Tony show sets?

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Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/13/16 at 4:07pm

I wondered this for years: The shows who perform at the Tony's often have pieces of their sets featured in the number. Are these made specifically for the Tony's? I can't imagine they do a matinee and then up-root and haul these pieces to Radio City/The Beacon. But it seems so expensive to make new pieces solely for the telecast.

Anyone know?

Updated On: 6/13/16 at 04:07 PM

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/13/16 at 4:09pm

new and expensive

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/13/16 at 4:10pm

The LED panels have helped a lot

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Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/13/16 at 4:15pm

The sets for the Tonys are purpose built for the Tony awards. If you watch back, there really wasn't much physical scenery last night, except for Hamilton-Most of the work was done by the LED screen, because backstage space at the Beacon is virtually nonexistent. Anything built will go into storage, to most likely be used for the national tours of the shows. I know the full replica of the In The Height set built for the Tonys in 2008 went out on the road.

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/13/16 at 4:31pm

They really do sometimes perform the matinee and then load smaller pieces, props and costumes on a truck and haul them off to the theatre hosting the awards. I saw crew members at Dirty Rotten Scoundrels doing just that after the matinee on Tony day in 2005. That's just one that I've personally seen. I'm sure there have been others. They don't always build everything just for the Tonys. Smaller stuff can travel.

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/13/16 at 4:33pm

2005 was also 11 years ago. I'm not sure that's still happening.

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/13/16 at 4:50pm

Just want to say that the LED screen "sets" are AMAZING. It adds so much to the performances to put them in the context of their actual shows.

How is that done? Is it literally just high res photography of the actual set?

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/13/16 at 5:02pm

All that being said, the piece for Bright Star wasn't the full house structure that they use in performance. Does anyone know if that was just a section of the real thing or if they constructed a whole new piece?

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/13/16 at 5:04pm

It is very easy to imagine that things cost less than they do. LED is convenient, but not cheap. Bringing a few things over on a Sunday afternoon may cost more than the items: it takes at least three union contracts to get something out of a Broadway theatre and into the Beacon. All of them are on overtime and some are on Sunday overtime.

#10

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/13/16 at 5:42pm

And don't forget the technical rehearsals (including lighting focus that would need the set pieces) and the dress rehearsals. It isn't feasible to use the actual show's pieces, and transfer them back and forth multiple times. They are built specifically for the broadcast.

#11

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/14/16 at 7:31am

Does anyone know if the Color Purple "set" was motsly LED? Granted my TV is only 1080p and not 4K, but it looked pretty realistic to me. If it was LED that's even more amazing.

ETA: Just watched again on my PC so I could get a closer look and answered my own question. Looks like the set was LED, but damn it looks great.

Updated On: 6/14/16 at 07:31 AM

#12

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/14/16 at 7:44am

I wish I can remember who did it but I think it was a news show that did a feature piece on the Tony show sets a few years ago. It was really interesting.

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#13

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/14/16 at 8:29am

The house was just what you saw a flat frame on a rolling platform. Since I have not seen the actual show I can't say how big that was.

What I can say since I was actually there at show. All the set pieces were made for the Tony's. If I am correct to say Color Purple only had chairs. Everything else was Gobos, and the LED Screen. Waitress had a few Carts with pies, Perfume, and rolling stairs for She Loves Me. HAmilton had those wooden platforms. They stand at the Beacon all day so they were not shuffled back and forth to the theaters.

One poster is correct. There is no backstage area. All the set pieces were held on the street on Amsterdam Ave until needed under a tent, as were the actors performing in their respective numbers.

A bus would dropped them off at the tent already made up about a half hour before they were scheduled to perform, and then picked up afterwards.

#14

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/14/16 at 8:46am

Cool, thanks for the insight, Buscee! So much work and effort (and money) into these 5-minute performances… just, wow.

#15

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/14/16 at 10:05am

Yes but it translates to major exposure (relative to the theatre world, at least), so it's worth the time and money for those Broadway producers. It's costly. It's a lot of work.

#16

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/14/16 at 11:37am

You are very welcome. A lot of work and money gets poured into that telecast. It amazes me every year.

#17

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/14/16 at 11:40am

The Tonys are to the theatre what the upfronts are to the networks: insane one-off expenditures in search of even more insane profits.

#18

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/14/16 at 11:44am

I hated the LED "sets" this year. They really bleached out the look of some of the shows, and you can tell it's phony. But that was the only part of the show that was not slicker and better-produced than recent years past. I guess it was partially a space issue at the Beacon.

Updated On: 6/14/16 at 11:44 AM

#19

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/14/16 at 11:44am

Was the Beacon just originally designed to house concerts? I know it's mostly concerts, but seems odd to have no backstage space, as they do host some like Barney Live type tours, and Cirque had their show there for a couple of months?

#20

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/14/16 at 12:40pm

RippedMan said: "Was the Beacon just originally designed to house concerts? I know it's mostly concerts, but seems odd to have no backstage space, as they do host some like Barney Live type tours, and Cirque had their show there for a couple of months? "

It was built for movies and vaudeville.

#21

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/14/16 at 5:57pm

Even when shows were at Radio City they used small simple set pieces. Yes, because it IS very expensive and things have to move FAST on a live show. I worked on the set piece for Wicked a few years back. This was one reason I think they aired the Car Ride Karaoke, to give the set crew time to rearrange things backstage. It was breathing time. The screens, for me, worked well and I know eased things up a bit for Set Crew and Stage Managers.

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#22

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/14/16 at 11:16pm

The Tony's shoot the sets of all the shows that are going to perform in the theater under various light cues - if they're still open.

I think it's a brilliant change that they've started doing in the past few years and its gives the show some design context as well as trying to recreate the feeling of the show on the telecast.

#23

Tony show sets?

Posted: 6/14/16 at 11:26pm

How'd a big Cirque show survive with no wing space?!

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