There is a lot of buzz on Broadway this season about Spring Awakening, the off-Broadway success story that moved to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in December 2006. Jules Fisher, creative consultant for the BLMC, has selected Spring Awakening — with lighting by Kevin Adams — as the Broadway musical that the BLMC attendees will see on Wednesday evening, May 16. “About Kevin Adams' lighting — with its arresting mix of hanging bulbs, shafts of light, and arrays of neon tubing in the set and around the theatre — there are almost no words, except to say that no one does this kind of work better than this LD, who has continually impressed me since I saw the equally evocative Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” says Live Design contributing writer Robert Cashill. “This is bravura showmanship, subtle and riveting, and the vibrant, sexy, impassioned, and touching Spring Awakening is inconceivable without it.”
Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg's The Pirate Queen is the musical choice for the Sound Master Classes, says BSMC creative consultant Abe Jacob. Attendees will see the show on Friday night, May 18, as the kick-off event to this year's sound classes. Leading sound designer Jonathan Deans returns to the faculty to provide a critique of his work on this epic musical adventure celebrating the legendary 16th-century Irish Chieftain Grace O'Malley. Based on her real-life story, The Pirate Queen tells the tale of an inspirational heroine who led an extraordinary life as a pirate, chieftain, lover, and mother.
Deans is one of the most successful sound designers in the current musical theatre. His credits as sound designer include Cirque du Soleil's Love, KÀ, Mystère, “O,” and La Nouba, as well as such Broadway musicals as Fosse, Ragtime, and Parade. When Disney opened the New Amsterdam Theater on 42nd Street, Deans designed the sound production for a concert version of a show called King David, which included a 70-piece onstage orchestra and a cast of 40 with ten principles.
The week of the Broadway Master Classes also includes a one-day Projection Master Classes component on Friday, May 18. The Live Design Honors will be held on Tuesday, May 15, including a silent auction and raffle to benefit the ESTA Foundation's Behind the Scenes.
Initial corporate sponsors of the Broadway Master Classes include Barco, Martin Professional, Microsoft, and Vari-Lite. Complete information about the 2007 Live Design Broadway Master Classes in lighting, sound, and projection, as well as an online registration form, can be found at www.livedesignonline.com/broadwaymasterclasses.
