What theater is SEASONS OF LOVE filmed in?- Page 2

[Marquise]

Posted: 10/21/05 at 11:59pm

^^^ Does this look sanitized to you? The b*tch is damned near naked where the character once was covered up and used blue vinyl pants!

[heaja123]

Posted: 10/22/05 at 12:00am

they should have put it in the Nederlander

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/22/05 at 12:02am

"Does this look sanitized to you?"

Actually, it looks like a high school production of "Rocky Horror Show"

[Marquise]

Posted: 10/22/05 at 12:04am

Actually where you think you're smart and witty you actually come off as dumb and DUMBER. Go run out and play with CATSNYRevival both of you have nothing positive to say about anything. I dub you both DOOM and GLOOM.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 10/22/05 at 12:09am

Could the theater in the picture be The Orpheum? That, I believe, is where "Wicked" played it's San Francisco run..

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/22/05 at 12:12am

I thought Wicked played it's San Fran run at the Curran?

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 10/22/05 at 12:13am

Nope. It was the Orpheum.

[Liz_Bennet]

Posted: 10/22/05 at 12:28am

For the record, the word is "Theater" in German as well. Pronounced tay-ahter.

[VivaBohemia]

Posted: 10/22/05 at 12:44am

Well, Mimi is a dancer. Thank god they dressed her accordingly. Theres somthing about a handcuff dance in those blue pants that cancel each other out.

[emerald monkey]

Posted: 10/22/05 at 3:21am

after comparing the picture from the RENT promo photo with the pictures on the Broadway in San Francisco Website of their 3 main theatres (Curran, Orpheum and Golden Gate), it doesnt look like any of them are the theatre used to film "Seasons of Love".

The Curran us the most unlikely that it woul dbe based on the seating layout in that theatre. Their orchestra section has only 3 blocks of seats, one n the cent with 2 on each side separated by aisles. The RENT photo clearly shows 2 center sections and 2 extreme side sections for seating, with 3 aisles separating all of the seating.

The Golden Gate Theatre is a narrower theatre than the RENT picture would indicate, with 3 wide seating ares in the orchestra and 2 thin ones on the side. Also the walls seem much plainer compared to the walls in the RENT picture.

The Orpheum seems to be the closest fit to the RENT picture. With the 4 seating areas looking more similar to the picture and having a more inate wall design. But that theatre also seems much smaller than the one in the RENT picture.

Based on the pictures on the Best of Broadway in San Francisco Site: http://www.bestofbroadway-sf.com/index.asp, i'd have to think that it was none of these 3 theatres used for the Seasons of Love scene in the RENT film, unless there was considerable set dressing and rearanging done by the production.

There are other clues if you look at the lighting structures in the photos of the theatres and those in the RENT photo, the Walls and their design, the placement of the mezzanine, balcony.

I'd be hesitant to think it was the Pantages in LA because of the abundant use of curtains on the side walls of that theatre, and it is definately not the Ahmenson in LA because that is a VERY new theatre as far as its interior structural design...

so anyone know for sure which of these 3 it was or if it was a different theatre in a different city all together?

--monkey
Best of Broadway, San Francisco

[StarbuckQAF]

Posted: 10/22/05 at 6:26am

It wasn't the Curran, Golden Gate or Orpheum... The Curran is extremely narrow, the mezz hangs over the orchestra much closer to the stage. The Golden Gate isn't that... decorated or ornament-y, and the Orpheum (at the time) was playing Lennon and didn't have a cleared stage. Also, the theatre itself is much much smaller.

I'm 99.9% sure that the theatre used was the Paramount Theatre (located in Oakland, CA) -- It's enormous, classic and very decorated, and it's entirely empty for most of the year (occasionally it has concerts, symphonies, and classic movie screenings... But not a lot of sit-downs)

Here's the seating chart (it's small here, but you get the idea):



From the picture, it's almost exact :)

It makes me happy they utilized the Paramount, it's a stunning theatre. This is a really old image, but you can see the detailed designs on the sides (they're shiny gold), as are the side walls in the Rent picture




Stunning theatre, huh?

Check out the decorative light fixtures here underneath the Mezz --



The exact same as the Rent photo (except all the lights are lit in the picture above, while the first row or 2 in the Rent pic aren't lit).

Looks like it, right?

Updated On: 10/22/05 at 06:26 AM

[emerald monkey]

Posted: 10/22/05 at 4:14pm

By George! I think you've got it! I don't know Oaklands Theatres at all, only know San Francisco ones from being there with a tour many years ago.

It is a GORGEOUS theatre. Thanks for the pics!!

[Elphabuff2]

Posted: 10/23/05 at 12:44am

#1: The only San Francisco theater to host WICKED in 2003 (starting May 28th) was the Curran, which is the location of the pre-Broadway run. After the Curran, the show went directly to the Gershwin.

#2: I have to agree with Starbuck. I do not think it's the Curran. Judging by Starbuck's pics, it seems to me that he must be right in his assertion. Here is a pic of the Curran and I do not see many similarities b/t the RENT publicity shot of "SOL" and the Curran, even though it's impossible to see the medallions on the front balcony.




Updated On: 10/23/05 at 12:44 AM

[teth]

Posted: 10/23/05 at 3:04am

OT - Just to note that Wicked played at Curran in 2003 and then the tour played at Orpheum this past summer.

[JulianHookbucks]

Posted: 10/23/05 at 10:10am

that's what I thought... but didn't want to say anything... and also, the Curran has a balcony, and blue seats. And a rather small stage with a small orchestra section. This one was huge with green seats, a mammoth orchestra section, and only a mezzanine, therefore it couldn't be the same theatre, but I am going with Starbuck on the Paramount since it's obvciously right. If only we could get seat color verification, then we'd know for sure... unless they re convered like 2000 seats for the Rent movie, which I don't think they did...

Off Topic: What color are the Nederlander seats? (I've only seen Rent the tour. DON'T THROW THINGS AT ME!)

[Patronus]

Posted: 10/23/05 at 10:14am

How cool would it have been for them to have filmed it at the Nederlander? A great tribute. Oh well.

It would have been an even nicer tribute to use the New York Theatre Workshop since Jonathan actually worked on the show there.

I am still holding out hope that they'll use the Moondance Diner. That would be a great tribute even if it's only in an exterior pan shot.

[JulianHookbucks]

Posted: 10/23/05 at 12:51pm

that would be amazing... both of them...

how will Jonathan be worked into the film? Just a photo and dedication in the end? Or do you think he will be worked in as a character in some shot or something? I think that would be amazing.

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 10/23/05 at 12:58pm

I should definitely know what color the Nederlander seats are because I've been there dozens of times (and just last week!) but I'm blanking. I think maybe red. That is definitely not the Neder, though. Anyone who's been there knows that. There's no center aisle like in that pic. Did anyone ever consider that it may not have been filmed in a theatre at all and that it's all been done digitally? Just a thought.

Also, the theatRE/theatER debate is an old one. Generally speaking, when you're talking about live shows, it's RE; ER is usually reserved for houses which show films.

[Broadway Style]

Posted: 10/23/05 at 1:11pm

I agree with Starbuck! As someone who has been to the Paramount numerous times and performed on the stage before it seems like a perfect fit. Excellent work.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 10/23/05 at 1:27pm

About the Wicked theatres comment. Wicked played at both. It was at the Curran for its out of town tryout, "pre-bway," and then on tour it played the Orpheum.