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Home , August Wilson Theatre, Bob Gaudio, Shubert Alley, Tears and Laughter, The Boy from Oz

THEATRE

LOCAL BOYS Turning the Four Seasons’ saga

By David Barbour

Shubert handwringers, a small but talent creates the group’s unique sound; tunes (plus a handful of others, including, vocal group, are once again announcing the , the quiet professional who memorably, “My Boyfriend’s Back”) driving death of . The alleged culprit always feels on the outside of the action; the action. The production’s tempo and this time is the , an overly and , whose unearthly, high- unity of purpose is, everyone interviewed broad term applied to shows that make use pitched voice and well-honed survival skills for this article agrees, the work of director of a pop-song catalogue instead of an origi- ensure his stardom through the decades. Des McAnuff, who carefully pared away nal score. Never mind that shows like All the ingredients are there for a stan- any frills during last year’s out-of-town Mamma Mia!, the recently departed Lennon, dard, tears-and-laughter backstage melo- engagement at La Jolla Playhouse, where and the upcoming Johnny Cash revue Ring drama: four young men fight their way out he is artistic director. of Fire have virtually nothing to do with each of poverty, achieve overnight fame, and run Under McAnuff’s influence, the show’s other; among the true believers, they’re a amok; their success turns sour, they come singular blend of gritty reality and pop nos- blight to be avoided, at all costs. apart, then reunite at the Rock and Roll Hall talgia is embodied in the design. Then And yet, the greatest hits of the 60s, 70s, of Fame. However, is a remark- again, if the production is so unified, it may 80s, and today continue to make their way ably dry-eyed account of life in the jukebox be because the design and show were onto stages. And, surely, execu- jungle; the book details unsparingly the developed more or less in tandem. tion counts for something. For example, internecine battles, adulteries, addictions, there’s Jersey Boys, a show so unique that broken marriages, and gangster connec- Billboards on the road to fame it hardly counts as a jukebox musical at all. tions that plagued the group. At the final “When we started designing the show, we For one thing, it’s a true story, the saga of curtain, broken friendships are not mended. had no script—just a very loose outline,” Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, drawing At the same time, the book treats the Four says set designer Klara Zieglerova. “Even heavily on the group’s stack of hits. Then Seasons saga as a social epic, following the by the time the set model was due, we had again, it’s not a standard bio-musical, like guys from bowling alley lounges to The Ed no script. We had all read biographies of Buddy or The Boy From Oz. Librettists Sullivan Show, revealing how they held on The Four Seasons and we had a structure Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice have to their working-class fans even as the for the show. But it was a truly collaborative divided the narrative into four parts, each British Invasion and the Vietnam War experience—we were designing the show linked to a different season and narrated by rewrote the rules of rock and roll, and how as it was being written.” a different member of the band, each of songwriter Bob Gaudio’s increasingly origi- One thing’s for sure—Zieglerova took whom comments on and criticizes his pred- nal compositions challenged the conven- the show’s title seriously, “From the begin- ecessors’ accounts: Tommy DeVito, the tions of AM radio programming. ning,” she says, “we wanted one set that hustler who invents the group, then nearly All of this unfolds in non-stop fashion, would show the that they destroys it with his gambling debts; Bob each scene folding into the next in cine- never really leave, even though they even- Gaudio, the latecomer whose songwriting matic style, a parade of Four Seasons tually travel all over the country.” Thus, she

December 2005 • Lighting&Sound America MAKE GOOD into a Broadway musical HT BY JOAN MARCUS PHOTO

www.lightingandsoundamerica.com • December 2005 THEATRE

moment of crucial inspiration. Each sparely designed scene is simple in itself, but, when you have dozens of them, the challenges begin to multiply. In the show’s first 15 minutes, the action moves from a stage in France to a nightspot named Club Strand, to a church (a stained-glass cross flies in), to another nightspot (Club Silhouette), to a police station, to a court- room, to jail, to a pizza parlor, to another nightspot, the Seabreeze Club. And so it goes, all evening long, in and out of record- ing studios, apartments, living rooms, mov- ing vehicles, offices, the set of American Bandstand, and elsewhere. A set of four doors becomes the , the nerve center of in the 1960s; a set of four toilets becomes a jail in Cleveland, where the group is arrested. Interestingly, this is not the kind of show where moving scenery is part of the specta- cle. Most large pieces fly in and out; many furniture pieces are carried on and offstage by the cast. (As we will see, the lighting often draws one attention away from these events.) However, there is a fairly large automation system, provided by Showmotion. There are two turtles—one moving from stage left to stage right, and one moving up- and downstage. The latter is used for a scene in a car—represented by two car seats—in which the young Frankie Valli is set up for blackmail with a staged “murder.” In addition, there’s an upstage lift PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS for the drummer who appears whenever the Seasons are singing, as well as another lift downstage for, among other things, bench- The above drop, depicting the Hudson Ferry slip, is new season, offering commentary on the es, a bar, and a set of floor mics. part of Zieglerova’s industrial scenic environment, songs, and providing a visual counterpoint which underlines her point that the characters “never Naturally, all this simple-seeming scenic really leave New Jersey.” to the industrial environment. The combi- movement requires a great deal of technol- nation of elements provides a strong visual ogy. “There’s more show underneath the adds, “The set is grounded in the industrial allusion to the unique nature of the Four deck than you would be led to believe,” feeling of New Jersey,” as embodied by an Seasons, a group that successfully navi- says Zieglerova. onstage bridge, two sets of chain-link fenc- gated a two decades of social upheaval. Overall, says Zieglerova, the design didn’t ing, and a skyline view of factories and “It’s so important to have those visual ele- change much in the transition from La Jolla smokestacks. The latter is drawn from the ments there,” Zieglerova says. “It’s the to Broadway. Surprisingly, she adds, “The work of George Tice, the Jersey-based contrast of where they came from, those apron is much deeper in La Jolla than at the photographer, whose treatment of urban tough neighborhoods, and their music, Theatre, and we had to com- landscapes is a major influence on which is so vibrant.” pensate for that. On the other hand, we just Zieglerova’s design. Another Tice image, of The basic scenic environment rarely, if love the Wilson, because so much of the the ferry slip in Jersey City, provides a ever, changes; however, as Zieglerova show is staged on the last 2’ of the apron. backdrop for a crucial encounter with a points out, “The design is misleadingly It’s very much in your face.” pair of Mafia dons, which seals the group’s simple. It looks like one set. In fact, there fate. (These are two of three digitally print- must be 50.” That’s because the story is in Pop projections ed RP drops supplied by I. Weiss.) constant motion—the libretto is written Jersey Boys’ non-stop parade of projections, Zieglerova also notes that the onstage more like a screenplay—with each new almost all of them in the Lichtenstein manner, bridge is influenced in part by the Pulaski location marked by the appearance of, say, provides a running commentary on the Bridge, which links Brooklyn and Queens. a sign or a few pieces of furniture. Signage action. The images are seen in threes; the Another 20th-century artist provides a is particularly important here, as a way of first triptych features the word “spring” on second, alternate influence: sometime indicating the many clubs and lounges the center screen, with a radio on stage right Jersey resident Roy Lichtenstein, whose where the Seasons played during their and a couple kissing on the stage-left comic-book influenced renderings of apprenticeship. There’s an amusing gag screen. Summer is announced with an image romantic angst are part the Pop Art move- where a faulty neon sign, seemingly of a couple in a car and a girl with a beach ment of the 60s. Lichtenstein’s style is seen spelling out “Our Sons Lounge,” is fixed, ball. “Big Girls Don’t Cry” comes with in dozens of projections that appear revealing the true name, “Four Seasons images of women doing just that. “Walk Like throughout the show, announcing each Lounge,” thus providing the group with a a Man” comes with pictures of father-son

December 2005 • Lighting&Sound America PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS

confrontations. The images often feature live feed of the actors playing the Four Many scenes in Jersey Boys depict the group in perform- ance. Binkley uses precisely focused units on the four comments planted in cartoon balloons, like Seasons as they perform. Intercut with this mics, which rise up from below the stage. Kennedy’s “Why don’t you come to my twist party?” is more vintage footage of teenage girls design helps to recreate the group’s distinctive sound. Interestingly, says projection designer bursting into tears. The blend of film, video, Michael Clark, his concept for the images and live performance vividly suggests the advantage of being “not much bigger than a developed separately, yet in parallel fashion, excitement of a live television broadcast. carry-on bag. Our space was extremely lim- with the ideas of Zieglerova and McAnuff. The projection system is Dataton’s ited and we had a very specific footprint.” “Des and Klara met in California, while I was Watchout, which is controlled by a Medialon Helping to compensate for the reduced reviewing the script separately in New media server. The latter is “used as an inter- lumen output are the screens, supplied by York,” he recalls. “I had the idea of using face between the lighting controller and Rose Brand, which Clark praises for their images that were something out of a Watchout,” says Clark. Medialon, he adds, high gain. Projection gear was supplied by romance comic book, or Apartment 3G,” “is designed not only to be operated actively Sound Associates. Other key personnel on referring to the newspaper comic strip but also to be used in a subordinate role the projection side include programmer Paul about young career girls in the big city. “Des and controlled by other show-control sys- Vershbow and assistant projection designer got the same idea after looking at Klara’s tems. Here, we use Medialon as an interface Jason Thompson. Roy Lichtenstein research.” Thus inspired, to receive MIDI show control from the light- As with the other production elements, Clark says, “Des and I went through a big ing board. Also, Medialon can speak to the says Clark, the color palette was carefully book of Lichtenstein’s stuff.” Zieglerova projectors, for remote start-up and shut- controlled. “The choice of colors was adds, “We worked with Don Hudson, a sto- down; you can actually get in and change something that every design department ryboard artist from Los Angles,” who helped the zoom and focus. We don’t do that dur- worked on,” he says. “The spring sequence create the images in the Lichtenstein man- ing the performances but we do during is more muted. Autumn has those lovely ner. The images provide commentary on maintenance calls. In Lennon [the recent, oranges and lavenders. Des was adamant social developments—when one of the short-lived John Lennon bio musical], we that we stay on target with that. It’s true of group remarks that they appealed to a actually changed the lens focus during the every prop and costume, and Howell’s largely blue-collar audience that didn’t par- show.” In addition, there are two Folsom lighting, as well.” ticipate in the era’s politics, there’s an allu- Screen Shaper video mapping systems sion to Vietnam in an image of two planes used to compensate for keystones on the Neon dreams locked in battle, one of which bears the side screens. Also used is a MOTU 828 Given the specifics of the characters’ name “Sherry.” Clark notes that a couple of (billed by the company as “everything you lives—in the show, the band’s members are Tice-inspired images made their way into need to turn your computer into powerful, virtually always indoors and really only the projections, as well. At other times, he 24-bit, 96kHz digital audio workstation”) as come alive at night—it’s not surprising that says, the projections consist of “pure wash- an audio interface. Howell Binkley’s lighting is about the thou- es of color on the screens.” Images are delivered via four Sanyo PLC sand-and-one ways a designer can evoke Film and live video footage are also part 55 projectors, which, unusually, are 4,500- the effects of artificial light. (Even when he of the mix. When the group appears on The lumen units. “The standard projection unit creates the sky over the Jersey cityscape, it Ed Sullivan Show, it is introduced by Sullivan used on Broadway is the Christie LX100, is tinged with orange, the effect of sunlight himself, in a piece of archival film sourced which is 10,000 lumens,” says Clark. filtered through the industrial fumes of the by Clark. Then onstage cameras provide a However, he adds, the Sanyo unit has the Meadowlands).

www.lightingandsoundamerica.com • December 2005 THEATRE

COURTESY OF MICHAEL CLARK COURTESY OF MICHAEL CLARK COURTESY OF MICHAEL CLARK

Clark’s projections make use of a Roy Lichtenstein/Pop- moving the scenery.’ He said, ‘You can MDG Atmosphere hazers and one MDG Max Art style to provide a running commentary on the musi- light the actors, but I don’t want to notice 3000, aided by two Martin JEM fans. cal numbers and the action of the show. them.” Not that Binkley ever felt that the Overall, says Binkley, “It’s not a huge rig. Just as the libretto restlessly moves from transitions were his responsibility alone: It all fits into five racks.” However, he adds, location to location, so does Binkley’s light- “The underscoring is a huge blessing in with the fencing, projection screens, and so ing provide a constantly shifting palette of helping make us pop into a scene,” he says, many signs flying in and out, “real estate is artificial lighting looks, from the dim allure of adding, “it’s all driven by the music, the pro- tough,” so several electrics are cut up into late-night cocktail lounges, to the acid ductions, and the sound.” pieces in order to accommodate scenery. brightness of recording studios, to the high- Echoing Clark’s earlier statements, Also, the designer had to be careful not to wattage glamour of stage and television Binkley notes that his color palette is linked overwhelm the projections. As a result, units appearances. The show’s most indelible to the four-seasons concept. “Fall, of course, had to be precisely placed in order to get the image occurs at the end of Act I, when the is warmer, while winter is much cooler.” But right effects. This precision is something of a group, at the height of its early fame, he finds several opportunities for striking Binkley specialty and pays off at several big appears at a stadium. The four performers color looks, including a strong red wash in moments—for example, when four micro- stand with their backs facing the audience in the scene when the band appears, wearing phones, on stands, rise up on the down- the glare of a row of footlights and four matching red jackets, on The Ed Sullivan stage lift, each isolated by its own overhead banks of stadium lights, while dozens of Show, and in “My Boyfriend’s Back,” which special, as the singers step downstage to strobes flash in a random pattern. The image features a variety of bright swatches of color begin a number. is a striking, and more than a little ghostly; on the backdrop. Binkley speaks in detail about two it’s a brilliant shorthand message that com- For that matter, one key scene proves effects—one spectacular and one more sub- municates the impact—both thrilling and a that lighting can be effective without a bat- tle. The first is the aforementioned stadium little frightening—of fame. tery of glitzy effects. About 30 minutes into look. “At La Jolla, we only had a row of strip- Also, given the show’s constant move- the first act, soon after Bob Gaudio’s lights,” he says. “Here, we have 120 PAR ment, Binkley’s lighting is conceived to let entrance, the four musicians play together cans on a pipe plus the Dataflashes.” The the action flow rapidly and gracefully from for the first time; the number is “Cry For four banks of PARs are placed on an angle; scene to scene. Here, the design works as a Me.” It begins with Gaudio at the piano and in order to get the right look, of lights in kind of camera eye, rapidly reorienting one's Valli singing; gradually, Massi and DeVito join reflectors, he says, “Patricia Nichols, my focus; this is especially important for transi- in. The performance becomes stronger and associate designer, designed these little tions between book scenes and moments of more assured every few seconds as the donuts, with holes, in perspective,” creating narration. A stage wash will fade out, as recognition dawns that something special is the illusion of large-scale lighting banks as units placed inside the box-truss proscenium happening. A series of minute lighting seen from a distance. arch come up, causing the trussing to glow bumps adds to the excitement of watching The other is the use of sidelight as a kind from inside—it’s as if the lighting disperses the band come to life. of indicator of narrative transitions. “Each of to the edges of the stage at the same time Binkley’s moving light package includes them exits into sidelight, when they’re done that a character steps out of the action to 38 Martin MAC 2000 Performances and 25 narrating,” Binkley says, adding that he cre- address the audience. Mac 2000 Wash units—their brightness ated a similar cue for actor J. Robert Binkley’s best work has traditionally been makes them the show’s moving-light work- Spencer, who plays Massi, the only Four the result of strong, ongoing relationships horse—as well as six Vari*Lite VL2000 Wash Season not alive today, for his final exit. with directors (including Harold Prince, and, units used for low sidelight. The rest is the The lighting is controlled by an MA more recently, Jason Moore); Des McAnuff usual mix of ETC Source Fours in various Lighting grandMA console for the moving falls into this category, as well. “Des and I sizes, as well as L&E Mini-Strips, Strand lights linked to an ETC Obsession II, which have a trusting relationship,” the designer Orion Cyc units, PAR 16s, PAR 36 units, and controls the conventional units. Binkley says. “He challenges me with every move he strobes (from High End Systems and TPR). notes that he generally leaves the choice of makes. He’s also a master of transitions. Other important pieces of gear include five consoles up to his programmer, in this case He’s always very explicit about how he Color Kinetics ColorBlaze units used as truss Hilary Knox. In La Jolla, the production used wants the show to move.” warmers, 42 Wybron ColoRam II scrollers, a High End Systems Wholehog III; for New Indeed, says Binkley, “We had a lot of and three Lycian M2 short-throw lens fol- York, Binkley says, Knox took the show disk pre-production conversations, in which Des lowspots. The show’s all-important smoke to Prelite, the previsualization suite, where he said, ‘It’s gotta move—especially with actors and haze effects are provided by a pair of was able to transfer all of the show’s lighting

December 2005 • Lighting&Sound America Overall, says Binkley, the essence of working with McAnuff is “collab- oration. Every depart- ment is involved in every scene.”

JERSEY BOYS data to the grandMA console. Binkley also mix of AKG and Shure units chosen for the Book: Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice notes the key contribution of technical super- eight-member band. Unlike some shows, Music: Bob Gaudio visor Peter Fulbright in transferring the pro- where the musicians are broken up and Lyrics: duction from La Jolla to . Lighting spread all over, the Jersey Boys band is Director: Des McAnuff gear was supplied to the production by PRG. located in the theatre’s basement, in two Choreography: Sergio Trujillo Overall, says Binkley, the essence of rooms connected by a window. Of course, Scenery: Klara Zieglerova working with McAnuff is “collaboration. Every the drummer is frequently onstage, moving Costumes: Jess Goldstein department is involved in every scene.” around on his turtle unit, but, otherwise, the Lighting: Howell Binkley musicians are a fairly unified lot; they even Sound: Steve Canyon Kennedy Music is golden make a sensational entrance, when Valli Projections: Michael Clark During the first number of Jersey Boys, one sings “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” with Wigs/Hair: Charles LaPointe might be temporarily forgiven for thinking the its brassy instrumental interludes. Technical supervisor: Peter Fulbright sound design is rather bad—that the lyrics Control for the show is provided by a Production stage manager: Richard Hester are unintelligible. After a second, one realizes Cadac J-Type console, a faintly retro Stage manager: Michelle Bosch that the lyrics are in French—“Ces Soirées- choice on Broadway where digital consoles Assistant stage managers: Michael T. La,” or “Oh, What a Night,” which is the pro- are all the rage. However, says Kennedy, Clarkston, Michelle Reupert duction’s clever way of suggesting how the with finality, “I’ll retire before I use a digital Associate scenic designers: Nancy Thun, Four Seasons’ songs have transcended time console.” Whatever his feelings about digi- Todd Ivins and culture. In truth, the sound design is tal technology in general, he adds that, for Assistant scenic designers: Sonoka Gozelski, crisp, clear, and remarkably faithful to the a musical set in the totally analog pop Matthew Myhrum sound of the Four Seasons. This is partly due world of 40 years ago, an analog board is Associate lighting designer: Patricia Nichols to Steve Orich’s orchestrations and Ron the logical choice. Assistant lighting designer: Melrose’s vocal arrangements; it’s also partly Interestingly, Kennedy says that he uses Sarah E. C. Maines due to John Lloyd Young’s voice, which very little processing, the exceptions being Associate sound designer: Andrew Keister bears an unearthly resemblance to Valli’s. a Lexicon 480 unit and some Drawmer Assistant projection designers: But let’s also note the contribution of gates. “The Cadac does everything I need Jason Thompson, Chris Kateff sound designer Steve Canyon Kennedy, to do,” he adds. Storyboard artist: Don Hudson who, as is revealed by his work on Hairspray Along with his colleagues, Kennedy cites Automated lighting programmer: (located across the street from the August McAnuff as the production’s driving force. Hilary Knox Wilson Theatre), knows a thing or do about He also mentions the contributions of pro- Projection programming: Paul Vershbow reproducing on stage the sound of early 60s duction sound engineer Julie Randolph and Set model builder: Anne Goelz pop music. Kennedy, who rejects any use of associate designer Andrew Keister, along Production carpenter: Michael W. Kelly the term “jukebox musical” (“It’s a story with Ron Melrose and synthesizer program- Deck automation: Greg Burton about a group”) says that his approach is mer Deborah N. Hurwitz. “They’re all just Fly automation: Ron Fucarino “basic stuff. I simply tried to make it sound really talented people,” he says, “and Flyman: Peter Wright like the recordings.” everyone works together. It’s a great envi- Production electrician: James Fedigan To give the music that indelible sound, ronment; if something goes wrong for Head electrician: Jon Mark Davidson Kennedy uses an eclectic array of gear. The somebody else, you feel each other’s pain.” Assistant electrician: Brian Aman proscenium loudspeakers consist of the EAW However, one gets the feeling that Followspot operator: Sean Fedigan KF695z Compact Virtual Array three-way Jersey Boys provides Kennedy with a great Production sound engineer: system, plus L-Acoustics dV-DOSC units deal of pleasure. “I was in high school in Julie M. Randolph and Genelec 1029A boxes, the latter for 1967,” he says. “You’d get in the car and it Production props: Emiliano Pares front-fill. More EAW units are used for the was Frankie Valli on the radio. I’m totally a Assistant props: Kenneth J. Harris, Jr. under-balcony positions, with a set of Meyer fan.” He adds, “I’ve talked to people who UPA-2Cs for monitor units. It’s quite a mix of don’t think they know the Four Seasons. Scenery, show control, and automation by product lines, but Kennedy says that he Then you play their songs for them—and Showmotion, Inc. prefers to match the unit to the task. they know every one.” That universality is Lighting equipment supplied by PRG Lighting The performers use Sennheiser MK2 at the heart of a musical that just may Sound equipment supplied by Masque Sound mics, a fairly standard choice for him, with a rewrite the history of the jukebox genre. Projection equipment by Sound Associates

www.lightingandsoundamerica.com • December 2005