Automation for the Get Closer Tour
His last name doesn’t sound very rural, and, geographically, at least, his roots are Down Under. But Keith Urban has a huge following among country music fans in the U.S. and Canada. For his 2011 Get Closer tour, supported by Bandit Lites, SGPS and Chaos Visual Productions, long stretches of curving truss evoke roller coasters and Ferris wheels. And the structural elements move during the course of the show, transforming the lighting fixture positions along with the visual design possibilities.
Koen de Puysseleir Adds Lighting and Video to the High-Energy Mix
Tiësto wrapped up The College Invasion Tour with the largest single-headliner DJ show in U.S. history, performing for 26,000 people at Los Angeles’ Home Depot Center stadium. The massive electronic dance music party underscored why Tiësto is considered one of the top DJs in the world, and the show did not disappoint. Playing off of the night’s pulsing musical mixes, creative designer Koen de Puysseleir, principal of Belgium-based Light in Motion, conceived a show of high-energy lighting, striking video and special effects that took full advantage of both the scope of the historic show and the scale of the venue.