Lost On Beowulf Boritt's Set For Act One

Editor's Note: Act One was nominated for 5 Tony Awards.

Tony Award nominee for Best Scenic Design of a Play, Beowulf Boritt’s set design for Broadway’s Act One at the Lincoln Center Theater is so intricate that they needed to install color-coded lights to stop people from getting lost, according to TDF.org. Act One, which spans dozens of years and includes 30 characters, required a similarly extensive set.

The set is built on a specially designed 60’, 70,000lb turntable. It stands three stories tall and is divided into six sections, each with its own set of playing spaces and rooms. As the story shifts from one location or time period to the next, the turntable revolves the sections for a quick transition between scenes.

Boritt believes that a less extensive design would detract from the story and production since it is meant to reflect the atmosphere of New York.  

“The structure of it is very consciously trying to mirror the chaos of New York, and frankly, the chaos of a life in the theatre,” Boritt told TDF.org.

Besides Beowulf Boritt, Act One features the design talents of  Tony Award nominee Jane Greenwood for costume design; lighting design by Ken Billington; and sound design by Dan Moses Schreier.

For the full story, visit TDF.org.

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