Orchestra spillage into boxes...

[Kevn520]

Posted: 3/4/09 at 4:45am

I've noticed at a few productions this season where the orchestra is shoved into the mezzanine box seats. Prior to this year I didn't venture to theater much, so I don't know if this is a new trend or something that's been occurring often.

I find it a bit disorienting to hear two different sources of sound, rather than one source emanating from the orchestra pit, combined with the obvious amplification. I found this to most noticeable tonight at West Side Story.

So, is this a new thing? Does it make a difference where the orchestra is placed in a theater?

[Justin D]

Posted: 3/4/09 at 8:10am

I guess it all comes down to sound design, loud things like percussion should be in the pit, but in a show like Lion King those instruments are too big for the pit and it can be distracting espicially if you are sitting next to that particular box. It isnt so bad at the Minskoff since those boxes are high up, but in Toronto I sat next to the box and it was very loud and distracting.

But if you want a bigger orchestra, it is not always possible to enlarge the pit (some shows have sub stage scenery right behind the pit)

At the same time, most of the time box seats to suck so it is nice that they are being used for something else. I noticed in London that Phantom has a Piano in one of the lower boxes, but that's just for rehearsals.

[Luckydave14]

Posted: 3/4/09 at 9:08am

They have stuck them in the boxes at Studio 54 for quite a few shows that I have seen there, most recently, Pal Joey.

[strelimyn]

Posted: 3/4/09 at 10:53am

I may just be hallucinating, but I think I remember reading or watching somewhere that the percussionist in Legally Blonde was placed in one of the boxes. Can anyone yay or nay this? If this is true, I didn't notice anything strange sound-wise when I saw it - but I was in the orchestra. I wonder if it was noticeable to those in the balcony.

[MrSweetNAwful]

Posted: 3/4/09 at 6:32pm

I noticed that at Studio 54 when I saw Threepenny in the balcony. It sounded alright to me, I was closer to the house left box so it did sometimes sound like I was hearing two orchestras perform across a room.
What I find interesting is how the orchestra is conducted that way.

[TimeSquare3]

Posted: 3/4/09 at 6:48pm

The percussionist for LB was located in a room off stage. The conductor had a camera on him so that the percussionist could see him.

[morosco]

Posted: 3/4/09 at 7:08pm

It all comes down to real estate. The smaller the pit the more rows of seats to sell.

[strelimyn]

Posted: 3/5/09 at 3:20am

TimeSquare3 - thanks for clearing that up

[Actor 7]

Posted: 3/5/09 at 11:30pm

Every theatre has a different "pit space." Some of the older houses have deep pits and could accommodate as many as forty or more musicians and some can only accommodate as few as twelve or eighteen. Yes, it is about "real estate" in today's Broadway theatre. Look at the sizes of the original orchestrations from some of the large musicals of the 1940's, 50's 60's and even 1970's. Even the number of musicians required for specific contracts with certain Broadway theaters has shrunk from previous times. The fact that West Side Story has 30 musicians is amazing. I looked at the Stage Specs for the pit at the Palace and it really isn't a deep pit. It only goes 9 feet back from the front to the rear of the pit, so they may have had no other choice but to place the percussion instruments in the right and left boxes. At Studio 54, the original orchestra pit had been filled in with concrete from the period dating back to when it was used as a TV Studio. The Roundabout wants to make the pit function-able again, Jonathan Tunick has talked about this before. I thought the orchestra in the Studio 54 right and left boxes for ASSASSINS worked very well. The sound designer plays a major role in the balance of sound for every musical. They will work on getting WSS sound just right by their Opening Night. It will likely sound great. City Center has a pit that is 18 feet deep from front to back and can easily seat 60 musicians. The Broadway, Gershwin and Majestic Theaters have deeper pits than many other Broadway Theaters and thus can accommodate larger orchestras. The Majestic Theatre has a pit that is 22 feet deep from front to rear of pit.

[coryografer]

Posted: 3/5/09 at 11:41pm

Bombay Dreams had percussionists in boxes on either side of stage. Both at the Broadway and on tour.

[coryografer]

Posted: 3/5/09 at 11:43pm

110 in the Shade had orchestra in boxes at Studio 54. Do they do that with all their shows?