Favorite Set Designs — Page 17

Thanks for the reminder, edyw32. Oh yes, the original London Into the Woods was quite startling, rather like the rest of the production. It's a pity that the videos widely available of the show, never used the sets, so one doesn't that idea.

First some classics I've seen (and let's give all the designers credit by name):

Boris Aronson's "A Little Night Music" & "Pacific Overtures", for exploring all the ways gliding panels can make our hearts sing.

Santo Loquasto's "The Cherry Orchard" & "That Championship Season", for finding ravishing new ways to view old rooms.

Tony Walton's "Pippin" & "Grand Hotel", for creating astonishing richness out of poor materials.

Ming Cho Lee's "Much Ado About Nothing" and "The Grand Tour", for inventing the cliche of lumps mounted to scaffolding and then turning the technique into the highest art.

Onto the next decades:

Heidi Landesman's "Big River" and "The Secret Garden", for building an entire show out of one perfect image (the Misissippi as a walkway of planks, or a girl's face shimmering from a doll house.)

John Lee Beatty's "Talley's Folly", but really any show he tackles that creates huge vibrations within intimate spaces.

Maria Bjornson's "Phantom of the Opera" and "Aspects of Love", for convincing us that an empty stage can still dazzle us with luxury and opulence.

Bob Crowley's "Carousel" at the Beaumont, for exploding our heads with new ways to see the classics.

And some recent masterpieces:

Scott Pask's "Nine" revival, giving stunning new uses for water onstage.

Christine Jones' "American Idiot", transforming newspaper collages into a heart-breaking space.

Mark Wendland's "Next to Normal", showing us precisely what the inside of a troubled mind looks like.

And of course the combined talents that created "Sleep No More" at the McKittrick!

Updated On: 5/29/11 at 01:32 PM

Rockyfan 2000-- funny you should mention the b'way Starlight Express-- I spent a few months drafting on that thing for john Napier. Glad someone remembers it fondly-- I actually thought John's London set was so much simpler and more effective-- just skater ramps spinning around a hip plexi space with that awesome articulating bridge above, but none of the miles of styrofoam kitsch John was impelled to add for the US show. Different strokes...

rockyfan, Did you ever know that before the Broadway production, there was a version of Starlight that we drafted to tour around the States from rock arena to rock arena! Believe it or not the whole thing was planned to INFLATE in sections, each devoted to a different corner of the US, that the skaters would zip around on. Can't remember if that version had the center bridge or not, but needless to say, the thing never happened.

I want to see this Carousel set design I keep hearing about!

I've seen 11 Christopher Oram designs and they've all been nothing but spectacular!! All his designs at the Donmar are great!! Guys & Dolls, Evita, Red, Passion, Streetcar Named Desire to name but a few!!!!

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The Addams Family
Shrek
Spider-Man

I just want to chime in with a word in honor of Rob Bissinger's work on Lucky Guy, which sadly closed far too soon.

Bissinger's set was clever, witty and well constructed, keeping full pace with the quickly moving action. The influence of David Rockwell was evident - Bissinger served under Rockwell on All Shook Up.

From pre-show to curtain call, I was most impressed at a Broadway sized set on an off-Broadway budget, with many units serving as multi-purpose, double-side pieces in numerous scenes.

One particular unit served as scenery for Jeannie Jeanine's concert, a wall of her home and two dressing rooms. Jeannie's "28-room trailer" was built from columns that were giant glasses of champagne, mirroring the champagne element and faux-romance of the scene. There was a large, versatile Grand Ole Opry set and the proscenium of the stage mirrored that piece, with strings that were 'played' by Varla Jean Merman in one scene.

There were hidden gems in the set that were running gags throughout the evening, the most memorable being Leslie Jordan popping out of set pieces and corners in the most expected and hilarious ways imaginable..

i could go on and on, but I thought Bissinger's work was first rate and well matched by William Ivey Long's pitch perfect costumes. The only misstep of the night were two cars 'driven' by Savannah Wise and Varla Jean Merman in fantasy sequence...

The Phantom of the Opera
Chicago (revival)
Cats
The King and I (revival)
Man of La Mancha (revival)
South Pacific (revival)
Avenue Q
Wicked
Sunset Boulevard
Xanadu
The Lion King
Show Boat (Hal Prince revival)

1) Avenue Q
2) Next to Normal

interactive webpage of the set of HOT L BALTIMORE at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago:
http://www.steppenwolf.org/hotl/#