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Home , Al Hirschfeld, Boris Aronson, Harold Prince, Howell Binkley, Jason Robert Brown, John Kander

CLOSE-UP Copyright Lighting&Sound America October 2017 http://www.lightingandsoundamerica.com/LSA.html

Doing the Work By: David Barbour

Prince of Broadway recreates key moments from one of Broadway’s most remarkable careers

The set for the sequence from offers Boritt’s take on ’s original urban-jungle-gym design.

avid Belasco, Florenz Ziegfeld, one landmark show after another, Ebb, , , , Bob , rewriting the rules of and Boris Aronson—his shows have DMichael Bennett: These are along the way. Working with virtually been known for their psychological some of the greatest showmen in all the signature creative talents of the complexity, bold design statements, Broadway history, and none of them last half-century—a list that begins and formal daring. Look around at the come close to the achievement of with, but is hardly limited to, Stephen Broadway musical landscape of . As producer and direc- Sondheim, , today—the sweeping political drama

tor, Prince has consistently turned out , , Fred of , the acute social observa- Photo: Matthew Murphy © 2017

106 • October 2017 • Lighting&Sound America tion of , the telling snapshot of history that is . Could any of them exist without the innovations of Prince and company? Such a career demands a retro- spective: , pro- duced by Theatre Club at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, its Broadway venue, culls numbers from Prince’s astonishing resume. There are songs from such beloved mid-century hits as , , and that twilight-of-the-golden- era masterpiece . Of course, such game-changers as , Company, and are heavily represented, as is the ‘80s-era blockbusters and Phantom of the , the latter secure in its station as Broadway’s longest-running show. The program also includes excerpts from such lively also-rans as “It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman,” a pop-art romp that never caught on, The title song from Cabaret features the performer Bryonha Marie Parham framed in and , a stunning tale of preju- spotlight with the rattletrap Kit Kat Club behind her, washed in saturated color. dice triumphant and justice denied in the post-bellum American South. essence of each. Exactly how does what to do. I was sleeping four and Prince of Broadway is a string of musi- one cram a lifetime of masterpieces five hours a night, cranking out stuff, cal pearls; as the finale, a new number into a single evening of theatre? looking for the big idea. The day the by , says, the In addition, Prince of Broadway had bids came back from the shops was Prince mantra, now and forever, is “do a long and complicated gestation peri- the day we pulled the plug on that the work.” od. Originally announced as a com- production.” Linking the numbers is a running mercial Broadway attraction, it fell By the time of the Japanese commentary written by David through when crucial financing engagement, Boritt says, “eighty-five Thompson, with each member of the became unavailable. Instead, the pro- percent of it was already designed. cast assuming, from time to time, the duction opened in 2015 in Japan, The thing that cracked it open was the Prince persona, those famous glasses where it was received with acclaim. idea of putting in an empty theatre.” perched firmly on his or her head. The Still, another period of uncertainty The concept wasn’t such a stretch— songs are not performed in chronolog- ensued until after all, Prince had produced and ical order, although as many as four of opted to bring it to Broadway. directed Follies, set in a theatre them may be gathered around a single The set designer, Beowulf Boritt, marked for demolition, and much of title. Instead the structure is more says he spent five-and-a-half years his work has been marked by an associative, rather like listening to working, on and off, on Prince of exposed theatricality. “Hal has been Prince as he ruminates on his many Broadway. “It’s the longest stretch of my mentor, almost a parent figure,” the productions, with thoughts on one time I’ve ever been on a show,” he designer adds. (Working with Prince, show naturally segueing to the next. adds. “I was hired in March 2012, and, he designed LoveMusik, also at Such a structure posed vexing chal- at that point, we thought we were Manhattan Theatre Club, and Paradise lenges for its design team. Prince of opening in September.” Found, staged in .) “He thinks Broadway doesn’t try to slavishly Faced with the prospect of pulling of all theatre as a black box, with a recreate scenes from these shows. together a large-scale Broadway musi- few things inside it. He even describes Prince, working with choreographer cal in only a few months, he says, “I Phantom that way, which sounds and co-director , are did what grad school prepared me for, ridiculous until you really look at it.”

Photo: Courtesy of Beowulf Boritt concerned with presenting the by giving me more work than I knew But how to fill that empty black

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For the “Loveland” sequence from Follies, Boritt designed a kind of giant Victorian valentine, with cherubs and lovers peeking out from behind the lace. Binkley’s lighting suffuses it with a pink background wash that evokes the glamour lighting of another era.

box? The shows featured in Prince of “We were looking for a snapshot, a with a couple of canted tenement Broadway were originally designed by couple of details that would evoke buildings, a stone wall, and a city sky- a roll call of theatre royalty, ranging what they did. We wanted the thing line set against a night sky. (There is, from William and Jean Eckert to Maria that was iconic about each show.” He of course, a fire escape, for the ballad Björnson, and their contributions reached out to the original designers “Tonight.”) The title tune of She Loves couldn’t be ignored. Thus, Boritt who are still living, including Tony Me (originally designed by the Eckerts) turned to the Billy Rose Theatre Walton, who gave him some notes unfolds in front of a Secession-style Collection at ’s Lincoln about A Funny Thing Happened on the storefront, complete with Austrian cur- Center, that treasure trove of Way to the Forum (seen in the tains and jewel-tone stained glass win- Broadway history. He also delved into Japanese production only). He also dows. “You’ve Got Possibilities” (from the books The Theatre Art of Boris spoke to Lisa Aronson, widow of Boris Superman, a Robert Randolph design) Aronson, by , and The and his longtime assistant. unfolds against a blown-up page from Performing Set: The Theatre Designs Each scene in Prince of Broadway a comic book. Old-fashioned drops of William and Jean Eckert, by Andrew combines key details from the original come into play for “If I Were a Rich B. Harris. design, filtered through Boritt’s sensi- Man,” from Fiddler on the Roof, which “The big thing for me was how to bility. West Side Story (originally features a version of Aronson’s Marc deal with all the work of these design- designed by ) conjures up Chagall-inspired drawings, and Show

ers, without copying it,” Boritt says. New York’s urban jungle, circa 1956, Boat (the rare instance of a Prince- Photos: Courtesy of Beowulf Boritt

108 • October 2017 • Lighting&Sound America This drop from “It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman” resembles the blown-up page of a comic book.

directed revival), which is backed by a lovers peeking from behind a surface wall has to fly out and the set has to depiction of the riverboat The Cotton of lace; it makes a stunning impression trundle underneath. It’s very, very Blossom, done in the style of a 19th- before collapsing in a heap upstage. tight.” He adds, “The back wall of the century theatre drop. As a special grace note, the names theatre set is like a piece of Swiss The most elaborate sequences are of the original designers are embed- cheese, with many parts that pull from Company and Follies, both of ded in each set, rather like the “Ninas” away. The top lifts to show the West which, in their original versions, repre- in an illustration. For Side Story skyline. A big piece pulls sent two of Aronson’s most famous example, Jerome Sirlin’s name is away on the stage right side for designs. (“They were so iconic, they found in the web that covers the stage Sweeney Todd. Another piece opens needed to be there,” the designer in the title song from Kiss of the Spider to reveal the big gate from Phantom says.) For Company, Boritt created a Woman; the milk cart for Fiddler on of the Opera.” He cites Francis Rapp, version of Aronson’s urban jungle gym the Roof features Aronson’s name, the Friedman Theatre’s head carpen- design, placed against a drop of New translated into Cyrillic. ter, as playing a crucial role: “He is York at night. The “Loveland” Fitting all of this, and more, into really a genius. The design worked on sequences of Follies, which unfolds in the Friedman wasn’t easy. “I did paper, but without a good carpenter it a kind of surreal Follies show of the LoveMusik there, but this was a much wouldn’t have worked. In fact, it was mind—is staged in front of a giant bigger jigsaw puzzle,” Boritt says. one of the smoother techs I’ve done.” Victorian valentine, with cherubs and “Company was the trickiest; the back Projections also come into play.

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During the overture, the titles of We talked about it a lot.” The space issue is one reason why the Prince’s shows are projected onto a Indeed, Prince of Broadway often plot contains seven Martin by Harman scrim made of Rose Brand’s Nebula, seems to be a compendium of differ- MAC Viper Performance units, a treated with Screen Goo. “Buenos ent lighting approaches. The West Binkley favorite for their small size and Aires,” from Evita, features a montage Side Story sequence has a moody lack of noise. His workhorse unit, how- of black-and-white film shots of that nighttime look, with modeling on the ever, is the Philips Vari-Lite VL3500Q, Argentine capital city, shown on the set and spots picking out the lovers which he uses for specials and adding upstage wall. The suite of numbers of Tony and Maria. The “Loveland” texture to the scenery. Washes are has projections of sequence from Follies is suffused with provided by 14 Martin MAC 2000 birch trees to call up that show’s a pink background wash, evoking the Wash units. Swedish setting. The media package, glamour lighting of another show busi- Also in the rig are 17 Philips Color supplied by PRG, includes four ness era. When the Loveland drop falls Kinetics ColorBlast 12 TRX units, Panasonic PT-DZ21KYU DLP projec- to the ground, the lighting turns seven Chroma-Q Color Force 48s and tors, placed in custom sound baffle noirish, dedicated to carving the prin- Color Force 72s, Martin RUSH 2 LED boxes on the balcony rail, a Dataton cipals out of the darkness. “Send in PAR Zooms, 42 ETC Source Fours, 52 WATCHOUT 6 media server, and a the Clowns,” from A Little Night Music, Altman Lighting PAR 64s, 12 Altman Lightware 12x12 switcher. finds the performer Emily Skinner sur- Mini-10s, two MDG Atmosphere haz- Much of the production features rounded by darkness, exquisitely iso- ers, two LSG low smoke machines, scenery built by Kanai Scene Shop lated in a pool of light. The Cabaret two JEM AF-1 fans, and two Lycian Co. of Japan. However, Boritt notes, sequence casts chilling spotlights on 1290 followspots. Control is via an “Hudson Scenic Studio reworked it all. the performers, while behind them ETC Eos Ti console; also used are City For example, the Follies stairs was under the electrified “Cabaret” sign a Theatrical’s SHoW DMX Neo dimmers rebuilt and the upstage wall had to be rattletrap nightclub combo is washed and transmitters. Lighting gear was made to fit the much smaller in warm saturated colors. supplied by PRG. Friedman. Also, the show wasn’t auto- Interestingly, Binkley says that one Other personnel on the project mated in Japan, and it is here.” big challenge was a sequence in the include Alexis Distler (associate scenic second act that includes songs from designer), Christopher Ash (associate Lighting Kiss of the Spider Woman, Evita, and projection designer), Edward Pierce Lighting designer also Parade. Most of them are solos, and and Jen Price ( supervi- has a long history with Prince. He the designer says, “Sometimes I sors) Joe Doran and Ryan O’Gara made his Broadway debut as a model things a little too much, but (associate lighting designers), and designer on Kiss of the Spider each of these was about a single David Arch (lighting programmer). Woman, in 1993, and since then has lit actor. I had to really zone in one them. Costumes by and Parade, the play Hollywood Arms, Hal doesn’t want anything muddy. You sound by Jon Weston. LoveMusik, and, in London, Paradise have a girl in a web, a guy in a prison “It was such an expansive project,” Found. He was involved in Prince of cell, a girl in front of a microphone.” Boritt says. “To do it with Hal and Broadway’s workshop, but didn’t travel He adds, “It gave me chills to do learn how all these shows came with it to Japan. Coming onboard for Spider Woman again, after all these together: The shows are intellectual, Broadway, he notes that he was grate- years.” but so much of what he does comes ful for the workshop experience. He The most crucial role that Binkley from his gut. He doesn’t think of things adds that working with Prince is a sin- plays in this production has to do with conceptually. I had to learn to trust my gular experience: “He trusts his the transitions between the songs. “It’s gut, too.” designers so much, and he has such a about expressing Hal’s vision, being “It was just a privilege to be in the vivid eye for the stage.” able to thread between the songs, room,” adds Binkley “seeing how Stro Binkley soon found that the show seamlessly. The lighting helps to keep and Hal worked with the company. demanded a kind of protean the show seamless, to not have it The two of them are legends. It was approach, with unique looks for each stop. There are no distinctive breaks; it just amazing to be there.” The produc- sequence. “It sometimes felt harder all flows from scene to scene.” tion runs through October 29. than if we were doing an original piece Like Boritt, Binkley comments that of material,” he says. “You’re going fitting all the pieces into the Friedman (For additional photos from Prince from one distinctly different song to was no small task. “We even eliminat- of Broadway, see the Web Extra another—in another genre, another ed the upstage crossover. I knew find- editorial for this month’s issue at decade. This was true of everyone, ing real estate was going to be a bat- www.lightingandsoundamerica.com.) especially Stro, whose style had to tle; we had to plan meticulously and it change dramatically to fit each scene. came down to inches in many cases.”

110 • October 2017 • Lighting&Sound America