Favorite Scenery

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/21/13 at 4:44pm

I've seen some great scenery in my theater going experience. Some of it danced across the stage and some of it just sat unnoticed. What are some of your favorite scenery experiences?

The 1980s House Of Blue Leaves where all the signs lit up between Artie's Prologue and the first scene inside the apartment. That show was so well acted they could have done it on a bare stage, but those signs were icing on the cake.

Of course, Les Miserables where Javert jumps off the bridge and "lands" in the water and his body washes away via turntable.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 7/21/13 at 4:47pm

Definitely agree re: the Les Mis turntable.

In terms of overall scenery, I haven't been wowed by too much recently. The design of As You Like It at the Delacorte last year was so stunning and is the best scenery I've seen in a while.

[jetts7]

Posted: 7/21/13 at 4:52pm

I love the set to 'Spider-Man'! It is really unique and visually stunning.

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 7/21/13 at 4:59pm

Next to Normal is one of my favorites.

[PTOPhan]

Posted: 7/21/13 at 5:09pm

I never got to see Les Mis in a version that used the famed turntable. I'd have to go with Phantom -- especially the glitzy Las Vegas version, which had box seats with life-size statues of fake period audience members. The chandelier, the device that moves the doubles up and down during the title song, and the staircase are amazing in all the versions I've seen. I just hope that the new tour, by dumbing down the set (i.e., making the show cheaper to produce), doesn't ruin the show. Getting rid of the crashing chandelier takes as much getting used to as a wedding where the bride wears a plaid gown -- it's not bad, but it sure is different from what people are used to.

[RENT_is_Wicked2]

Posted: 7/21/13 at 5:26pm

American Idiot's set is amazing. Especially the set for the tour.

The Evita revival's set was pretty incredible as well.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/21/13 at 5:29pm

DRACULA and A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY at the Denver Center Theatre Company.

I love the Act 2 opening set of ...Starcatcher currently. Loved the EVITA revival set.

There are so many I like.

[N2N Nate.]

Posted: 7/21/13 at 5:34pm

- N2N set.
- The Woods in the original ITW.
- The floating House in Sunset Boulevard.
- The castle in Beauty and the Beast

[all that jazz]

Posted: 7/21/13 at 10:28pm

I have to agree with Evita and Phantom, both absolutely stunning.

And of course, there's the sensationally brillant TIME set by John Napier.

http://youtu.be/ya6SPWl6VYQ

[pacificnorthwest]

Posted: 7/21/13 at 10:33pm

Loved the set of Catch Me If You Can, with the glamorous tuxedo-clad orchestra on the stage, like a Lawrence Welk set or something like that (before my time).

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 7/21/13 at 10:50pm

I'm tickled by the OP's mention of Tony Walton's set for HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES back in 1985. Those authentic Queens signs that framed the set? I actually took the pictures they were based on, as Tony's assistant designer on the original production at the Mitzi Newhouse.

A current set that uses a similar technique to gorgeous effect is John Lee Beatty's lovely turntable set for THE NANCE.

Catherine Martin took the signage collage to another whole place when she applied it in black and white for her staggeringly great sets for Baz Luhrman's LA BOHEME on Broadway.

For the grandfather of masterful sign collage, you should look up Ming Cho Lee's Public theater set for MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING in 1975. Ming's genius with collage is something designers have been attempting to emulate ever since.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/21/13 at 10:54pm

The Anarchist. Visually stunning.

[jackieoh]

Posted: 7/21/13 at 11:11pm

NEXT TO NORMAL. I still have aha! moments about this production. The multi-story set, the brilliant lighting... They were rich contributions to the story being told. I especially loved when Dan was walking down the stairs from the second floor to the first on stage right, and as Gabe is walking back up he makes room for him... It's subtle but it contributed so much to the Dan/Gabe dynamic. Also, Gabe on the third floor (which was reserved exclusively for him) during Light, watching over his family as they healed together and looked to the future... It was powerful.

JERUSALEM. I don't think there has ever been another time where I've walked into a theatre and was instantly enraptured by the set. A combination of the grass, the "human squalor" as Brantley put it, and the faint sounds of birds chirping before curtain... I miss it.

SEMINAR. I enjoyed the lightness in the first half (Kate's apartment) but I did not expect the scene change right after Leonard's INCREDIBLE monologue... I consider the brooding darkness, the towering shelves of books, and the incredible skylights pieces of impeccable vision and artistic design.

MATILDA. The tiles! Details, details, details.

[justoldbill]

Posted: 7/21/13 at 11:17pm

FOLLIES - Boris Aronson
LA BOHEME (Met Opera) - Franco Zeffirelli

Updated On: 7/21/13 at 11:17 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/22/13 at 12:10am

Well Someone in a Tree2, you done good! I loved everything about that production. I think it was one of the most perfect productions I've ever seen.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/22/13 at 12:11am

Also, the house that tips over in An Inspector Calls. Quite an interesting concept.

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 7/22/13 at 8:10am

Whistle Down the Wind (west end)
N2N

Then some specifics:
I loved the swimming pol in Aida
The "sidewalk above" from Memphis
The final scene of Seminar where the apartment turns into a massive library to match the tone of the scene.

[FlowerChild67]

Posted: 7/22/13 at 8:18am

next to normal (robbed of the Tony)
American Idiot (robbed of a nomination!)
Matilda (luckily won the Tony)

I also a regional production of the Fantasticks which was Carnival-inspired, and the set was this absolutely amazing run-down carnival. It was stunning!

[dreaming]

Posted: 7/22/13 at 8:25am

I think for a play one of my favorite set designs was "Other Desert Cities". It really was a gorgeous set-and the first time I saw it I was in the front row (thanks, LincTix!) and it was like being in their living room-it made the play very intimate.

I also like August: Osage County-they created the entire house and you could see everything going on.

For a musical-I was lucky enough to see that aforementioned turntable for Les Mis-and it was as good as advertised.

I also love the set for Sunset Boulevard. It was beautiful (I actually like the show-and I'm sure I'm in the minority of that one).

Can I throw a scenic EXPERIENCE in-it was a design but I feel like it's an experience-and that would be the original revival of Cabaret before they moved to Studio 54. They were at the Kit Kat Club (The Henry Miller's Theater). I sat on a catwalk and was literally PART of it. It was so amazing and I'd never seen anything like it. The set wasn't flashy or anything-in fact, it was rather like a black box. However, that audience was a part of the show from the start-which is why I call it an experience. I saw it again at Studio 54 and still loved the production-however, they didn't recreate the experience as much as I'd hoped.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 7/22/13 at 8:38am

Almost everything by John Lee Beatty - but most especially his original design for "Talleys Folly" and the 1995 revival of "The Heiress"

In terms of pure awe and spectacle, the design for "K2". The designer put an entire ice cliff on stage with a ledge and an ice wall that went into the rafters and sunk below stage further than you could see. One of the actors literally had to climb an "ice wall" that was straight up past the proscenium arch. There was also a very convincing avalanche. I have never seen anything its equal. Too bad the play was the most depressing hour and half I ever spent in the theatre.

[binau]

Posted: 7/22/13 at 8:38am

Feel free to kill me but I thought the Trevor Nunn NIGHT MUSIC set was simple and elegant.

I don't love the set in N2N as much as I love the lighting (regional productions I've seen always feel a bit boring in this regard).

I loved August: Osage County.

The South Pacific Revival.

The Addams family was pretty cool.

FOLLIES was kind of drab but the draping of the Marquis and the ripped up/broken floor boards were pretty cool. Also, when Bernadette came on stage and sang LOSING MY MIND the red was so god damn blinding, it was awesome.

Updated On: 7/22/13 at 08:38 AM

[Jane2]

Posted: 7/22/13 at 8:40am

The Pillowman

[jnb9872]

Posted: 7/22/13 at 9:20am

I'm so glad someone else mentioned JERUSALEM, easily one of the most detailed and lived-in sets I've ever seen. Nothing too complicated, just dense with rich specificity and thoroughly engrossing.

Also, the reveal of the full set in SEMINAR was indeed a special moment. Similar to that, though, for me, I have to say the first set that came to mind was the first revival of GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS. When the Act II curtain up and those fluorescent lights flickered on to the ransacked office set, it was breathtaking. Coming from the flat lip-of-the-stage Chinese Restaurant, the reveal of the massive depth and incredibly-detailed office (complete with sidewalk and street down the block from the office's front entrance so actors could be seen approaching the office) was stunning. It got applause the day I saw it.

[JHughesPSPB]

Posted: 7/22/13 at 6:00pm

"The Secret Garden." Beautiful and especially breathtaking the instant the blooming garden is revealed.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/22/13 at 6:22pm

American Idiot (robbed of a nomination!)

Ummm what are you talking about? It won the Tony for Best Scenic Design in 2010.