Interesting LA CAGE feature; posters/advertising

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 12:36pm

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/03/21/theater/20100321-lacage-interactive.html

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 1:04pm

interesting thanks for posting

[bwayguy22089]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 1:40pm

Very interesting! Thanks a lot

I wish I could see this kind of process for other shows.

[tellybox]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 2:08pm

Is it just me, or compared to other rejected posters, the current one seems extremely boring.

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 2:12pm

^ You're not the only one.

[E.Davis]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 2:30pm

Ya, the other ones are better


They also did this with Ragtime...I hope they continue this.

[Marquise]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 4:46pm

I guess I'll be the one to disagree and say that the other posters were "too busy". Focus was being pulled in too many directions with examples 5 and 7.
Example 1 is very retro but really has nothing to do with the show it actually looks like an ad for a musical entitled, "A Day at the Beach".
Example 2 is okay but sort of reminds me of the ads for victor/Victoria and the last thing a show want to be is confused or identified with another.
Example 3 looks like a could be an ad for MAC Cosmetics Line of drag queen make up I could picture the caption: "YOU too can look like a Drag Queen!"
Example 4 for is just bad, bad, bad...no color, and it looks like a comic panel for the New Yorker magazine...it doesn't fit to sell a broadway musical.
Example 5 is definitely colorful *but* it pulls focus and becomes a jumbled mess...the average viewer shouldn't have to spend too much time figuring out just what the heck they are looking at and what you are trying to sell.
Example 6 is another example of identity crisis...it reminds me of an ad for "Rocky Horror", an show have it's own imprint that sets it apart from the rest and this one doesn't do that.
Example 7 is very interesting I see that the neon forms a woman, or in this case, a drag queen but I had to actually study it to finally see it. Again, it should have been more simplified so that one doesn't have to stare it to try to figure out what they're looking at.
Example 8 is sharp, clean, bold and gets the message across: The title of the show. The muscular silhouetted figures suggest these are not real women but what they are...men in drag but you have to take a second look, and in this case that's a good surprise for the average viewer who doesn't know the show in general and helps to peek curiosity on the subject matter. The neon pink of the font used against the black background *pops* catches the eye ...a real attention grabber and is justifiably the logical winner. It's an excellent example of capturing the essence of the show being advertised and getting it's message across quickly.

Sorry for the loooooong post. I'm working on my Masters in Graphic Design so I know a little about this sort of thing.


Updated On: 3/20/10 at 04:46 PM

[Smaxie]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 5:25pm

Agreed completely, Marquise. It's fun to see the rejected art, but the right one won out for all of the reasons you've mentioned. I also think it's probably one of the best pieces of show art in the past decade.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 5:44pm

Agreed. They chose the right one. Fun to see the other concepts, but I would want this one as a poster on my wall more than the others. And I think it'll work better for the show in terms of sparking interest with adverts.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 5:57pm

Agree with Marquise, Smaxie, and Capn.

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 5:59pm

The last one still makes it look like a big, brash, Broadway spectacular which the last production in 2004 was but the new one certainly isn't!

[wickedfan]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 6:03pm

I think they're all fascinating. None of them in my opinion are BAD, but the final one is definitely the right one. It's also interesting to see the direction they started in and the direction they went in. These were clearly people who a) understood the musical and b) understood the concept behind this production and also know how to capture an audience's eye. In this case, less is definitely more. As opposed to the Ragtime artwork, and the timeline of the earlier versions, where I thought all of them were either boring or not fitting to the piece and the final product was just the least boring of them all.

[CONAries]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 6:04pm

I think the next to last was my favourite on that list, but I think i still prefer the logo they used for the London run of this,
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_lLcxY7SJcCc/SwrwvdFU-ZI/AAAAAAAAAHo/MYKpyq-taEI/s1600/La+Cage.png

Very clear, and suited the show perfectly

[wickedfan]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 6:25pm

Yes, but I think people would have found it too similar to the logo of the last Broadway revival to use for this one.

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 6:26pm

The London one Conaires displays is perfectly Parisienne.



Updated On: 3/20/10 at 06:26 PM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 6:29pm

This is what I think of every time I see the one they chose.

[canmark]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 7:10pm

I don't think any of them hit the mark, although it's nice to see that the designers provided a wide range of ideas (rather than variations on the same thing). As others have said, the selected design looks like it's a show about Las Vegas showgirls.

Me, I would like to see them develop the idea with the false eyelashes and mustache, which I think has possibilities. The "La Cage" part looks like what you could use as a marquee for the club in the show itself. It has a certain 'south of France' look to it. (The pink neon look in the chosen design is a bit garish for me.) There's also a certain 'barbershop quartet' look to that design which is not unappealing, either, although I don't know if that suits the show. Still, I would like to see variations on this design.

I also like the Disco one, although it doesn't really suit the show (unless the production was designed around a Studio 54-ish concept).

The chosen design is a bit too in your face for me. I haven't seen La Cage in many years, but I think of it as a rather sentimental show. And despite it featuring drag performers, these aren't agressive people who want to shock you. They are kindly people who want to entertain you.

[choitoy]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 7:44pm

I really love features like these, as someone who was into graphic design and did a lot of posters and programs way back when I was in High School. It is interesting on how widely varied the designs are. I usually was able to come up with two or three ideas myself, and usually they were fairly similar variations on a theme.

My personal favorite one is the fake eyelashes and mustache one, but I do like the one they ultimately chose. It's a little more garish, but I think that it's kinda the design for the nightclub of this production over the opulent original production.

The "Studio 54" one I think is the strangest one. It looks like the cover to a Scissor Sister's CD.

I remember that they did something similar to this for the Ragtime revival. Does anyone have a link to that one still?

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/20/10 at 7:48pm

wow, not knowing which one was chosen, I made the same choice. I didn't even love it, but the others were just awful, I thought.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/21/10 at 11:23am

I love seeing concept art. I actually like all the posters as works of art themselves, but agree with their final decision. The others have a lot of originality and wit, but would not serve well as advertising pieces. I think it's excellent that they had such a broad spectrum of ideas, as opposed to the recent trend of "Let's get a picture of stars and do some photoshopping".

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 3/21/10 at 2:45pm

Example 4 for is just bad, bad, bad...no color, and it looks like a comic panel for the New Yorker magazine...it doesn't fit to sell a broadway musical.

It had no color because it wasn't finished. He said in the video attached to the image that the plan was for the image to be painted in by an artist, but they dropped the idea because it was too busy before they got to that point. They didn't drop it BECAUSE it had no color.

[MrSweetNAwful]

Posted: 3/21/10 at 5:46pm

I do like the final poster, but I also thought 5 and 7 did a good job of selling the show. The guy from the ad agency says both of them were too busy. I agree with him on the neon light design (which could have easily been cut down), but I think the pile of lips and hearts and legs and stars and feathers and mess making up the hair on the fifth design is simply awesome. I'd rather buy that poster than the final design :/

[BdwyFan]

Posted: 3/21/10 at 10:48pm

I like the poster that was finally chosen - it's simple, fresh, and eye-popping! The others just seem too busy.

[tazber]

Posted: 3/22/10 at 8:52am

I'm with the side who thinks the right one was chosen. All the rest are ugly and busy. Blech!

[tzohar]

Posted: 3/22/10 at 4:29pm

The whole "woman with mustache" thing is SO OLD and so very very "Victor/Victoria". The first lyrics in this musical are "we are what we are and what we are is an ILLUSION", meaning these drag queens are flawless enough to pass as gorgeous women, as the best drag queens do. It just doesn't fit to advertise this musical with an image of a drag queen with a mustache or stubble. It's too cheap.

The one they chose is sexy and loud and presents the "ladies" without making any kind of cheap shot about the fact they're not really girls. The musical never presents them that way and neither should the poster.