Most Elaborate/Technically Advanced Scenic Designs

Posted: 4/19/23 at 8:49pm

Please forgive me if this has been discussed before. I'm sure there is a thread somewhere that I could not find. 


I'm curious about the most elaborate/technically advanced sets that have ever been built for a Broadway stage. Recently, Spiderman, Rocky, and Shrek come to mind. 
 

I know there are minds on here with a much better memory than me. If anyone could add some more examples I would greatly appreciate it. 

Updated On: 4/20/23 at 08:49 PM

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 4/19/23 at 9:39pm

Two shows designed by John Napier raised the bar on elaborate set builds: STARLIGHT EXPRESS in the 1980’s, and SUNSET BLVD in the early 90’s. Starlight Exp had a giant rotating bridge that sent roller skaters onto a multilevel maze of ramps and skate-tracks that extended all over the theater. For Sunset B, Napier lifted the entire gargantuan home of Norma Desmond including baroque staircase and floor deck up into the flies overhead. Would that both shows had been able to match the glories of their sets. 

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 4/19/23 at 9:54pm

Certainly Starlight Express belongs on this list

[bwaylvsong1]

Posted: 4/19/23 at 10:01pm

Sunset Boulevard 

Mary Poppins

Dance of the Vampires 

42nd Street (revival)

She Loves Me (revival)

Beauty and the Beast (when it was at the Palace)

The King and I (both the 90s and Lincoln Center revivals)

Great Comet

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/19/23 at 10:19pm

David Zinn's scenic design for Spongebob was next-level:



 

[quizking101]

Posted: 4/19/23 at 10:23pm

KPOP made the very small Circle feel ENORMOUS like an MSG concert

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 4/19/23 at 10:29pm

I wouldn’t say Shrek’s set was anything to write home about. I remember thinking it was the worst part of the show 

[morosco]

Posted: 4/19/23 at 10:40pm

Shrek's stage deck was kinda complex..

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 4/19/23 at 10:54pm

The 1986 London production of CHESS was probably one of the most technologically advanced sets of its day. The revolving chessboard floor always fascinates me and was a central part of that production! I wish they could use that same staging idea for the potential Broadway revival of Chess.



 

 

[Chase Miller]

Posted: 4/19/23 at 11:11pm

Sunset Boulevard

Wicked

Phantom of the Opera

Starlight Express

Spiderman

Mary Poppins

Harry Potter Cursed Child

Spongebob Musical

Beauty and The Beast

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

 

Updated On: 4/19/23 at 11:11 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/19/23 at 11:37pm

TaffyDavenport said: "David Zinn's scenic design for Spongebob was next-level:



The build out is cool, but once the curtain rose, the actual set was pretty much non-existent. 

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/19/23 at 11:40pm

I'd say the most elaborate would have to be the Lord of the Rings musical that never made it to Broadway. 

You can find it on YouTube, but it's got a revolving stage with multiple raising and lowering platforms. 

Also, Paramore - the Cirque musical - was pretty complex design wise. 

[steve.sometime]

Posted: 4/19/23 at 11:58pm

The most recent revival of The Skin of Our Teeth was pretty elaborate and wonderful 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 1:21am

The Play That Goes Wrong I imagine has to be fairly elaborate.  It's technically a unit set but new elements keep happening throughout the show, and the timing cues for whoever is operating the set have to be just right.  Life of Pi, if we're considering the projections as well.

Beetlejuice had a lot of stuff going on, though I don't know if it was more technically advanced necessarily.  Though does anyone know how they managed to change the wallpaper of the house between each scene?  The My Fair Lady house also must have had so many components for the props department to source.

[binau]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 3:39am

I would have expected spider man but I don’t really know if I saw where all the money went - at times it actually felt a bit cheap/sparse to me. I guess I am glad to have ‘been there’ as I’m sure it’ll become something to brag about (if it isn’t already) - but i can’t say I have much to say about the whole experience, which I just found boring (No ‘worst of all time’ camp to enjoy, just very meh). And yes it was the ‘2.0’ version which was apparently more boring but still. 

[tomwsjr]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 5:35am

One of the most elaborate and beautiful scenic designs I’ve ever seen on Broadway was from the musical Grind.

Updated On: 4/20/23 at 05:35 AM

[Markecib]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 7:30am

Groundhog Day had a deck that was complicated with multiple turn tables that always had issues during it’s Broadway run. At one point it became an carnival ride like a Tilt-A-Whirl minus the tilting. I also remember Jane Eyre had a system that was like a carousel that would “drop” pieces in and lift them away. 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 7:49am

tomwsjr said: "One of the most elaborate and beautiful scenic designs I’ve ever seen on Broadway was from the musical Grindr."

I assume you mean Grind.  The set, which was amazing and amazingly staged, was for me the only good thing about the show, along with Stubby Kaye.

For me, I agree with many of the suggestions…people should have seen London’s Starlight Express, if they think the Broadway one was amazing.

I would also add Moulin Rouge and the original Boris Aronson productions of Follies and Sweeney Todd.  Also, Dreamgirls.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 11:16am

I heard that the ill-fated Ghost was one of the most difficult to maintain, with led lights and the magical walls. The projections were fully integrated on every surface, and though the final effect was simple, the execution was a programming nightmare.  I know someone who worked on the show, and it was one tech crisis after another. 

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 11:22am

Liking the show was another thing, but the Toronto/West End production of "The Lord of the Rings" was visually incredible. The hydrolics alone were impressive.

[Bill Snibson]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 11:26am

I'll second that Starlight Express and Sunset Boulevard were epic scenic designs. Massive in scale.  More recent, I agree that Moulin Rouge is a fabulous design that transformed the entire theater and just kept getting layered and layered . Also, the recent revival of Company and how they managed to shoe-horn it in and also adapt/chang-over those boxes into different locations was very impressive. At one point it's a living room, then its a full up-scale kitchen, then Bobbie's apartment, then a nightclub not to mention a full on Brownstone coming in from god know's where. I know it had some technical flaws but overall it was a very impressive design. 

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 11:57am

I totally agree with Jarethan that however giant the Bway incarnation was of Starlight Express, its earlier London iteration was much more beautiful. (I should know— I drafted for months on the bloated US version .)

Updated On: 4/20/23 at 11:57 AM

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 1:56pm

Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

Rocky

South Pacific at Lincoln Center with the whole stage shifting with the ship

 

But really, I can't recall the name of a play that was on a huge raised turntable.  Maybe 8-9 years ago?  And they had trouble with the mechanism (it wasn't Machinal) and had to manually turn it at least once during previews

[Wick3]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 3:23pm

King and I revival at Lincoln Center also had that ship!

[bowtie7]

Posted: 4/20/23 at 4:54pm

While the actual sets where not that elaborate--the quick changes of scenery in Yerma were a technical marvel.