This is Chita Rivera performing "Where you are" from Kiss of the Spider Woman. I'm starting out with this clip because it introduces us to some of the basic ways that Broadway uses technology. Many musicals have sets that glide on set from the wings, lower from the ceiling, or come from the floor. This technology isn't much different from the kind that was used in opera's hundreds of years ago. The effect however is still as magical as it would have been back then. In this clip the bars in the background raise and lower during different times of the song.
This clip also uses a spotlight to highlight Chita Rivera when her dancers are on stage with her. The spotlight is also a tool that has been used for years. Spotlights are used to show the audience where to look. There can be a lot happening on stage and it is easy for the audience to get distracted, so the spotlight draws our attention to what we should be looking at.
Both of these technologies and the rest of the effects that I will talk about serve the same purpose. It is used to enhance the story being told. While some shows focus on wowing audiences with special effects (cough cough Spiderman the Musical) I tend to gravitate towards shows with an interesting story and music.
This is "Big Spender from Sweet Charity. I saw a local theatre do a production of Sweet Charity (My friends was playing one of the "call girls") This clip is also a great example of how lighting can be used to create mood on the stage. There is a low red light that is used to light the stage. This doesn't make the audience feel like this is a going to be a nice innocent song. The atmosphere of this scene is dark, seedy, and seductive. All of this is able to be communicated with the lighting and mood of the song. There is no set besides the bar that the ladies are leaning on. That is why lighting is so important, it can tell the audience all they need to know without a big elaborate set.
The effects that I'm taking about in this scene are quick since this is a montage. This clip is from Bye Bye Birdie. The train near the end of the clip shows one of the ways that a stage can transform through the use of pullies that glide pieces of the set across the stage. The revolving doors is another way that motion of set pieces can contribute to the story. While the technology behind the two set movement methods are not complicated in comparison to the special effects used in movies, the are effective in transforming a stage into a completely new setting.
This is a montage from Jesus Christ Superstar. This musical is traditionally performed on a pretty simple stage. The set is minimal, but they use lighting, specifically in the background to show a change in scene and contribute to the story. For example, the big "H" in some of the scenes shows Herod's home. The cross is used for the crucifixion. Lighting also plays heavily during the scene where Jesus is beaten. You can also see a part where the platform that Jesus and Judas are standing on rotates around the stage. I believe this scene is from right before the crucifixion and the platform rotates to the cross. Then Jesus is raised onto the cross. This technique is used a lot on broadway. What is always amazing for me is that many times the character is walking around stage and then is magically lifted into the air. But you swear they didn't have a harness on a minute ago. As with the rest of the clips I have discussed, the technology used in this show add to the story being told.
Speaking of being raised in the air, this favorite scene from Wicked depends heavily on the use of harnesses to raise Elphaba into the air. Without technology, this scene would not be able to be performed. This is the defining moment of the musical, and another instance where you don't see the technology at use. The lighting also adds the the flying effect of this scene. The lights are streaming up as she raises into the air. By using panels of light, it gives the added illusion that she is soaring high on her broomstick. When the chorus appears on stage, a cloud of smoke appears around them. It is as if she is flying about the clouds and the rest of the people are below her. All of these combined effects adds to the story.
West Side Story is a modern telling of Romeo and Juliet. Set in New York, it tells the story of two lovers from different backgrounds. Maria is Puerto Rican and Tony is a New York Italian. The lighting in this scene shows the harsh contrast of these two sides of the gang wars in New York. The lighting changes from red to blue depending on which side was dancing. The Puerto Rican side is depicted with red colors and the New York Italians are depicted with blue lights. Once Tony and Maria come together from across the room, the lights come together to form a purple color then dim down to a light blue that doesn't create such a harsh light on the two lovers. Then, at the end of there song a bright white light shines down on them the create a sort of halo. The symbology of these colors show how something as simple as light can mean so much. Purple of course is the made through combining red and blue. And a white halo represents a sort of innocence and purity. The love of these two is greater than ethnicity or background. They see past that and only see the one they love.
Finally, I want to wrap up this look at technology on Broadway with a clip of the opening of the Tony Awards. The Tony Awards is filled with people who work on Broadway and the people who watch on TV are all Broadway aficionados. The opening number for the awards comments on a lot of inside jokes and exposes some of the behind the scene action that happen in a musical. One of the first technological aspects of this show was the lightning strike behind Neil Patrick Harris. It was perfectly cued with his hand and the thunder went along at the exact right timing. People underestimate how much work is involved with that two seconds. The timing and the technology behind that part of this clip really set the mood for the entire song. It is poking fun at the shows on Broadway, but in a good natured way. Next we have Mary Poppins gliding across the sky. At that point the lighting changes to a starry look on the entire stage. NPH even points out that you can hardly see the harness. Then when Patti Lupone comes on a stage there is a set change that brings on a house from the side of the stage. I love it when NPH and Patti talk about the audience during the "intermission." This is something that anyone who has been on stage can relate to. The whole performance is filled with lighting that fits whatever is being sung about. Especially when NPH talks about what real life is really like. The lights change from bright pinks to blue. There are even lighting strikes behind him. Then when little orphan Annie comes back on stage the main stage lights go out to show that there is a pause in a production.
Overall this scene shows the importance of technology on Broadway. The use of lighting, harnesses, fog, and set changes all add to the story. Without the use of timing in music, lighting, and all of the technology used in these clips, these musicals would be stripped from their very essence. They would become a shell of a performance, and wouldn't be a part of the Broadway genre.
West Side Story is a modern telling of Romeo and Juliet. Set in New York, it tells the story of two lovers from different backgrounds. Maria is Puerto Rican and Tony is a New York Italian. The lighting in this scene shows the harsh contrast of these two sides of the gang wars in New York. The lighting changes from red to blue depending on which side was dancing. The Puerto Rican side is depicted with red colors and the New York Italians are depicted with blue lights. Once Tony and Maria come together from across the room, the lights come together to form a purple color then dim down to a light blue that doesn't create such a harsh light on the two lovers. Then, at the end of there song a bright white light shines down on them the create a sort of halo. The symbology of these colors show how something as simple as light can mean so much. Purple of course is the made through combining red and blue. And a white halo represents a sort of innocence and purity. The love of these two is greater than ethnicity or background. They see past that and only see the one they love.
Finally, I want to wrap up this look at technology on Broadway with a clip of the opening of the Tony Awards. The Tony Awards is filled with people who work on Broadway and the people who watch on TV are all Broadway aficionados. The opening number for the awards comments on a lot of inside jokes and exposes some of the behind the scene action that happen in a musical. One of the first technological aspects of this show was the lightning strike behind Neil Patrick Harris. It was perfectly cued with his hand and the thunder went along at the exact right timing. People underestimate how much work is involved with that two seconds. The timing and the technology behind that part of this clip really set the mood for the entire song. It is poking fun at the shows on Broadway, but in a good natured way. Next we have Mary Poppins gliding across the sky. At that point the lighting changes to a starry look on the entire stage. NPH even points out that you can hardly see the harness. Then when Patti Lupone comes on a stage there is a set change that brings on a house from the side of the stage. I love it when NPH and Patti talk about the audience during the "intermission." This is something that anyone who has been on stage can relate to. The whole performance is filled with lighting that fits whatever is being sung about. Especially when NPH talks about what real life is really like. The lights change from bright pinks to blue. There are even lighting strikes behind him. Then when little orphan Annie comes back on stage the main stage lights go out to show that there is a pause in a production.
Overall this scene shows the importance of technology on Broadway. The use of lighting, harnesses, fog, and set changes all add to the story. Without the use of timing in music, lighting, and all of the technology used in these clips, these musicals would be stripped from their very essence. They would become a shell of a performance, and wouldn't be a part of the Broadway genre.
No comments:
Post a Comment