Voice Amplification: a Broadway Pestilence

I went with a group to see If/Then early in its run and found the story almost too confusing to try to follow. But there was Idina and that voice. Stuck up in the rear mezzanine as is usually the case with groups, I was dismayed to say the least that Idina's voice as reached us up there was severely distorted. It was almost high school dance distorted. First, she doesn't need a mike in that small theater. Second, I understand that sound engineers and other members of the crew are very well paid and I don't see how they could have allowed that poor sound. Maybe no one ever walked up to the rear balcony?

I also saw the Kelli O'Hara and Mathew Morrison holiday performance with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall. (Actually I saw the last rehearsal and family matters made me miss the actual performance.) O'Hara in January played a role in The Merry Widow in the cavernous Met. She had generally good reviews and her opera-trained voice was said to sufficiently fill the place.

Yet at the much smaller Carnegie she was miked. And when she sang I was conscious of the artificial amplification standing between me and the pure sound of her voice.

Is amplification totally necessary at even the most intimate theaters? The Hall opened in 1891. Did all the vocalists at that time have voices like Ethel Merman?

HA! Sudoku Sticks... you mean acoustics?

I always found the "kids today need to use mics, in my day we had real singers! Merm!" argument strange. (You're not making that argument, it just made me think about it.)

I mean, yes, singers of decades ago didn't use microphones or amplification. They also had to sing much louder, less naturally, and generally facing front at all times. Acting styles have changed and now a singer can sing something much softer for an emotional effect and still be heard.

Kelli was directed in the opera-style of projection/face front etc in The Merry Widow so she used those skills. The skills you use singing more broadway/pop songs in a concert venue are entirely different.

Well, audiences have become used to hearing voices amplified. They don't like the tone and quality a regular voice has. When we were without mics, people put in an effort when Mary Martin sang "Cock Eyed Optimist". Sondheim and Lapine wanted Sunday in the Park to be unaligned, but Bernadette and Mandy felt their voices were dead. So, they were miced. It's just the way things are done nowadays, and it's probably not going to change unless a new Ethel comes around.

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Thanks Wilmington=you are what I love about BWW-articulate professional information.

You also have to take into account the use of electronic instruments (synthesizers, electric guitars and basses). Once you have to start amplifying and sending those through a sound system it becomes more necessary to start sending everything else in the orchestra through the speakers as well, or else you get the disconnect of the sounds coming from different places. That of course changes the dynamic with the cast onstage and the way the acoustics work in the theatre.

I'll also point out that everything at the Met is not completely natural. They have on occasion used body mics and have been discreetly using area mics for some time now. True it's a more subtle amplification than what we have become used to hearing in the world of musical theatre, but it's still there.

First, she doesn't need a mike in that small theater.

Years and years ago shows were orchestrated to accommodate an unmiked (spelling?) voice. Rarely did horns play when someone was singing. Today it's a different sound, rock. Idina probably could sing in that space without a microphone but the show would have to be completely re-orchestrated so she could be heard over the music. Shows are written to be amplified.

Oops: Eric, you already said basically what I'm saying. Sorry to repeat your sentiments.

Updated On: 2/26/15 at 02:06 PM

If you were hearing distorted audio, chances are extremely good that something was broken - either an amplifier or a speaker - and that the problem is extremely new and somehow went unnoticed during the daily system check. The issue should be brought to the attention of house management so that it can be swiftly resolved.

And I can assure you that Brian Ronan and his associates listened to the show from every area of the theater.

The extensive miking of the onstage orchestra at Encores is (in my opinion) a crying shame.

Morosco--no worries. Great minds, bla bla

"I believe that Promises, Promises and Company used floor and shotgun mikes, rather than body mikes. I vastly prefer that sound (second to totally acoustic) to the processed, engineered, homogenized sound prevalent in commercial (and nonprofit) musical theatre today. It has zing, life, and spontaneity."

Right. Promises was the first show with a mixing board (I believe,) partly because Bacharach wanted a sound close to his studio recordings (which is also why they had offstage female backing singers--something Tunick would also, of course, bring to Company.) Of course being a perfectionist, Bacharach wasn't satisfied and aside from the stress of working on PP (which was largely due to illness--I believe on David's part--continuing to work on the West Coast, etc,) one reason he wasn't eager to go back to Broadway--despite being apparently pleased with PP--was it frustrated him that the sound wouldn't be perfect night after night.

Floor mikes were used as early as the 50s, I believe (I know we've had threads on this before.) But by the mid 60s they were pretty standard (and as was also mentioned scores started using electric instruments--Sweet Charity had electric guitar, etc.) But extensive shotgun mikes seemed to be a more late 60s thing. Hal Prince used them a lot as is talked about a bit in Everything Was Possible in regards to Follies (there too they had to pipe in the backstage tap sounds and the bits of pre-recorded singing and music in Who's That Woman and the Breakdown.)

New, I do get where you're coming from though. Body mikes do sound less natural, even at their best (and then you get some awkward shows where certain people who only have a few lines don't have body mikes, etc.)

OlBlueEyes, at various times Sondheim has said that it is true that back in the day audiences would really lean forward and pay attention--especially when sitting way back--because they had to to hear as much as possible, and that created a different kind of audience. He also has said that he's thankful for amplification because frankly, and this is paraphrasing, according to him a lot of stuff was still missed regardless and you can write more complex songs and lyrics and *know* your audience will catch it all now.

But I definitely agree with how poorly so many shows are miked. I have to see a lot of touring productions and it's usually wise to go a bit into their run since the first night or two almost always has mike problems (which of course is a problem if the show is only there for a day or two.)

Anyone interested in learning more about the art, craft, and skill associated with designing and mixing the sound for a Broadway show should buy this book. Pricey but fascinating.
Mixing a Musical: Broadway Theatrical Sound Techniques

Well, as usual, this board shows itself to be the best source of information on the Internet on all things Broadway, although it lacks a sense of humor.

I know ten times more about the subject than when I made my simple assertion.

Sondheim must be respected, all the more because his mentor Hammerstein probably experienced all the changes during his long career.

I still don't like the fact of the amplification, but it appears to be one of those many tradeoffs that must be made.

The most important thing is that you can hear the words. I've been to fully mic'd shows where that did not happen. There are some sound designers who are truly terrible at their jobs and pump up the orchestra over the level of the singers.

Here in Chicago, I've seen a lot of musicals without amplification in very intimate spaces where every whisper can be heard, and the result is typically nothing short of thrilling. I love seeking out smaller venues where you can hear the natural voice singing--the connection between audience and performer feels so much realer with a real human voice. And I can't think of any straight plays I have seen that have used amplification, except in specific situations to get a reverb effect or something of the like. However, as much as I love the sound of an unamplified voice, I would always rather have the voice that I can hear.