Best Production Values
Best Production Values
mjohnson2
Broadway Star Joined: 11/2/13
#1Best Production Values
Posted: 12/10/13 at 6:30pmWhat production of what show have you seen that had the best production values, regardless of how good the actual show was? (costume, set, lights, etc.)
Anything regarding shows stated by this account is an attempt to convey opinion and not fact.
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#2Best Production Values
Posted: 12/10/13 at 6:33pm
The show that immediately popped into my mind was THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA. It had so many stunning stage moments where the sets, lighting, costumes, etc all just came together and worked seamlessly.
There are tons of others, but PIAZZA was my first thought.
I've certainly seen shows with way more expensive budgets and production values, but PIAZZA was visually transportive.
Updated On: 12/10/13 at 06:33 PM
VotePeron
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/2/13
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
mjohnson2
Broadway Star Joined: 11/2/13
#4Best Production Values
Posted: 12/10/13 at 9:43pmPhantom of the Opera for me.
Anything regarding shows stated by this account is an attempt to convey opinion and not fact.
#5Best Production Values
Posted: 12/10/13 at 9:45pmShrek looked amazing! Except for the dragon but they fixed it on tour.
#6Best Production Values
Posted: 12/10/13 at 10:07pm
Matilda
Evita (revival)
Mary Poppins
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
#7Best Production Values
Posted: 12/10/13 at 11:46pmLight in the Piazza, as others have already noted. Also, The Producers. I remember being dazzled by the production values when I saw it on the West End. You knew a good part of that multi-million dollar budget went into the scenic/costume/lighting design. It felt so high end.
bobs3
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/8/12
#8Best Production Values
Posted: 12/11/13 at 12:05am
Nothing I have ever seen on the stage compares to the 1981 production of THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF NICHOLAS NICKLEBY. Directors John Caird and Trevor Nunn along with set designer John Napier and lighting designer David Hersey turned the entire Plymouth Theatre into an environmental theatrical experience which lasted 8 1/2 hours but stays with you for the rest of your life.
I actually stood in line for six hours on a very cold December day (got there on a Saturday morning at 7:00am) to get a standby ticket (something I haven't done before or since) and the ticket price was $100.00 (a incredible amount of money at the time) but it was worth every cent. I sat in the first row and felt like I was in 19th Century England.
There is an out-of-print DVD of the Old Vic production available from independent sellers at exorbitant prices but it is poorly edited and recorded on video (not film) and while the performances stand the test of time it loses the theatricality of the original production.
To quote Ray Bradbury: "Any friend of Nicholas Nickleby is a friend of mine."
Updated On: 12/11/13 at 12:05 AM
Wildcard
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/21/06
#10Best Production Values
Posted: 12/11/13 at 12:27amSunset Boulevard (saw the last stop on the tour in St. Louis before they completely stripped it down due to it's ridiculous costs. The sets for that show were truly mind boggling)
#11Best Production Values
Posted: 12/11/13 at 12:32amI forgot Light in the Piazza! I saw the national tour, and the set was mindblowing. The way the set moved was mind-blowing. Also, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels had a very pretty and high-end looking design.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
#13Best Production Values
Posted: 12/11/13 at 10:10am"Sunset Blvd" - hell loved it so much I purchased a large stained glass from the set at the Broadway Flea Market
#14Best Production Values
Posted: 12/11/13 at 10:14am
Matilda
And Tommy was pretty amazing. When the entire theater turned into a pinball machine, that was pretty brilliant.
....but the world goes 'round
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#15Best Production Values
Posted: 12/11/13 at 3:14pm
The 90s Lincoln Center Carousel. It was visually a stunning work.
I have always loved the opening sequence of the 1980s The House Of Blue Leaves with all those signs. I think the production overall was near perfect.
The show curtain for the 90s The Sound of Music which had a huge snowglobe embedded in it.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
#16Best Production Values
Posted: 12/11/13 at 3:23pm
Beautiful (pre-Broadway and Broadway), The Blue Flower (Second Stage), Spring Awakening (national tour and Sydney Theatre Company), Baz Luhrmann's La Bohème (pre-Broadway), an incredibly intricate regional production of Into the Woods I saw a while back: https://www.sfcv.org/article/music-news-june-8-2010
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
Updated On: 12/11/13 at 03:23 PM
ARTc3
Broadway Star Joined: 8/5/13
#17Best Production Values
Posted: 12/11/13 at 3:34pm
On the Twentieth Century. The opening number in the first act and, She's a Nut, in the second had to be two of the most spectacular examples of set design.
A long time ago, I created a thread about production design. It was a pretty hot thread for many months. I love discussing great set design.
My two cents... I thought Sunset Boulevard was a one set disappointment. Yes, the huge descending mansion was impressive, but the rest of the designs seemed cheap and inconsistent. Loved Light in the Piazza and Nicholas Nickleby, but neither of them are on my top ten set design lists. I thought Big Fish ugly and over projected - I'd actually consider it for my worse list.
Other amazing sets:
Chess (thought I'd mention this because of my comments on the sister tread)
Dreamgirls
Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark (flawed, but amazing)
Candide (environmental production)
Follies (London)
Ka (Las Vegas)
Wow... there are so many more, but I'd have to think about it... get back to you soon.
ARTc3 formerly ARTc. Actually been a poster since 2004. My name isn't Art. Drop the "3" and say the signature and you'll understand.
ARTc3
Broadway Star Joined: 8/5/13
#18Best Production Values
Posted: 12/11/13 at 3:37pm
Dracula (musical, although I loved the Edward Gorey version, too)
Pippin (Tony Walton's original sets)
Annie (original, not revival, although I loved the revolving door pop-up mansion set)
Sleep No More
Here Lies Love
ARTc3 formerly ARTc. Actually been a poster since 2004. My name isn't Art. Drop the "3" and say the signature and you'll understand.
theatregoer3
Broadway Star Joined: 3/8/13
#19Best Production Values
Posted: 12/11/13 at 3:39pmBaz Luhrmann's La Boheme was the most beautiful production I've seen to this day. The sets, lights, costumes and props we're all stunning. I hope something of that caliber will return to Broadway soon.
ARTc3
Broadway Star Joined: 8/5/13
#20Best Production Values
Posted: 12/11/13 at 3:43pm
Sunday in the Park with George (original AND revival)
I so wanted to see, La Boheme. I feel like I missed something important... 
ARTc3 formerly ARTc. Actually been a poster since 2004. My name isn't Art. Drop the "3" and say the signature and you'll understand.
Wildcard
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/21/06
#21Best Production Values
Posted: 12/11/13 at 7:30pm
Ditto on La Boheme. The audience applauded for the sets with each Act opening.
For me, Here Lies Love goes to the Worst Production Values thread. It had potential but everything was shoddily constructed.
jemjeb2
Featured Actor Joined: 6/28/05
#22Best Production Values
Posted: 12/11/13 at 9:19pm
Sunset Boulevard
The original production of Follies
Including costumes? The Lion King
Dreamgirls
#23Best Production Values
Posted: 12/11/13 at 9:53pm
Matilda
Beautiful
Pippin
First date (kept it simple)
Cinderella
#24Best Production Values
Posted: 12/11/13 at 11:38pmI love Broadway for it's high production values! I disagree with previous comments about HAnds on a Hard Body (served the show just fine) & Leap of Faith (I thought the tent going up was super & fondly remember other neat settings for the show.) Over the yrs. I have loved LOTS: Sweeney Todd, a legendary Frankenstein (at the Palace), Dreamgirls, more recently: If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet (incredible for its set which became a huge tank for flooded scenes), Matilda. For my fellow NYC residents, La Boheme is a circulating DVD from NYPL.
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