Where Did All the Broadway Sets Go?

[JasonC3]

Posted: 8/20/23 at 6:00am

Brief New York Times essay (gift link) by Isaac Butler:

"AT ITS BEST, minimalism ignites the audience’s imagination, making theatergoers active participants instead of passive consumers. It can remove previous interpretations that may have congealed around a classic, allowing viewers to see it anew. 'There’s no visual noise to take your eye off what you’re meant to be focusing on,' Gilmour says of her recent production.

"But practicality may also be driving minimalism’s appeal. Building a set on Broadway has only gotten more expensive: Not only has the cost of materials like wood and steel increased, says Mike Bosner, a producer on the new musical 'Shucked,' which takes place inside the skeletal frame of a barn, but 'during the pandemic a lot of artisans that worked at these shops took other jobs.'”

Updated On: 8/20/23 at 06:00 AM

[quizking101]

Posted: 8/20/23 at 7:36am

This has already been litigated to death with the recent revival of “A Doll’s House”.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/20/23 at 8:04am

Anyone questioning this must lack common sense. Everyone producing and creating a Broadway show would LOVE to have fully scale sets, casts, etc. but sadly, the reality of what it costs to even get a Broadway show financed is astronomical today - this minimalism and use of LED screens are creating choices but a direction they can simulate the full scale vision they would love to do but can't anymore. Yes, some shows (mostly plays) choose barebones and minimal staging for their interpretations but this isn't the reason most every show today lacks the lavish insane sets we once saw on Broadway. I've been seeing shows on Broadway since 1972 (I was 7 years old) and what sucked me into the madness of Broadway were those sets and how, to my little boy head, everything on stage looked like a move but live. My first recollection of a minimal set designed show was the original Broadway production of EVITA. It was literally a black box set design with an industrial factory look to it and a screen with projection throughout. There was the scaffolding for the balcony of the Casa Posada; their bedroom was just a bed and a nightstand, etc. I think David Rockwell's gloriously lavish set for the 2016 Broadway revival of SHE LOVES ME was the last time I recall seeing an opulent set like the old days on a Broadway stage today.   

[FANtomFollies]

Posted: 8/20/23 at 9:22am

The 2017 'Hello Dolly' was the last opulent set I've seen on Broadway. I had high hopes for the set of 'Some Like it Hot' but found it to be only slightly more than a City Center production. It seems like the incoming Cabaret will be lush in it's immersion, fingers crossed.

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 8/20/23 at 9:35am

FANtomFollies said: "It seems like the incoming Cabaret will be lush in it's immersion, fingers crossed."

I have a friend who's a producer, and he said that this Cabaret won't be anywhere close to the London production. I'm just glad I got to see the beauty of the London Kit Kat Club!

[lopside]

Posted: 8/20/23 at 10:34am

Dylan Smith4 said: "FANtomFollies said: "It seems like the incoming Cabaret will be lush in it's immersion, fingers crossed."

I have a friend who's a producer, and he said that this Cabaret won't be anywhere close to the London production. I'm just glad I got to see the beauty of the London Kit Kat Club!"

Unless they're actually a producer on the show, I'm going to give about as much credence to this as I have to the bazillion baseless rumors about it, which is none. Of course it won't be the same, but they're not going to abandon that when "at the kit kat club" is literally in their title. 

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/20/23 at 11:14am

Hal Prince and Boris Aronson and Michael Bennett deserve a lot of credit for the “suggested” look that we now know in popular musical theatre. It’s not a new phenomenon. Let the set give a vibe and make sure there’s lots of room to dance.

Recently I’ve rarely felt Broadway shows were lacking in the scenic department, with the exception of something like The Prom which looked like it had maxed out a budget that was $5 mil less than its designers wanted it to be. Or something like Kimberly which I personally find clunkily designed.

But this is also a challenge of shows premiering at an off-bway or regional theatre with 400 seats and then transfer to an 1100-seat Broadway house.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/20/23 at 1:34pm

Given the confines of Atlantic's Off-Broadway stage, I think Kimberly is pretty cleverly designed. I do wish it had been amped up a little for Broadway, but whatever. 

I always wonder how Hamilton would look if they knew going in what a massive hit it would be. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/20/23 at 1:38pm

Guess the author didn't catch New York New York, which looked incredible. 

[KKeller6]

Posted: 8/20/23 at 2:04pm

It went into the producer's pockets. While charging the customer the same price.  It's a travesty. Broadway. The home of chairs and stairs.  Embarrassing. 

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 8/21/23 at 9:50pm

This stuff is cyclical. 125 years ago, stripping stage scenery of romantic clutter to a geometric essence was the height of the avant-garde. And variations on that idea have come and gone. I agree that the present mania does feel Marie Kondo-ish... more about a prevailing style in home decor and fashion and, gasp, wellness than about new ideas in theatrical design. However, this neo-minimalism is good for stage design that forefronts projections which is about new ideas being expressed through new technology so it's not all about taking no risks, economically and artistically. 

Mr. Butler is wrong about the ancient Greek theater not having much scenery. It actually had quite a bit including triangular painted scene panels that could be turned to create new combinations of background settings. And some of the plays that have been lost call for elaborate change of settings during the play. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/21/23 at 10:05pm

I think it's more so something like Sweeney which we all assumed would be some gorgeous lavish set and it's pretty minimal. And Camelot, which again, we expected opulence and did not get.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 8/21/23 at 11:19pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "Anyone questioning this must lack common sense. Everyone producing and creating a Broadway show would LOVE to have fully scale sets, casts, etc. but sadly, the reality of what it costs to even get a Broadway show financed is astronomical today - this minimalism and use of LED screens are creating choices but a direction they can simulate the full scale vision they would love to do but can't anymore. Yes, some shows (mostly plays) choose barebones and minimal staging for their interpretations but this isn't the reason most every show today lacks the lavish insane sets we once saw on Broadway. I've been seeing shows on Broadway since 1972 (I was 7 years old) and what sucked me into the madness of Broadway were those sets and how, to my little boy head, everything on stage looked like a move but live. My first recollection of a minimal set designed show was the original Broadway production of EVITA. It was literally a black box set design with an industrial factory look to it and a screen with projection throughout. There was the scaffolding for the balcony of the Casa Posada; their bedroom was just a bed and a nightstand, etc. I think David Rockwell's gloriously lavish set for the 2016 Broadway revival of SHE LOVES ME was the last time I recall seeing an opulent set like the old days on a Broadway stage today."

What about Moulin Rouge and NYNY?  

I definitely agree with your overall point...where did all the sets go?  I recently saw 'The Mousetrap' in London and was reminded just how much I love well-detailed sets.  It added to my surprised enjoyment of the show.    In more recent years, I loved the set for the most recent The Royal Family (how long ago was that), the most recent 'You Can't Take it with You', and POTUS...real old-fashioned sets with enormous detail.  Hell, in the old days, if the play was boring, you could always study the set.

I will also admit that I did not miss a set with A Doll's House...I actually think it may have improved the end-result.  You were not distracted by an elaborate set and could focus 100% on the story and performances.  

[FANtomFollies]

Posted: 8/22/23 at 8:34am

I think minimalist sets are only an issue when they don't suit the production. Sweeney Todd is a perfect example: The original Bway production was huge and detailed because it suited that production. The John Doyle revival was stripped back because it suited that production. The current revival is minimal and not detailed and it does NOT suit the production. Therein lies the issue.