Greatest set designer?
Greatest set designer?
#1Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/22/07 at 11:51am
Who do we think is Broadway's greatest ever designer?
For me, a toss-up between Boris Aaronson, Tony Walton and John Napier.
Your thoughts?
#2re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/22/07 at 11:52am
Aronson
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
Updated On: 6/22/07 at 11:52 AM
#2re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/22/07 at 12:06pm
For the barricades and the horses, John Napier. Other people will have their preferences; he is mine.
#3re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/22/07 at 12:11pmSanto Loquasto
Jack: For your information, most people who meet me do not know that I am gay.
Will: Jack, blind and deaf people know you're gay. Dead people know you're gay.
Jack: Grace, when you first met me, did you know I was gay?
Grace: My dog knew.
#4re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/22/07 at 12:26pm
Currently: Robin Wagner/Bob Crowley
Historically: Boris Aronson/Jo Mielziner/Oliver Smith
Cheyenne Jackson tickled me. AFTER ordering SoMMS a drink but NOT tickling him, and hanging out with Girly in his dressing room (where he DIDN'T tickle her) but BEFORE we got married. To others. And then he tweeted Boobs. He also tweeted he's good friends with some chick on "The Voice" who just happens to be good friends with Tink's ex. And I'm still married. Oh, and this just in: "Pettiness, spite, malice ....Such ugly emotions... So sad." - After Eight, talking about MEEEEEEEE!!! I'm so honored! :-)
Updated On: 6/22/07 at 12:26 PM
#5re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/22/07 at 12:36pm
I dont' know if I have a favorite, but some of the greats are:
-George Tsypin (get ready for his clear set for Little Mermaid)
-RIchard Hudson
-Maria Bjornson
myManCape
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/26/05
#6re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/22/07 at 12:41pmAs far as modern scenic design, John Lee Beatty must be considered.
"Have they come yet?"
BwayBaby18
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/19/05
#7re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/22/07 at 3:56pmI find Rockwell's open sets to be enthralling. I think it is wonderful how his sets are all kind of just pieces. But his pieces fill out the space and creat perfect worlds and moods. They also really help focus the importance of the show. DOWN WITH WALLS!!
TheatreDiva90016
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/04
#8re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/22/07 at 4:00pm
Ming Cho Lee opened the doors for all of them.
He took Sceinc Design to a whole new level. Gone were the tabs, drapes, drops, and such. In was the concept of abstract, and exciting.
"TheatreDiva90016 - another good reason to frequent these boards less."<<>>
“I hesitate to give this line of discussion the validation it so desperately craves by perpetuating it, but the light from logic is getting further and further away with your every successive post.” <<>>
-whatever2
ThankstoPhantom
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/13/05
#9re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/22/07 at 4:01pm
Present day great: Bob Crowly, hands down.
Historically: Aronson.
ALSO:
Maria Bjornson
How to properly use its/it's:
Its is the possessive. It's is the contraction for it is...
Updated On: 6/22/07 at 04:01 PM
iluvtheatertrash
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
#10re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/22/07 at 4:02pmI personally don't like Beatty (especially his recent APPLE TREE set - if anyone understood the ladders, please, do tell what they meant!).
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
#11re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/22/07 at 4:08pmI think Beatty's Apple Tree was a fluke. But look at his work on Rabbit Hole (which he should have won the Tony for, as much as I love History Boys), Heartbreak House, Wonderful Town, Doubt, and Dinner and Eight. Such great work.
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#12re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/22/07 at 4:09pmCould one person spell Boris Aronson's name correctly? Please?
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
Jon
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
#13re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/22/07 at 6:42pm
How about Eugene Lee?
Original Sweeney Todd, the Showboat revival, Ragtime, Wicked...
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#14re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/22/07 at 7:07pm
I think Eugene is a huge talent but for some reason, personally, I'd never call any of his designs brilliant or artistic masterpieces... That's not really fair I realize--just a personal thing.
I did a thread about this only about 3-4 weeks back that got to about 5 pages if you do a search (again not trying to be an ass :P Just pointing out 
) and I think Aronson was the clear winner--he's my fave anyway (I started my thread after finding an astoundingly cheap used library discard copy of his gorgeous set design coffee table book)
E
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#15re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/22/07 at 7:10pm
OK I exagerated, it only got to three pages... Here it is https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=936417#3044733
#16re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/23/07 at 5:11pmJo Mielziner. He designed the sets and lighting for over 300 Broadway productions in his long career which spanned 5 decades, from the 1930's to the 1970's. There is an excellent biography of his life and work, detailing all 300 shows with illustrations, by Mary C. Henderson. I got it for half price on Amazon.com.
"Madam Rose...and her daughter...Gypsy!"
#18re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/23/07 at 6:04pm
Jo Mielziner
John Lee Beatty
Ming Cho Lee
Both Lee and Beatty have designed locally at Actors Theatre of Louisville. I especially remember Ming Cho Lee's design for ATL's production of Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" which featured Merceds Ruhl. The show wasn't that great, but his sets were amazing.
I was also blown away by Beatty's design for "Rabbit Hole," possibly one of the best set designs I've ever seen.
Jon
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
#19re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/23/07 at 8:48pmRobin Wagner seems to be a one-trick-pony. If you want New York 1930's Art Deco, he does it. His "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" set for 42nd Street looked like a reject from On the 20th Century. His Crazy for You finale was a rehash of "Dames" from 42nd Street. And he's done variations of the same "Times Square Marquees" backdrop for 42nd Street, Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Crazy For You and The Producers.
#20re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/23/07 at 9:09pmHe's so inventive and intricate though. Kiss Me Kate, Dreamgirls, On the Twentieth Century and The Producers were so mechanically complicated and intricate.
#21re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/24/07 at 1:47pmHow many different ways can you set the Times Square Theatre District? I think Wagner has done wonderful different takes for 42nd STREET, JEROME ROBBINS BROADWAY, and CRAZY FOR YOU, the latter emphasizing the "Zangler Theatre" which was a realization of the Ziegfeld Theatre on 6th Avenue.
"Madam Rose...and her daughter...Gypsy!"
Wicked63
Broadway Star Joined: 6/18/07
#23re: Greatest set designer?
Posted: 6/24/07 at 2:56pm
Company, Follies, Night Music and Pacific Overtures represent one of the great collaboration streaks in any art form ever. What Boris Aronson brought to the original productions of those shows is spectacular. Each couldn't have been more visually different, and they were so full of scenic surprise and invention that it was sometimes hard to believe what you were witnessing.
And, those designs all serve the specific direction of each show in a way I hadn't seen before or since.
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