Production designer Jim Fenhagen and senior designer Larry Hartman have worked together on many projects in their respective positions with Jack Morton Design/PDG, not the least of which have been Comedy Central’s incarnations of The Daily Show sets, as well as the set for The Colbert Report when it first launched and when it was redesigned. They’ve also worked on Colbert’s specials, including Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear at Washington DC’s National Mall, the 2012 summer concert series on the aircraft carrier deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum in New York, and his December interview with President Obama in DC.
With Colbert moving to CBS to take over the timeslot and space of The Late Show With David Letterman at the iconic Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York, the same design team masterminded his set. We caught up with Hartman the week after The Late Show With Stephen Colbert first aired to learn more about converting the famous space, including the new lighting design by Michael Scricca.
Live Design: That theatre is iconic, having been the studio for films, sitcoms, game shows, Late Show With David Letterman, and of course, The Ed Sullivan Show. It was sad to see the immediate striking of the Dave set, really going right into an overhaul to its pre-radio and television look. Was it really everything?
Larry Hartman: There was a substantial renovation back in 1993 when Dave was moving in. At that time, the theatre was in disrepair, with water running through part of the basement. The theatre wasn’t capable of producing a television show, so that renovation work was really about stabilizing the theatre and making it a working broadcast facility again. HVAC, audio, lighting, and power were all reworked.
The goal of the current renovation, led by Design Republic architects and executed by JRM Construction Management, was to go back further and restore the glory of the original architecture. Stephen wanted to consider not only the audience that would view the space through the camera but really focus on the experience of the people physically sitting in those theatre seats, actually interacting with him as he performs the show. To that end, he immediately wanted to take advantage of what the Ed Sullivan provided that no other late night show has: a beautiful theatre as its home.
Originally a Broadway house, decades of repurposing the space for radio, then television and sitcoms, had crowded it with an accumulation of outdated equipment and infrastructure. Not surprisingly, most of the improvements done in the early ‘90s for Letterman were removed and replaced during this new renovation. It is unbelievable what 20 years will do technology-wise. Large, cumbersome systems that were state-of-the art in the ‘90s gave way to sleeker, nearly invisible replacements.
What had become impossible to view through the mass of pipes, sound baffling, and light fixtures is a sweeping dome with an ornate Gothic chandelier suspended from its center. Stephen’s decision to open up the infrastructure and make that dome a feature affected everything else. To avoid clouding the dome as much as possible, the lighting design by Michael Scricca is comprised of custom curved trusses that circle the perimeter of the dome.
Support systems like power and HVAC were overhauled with newer technology. Acoustics were a particular concern. When the renovation team pulled the mass of vertical sound baffles, they were replaced with acoustical panels shaped to match the compound curve of the dome, essentially disappearing into the architecture. A massive HVAC duct, necessary to cool the space during the Letterman show, hung low over the stage, blocking the dome above. The renovation team’s architects and engineers discovered what had been used originally for the theatre’s HVAC needs. They found that, above the dome structure itself, was a space about 10' high before hitting the building’s ceiling. Within that space had been the original HVAC system, with ducts housed there, pulling and pushing air through decorative grates incorporated into the dome design. They pulled out the old system and replaced it with a modern one, effectively returning to the approach imagined when the theatre was first conceived.
With the dome now open for all to see, Stephen’s team envisioned using video projection on it to celebrate the ceiling in a way never possible before. The dome and the projected imagery playing upon it feature regularly in wide shots during the show.
Containing The Comedy
LD: When it came to the actual look of the new set, what sort of aesthetic were you going for?
LH: Arriving at the scenic design was truly a collaborative process that took months and many, many conversations with Stephen and his producers. We really wanted to embrace the theatre architecture, so that the entire room could be a part of the onscreen environment.
One particular challenge was taking this magnificent open volume and creating an environment that “contains the comedy,” as Stephen put it. We spoke a lot about how large spaces, like the theatre where the Oscars are held, are almost synonymous with killing comedy. In our design conversations, he spoke of the need to direct the focus on himself and his guests. We did this by creating structures that connect to the soaring theatre facade but appear to naturally divide it and organize its impact into smaller areas. The downstage ends of the stage have naves with tall columns culminating in Gothic arches. We added balconies on each side, essentially cutting the height down to person-sized levels. This not only helped to make the scale friendlier but also doubled the playing space for a show that will continue to grow and experiment.
To manage the towering height of the proscenium, we created a canopy that runs horizontally across at about mid-height. The space above the canopy features an LED star drop that softly twinkles behind a large, dimensional show logo. The canopy nicely frames Stephen’s interview area and the performance space below.
The design process was even more intriguing since we were designing the set as the very show itself was being figured out. Stephen noted that we were being asked to “create the arena” before the game was set, so giving the show a flexible playground that could evolve was a key factor in the development of the design.
To this end, other powerful features of the new set are the large LED screens incorporated into it. These include Stephen’s backdrop, as well as a flying screen in the performance area, and vertical towers flanking the proscenium. D3 LED provided all of the LED tiles, as well as their support structure. The tiles range in pixel pitch from 1.6 mm to 2.5mm. These displays enable Stephen and the writers to make the background a dynamic part of the jokes, providing editable canvasses to reinforce the comedy.
Getting back to the original question of the aesthetic of the set, it had to be warm and inviting with an obvious late night vibe. We wanted to reinforce the grace and textured depth of the theatre architecture but then complement it with modern forms and finishes. We also juxtaposed the grittiness of the backstage, using painted brick and industrial practical light fixtures. And there is certainly a nod to the feel of The Colbert Report, with color-changing light boxes and wood shelves featuring books and props from the show, like Captain America’s shield.
Overall, it is the theatre’s neo-Gothic style meeting a warm, industrial chic.
The theatre’s period look features vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows. The stained glass has become a feature in the overall design, with the existing windows once again illuminated and some of the projections mapped onto the dome, depicting Stephen in a colored glass style. During the design process, Stephen mentioned wanting to find our own version of the stained glass, and we landed upon an almost Mondrian motif. The rectangular colored patterns that accent the set are actually separately controllable, color-changing light boxes. Coupled with the LED displays and the rest of the traditional lighting rig, these “Mondrian light boxes” can reskin the look of the set instantly. This will all be on display, especially with the guest band performances.
Stay tuned for more questions and answers in Part Two!
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Credits And Equipment
Scenic Design
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert: Stephen Colbert
Executive Producers: Meredith Bennett, Tom Purcell
Co-Executive Producer: Barry Julien
Jack Morton/PDG
Production Designer: Jim Fenhagen
Senior Designer: Larry Hartman
Senior Project Manager: Matt Glaze
Senior Illustrator: Chris Maroney
Illustrators: Molly Hellring, Adaer Melgar, Jennilee Aromando
Graphic Art Director: Shelline Vandermey
Graphic Designers: Raeford Dwyer, Tamir Karta, Paul Budd
Drafters: Evan Hill, Catherine Carriere, Molly Hellring
Producer: Amanda Dwyer
Coordinator: Meredith Murphy
Scenic Build
Black Walnut
Managing Partners: Jac Gendelman, Mike Van Dusen
Project Managers: Frank Bradley, Lee Martindell
Installers: Konrad Majchrzak, Wyatt Peterson
Electricians: Tim Martindell, Rich Lopez
Lighting Design
Lighting Designer: Michael Scricca
Associate Lighting Director: James Milkey
Head Intelligent Lighting Programmer: Justin Cheatham
Lighting Console Operator: Constantine Leonardos
Head Electrician: Shawn Walters
Production
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert:
Stephen Colbert
Executive Producers:
Tom Purcell, Meredith Bennett
Co-Executive Producers: Barry Julien, Emily Lazar
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Supervising Producer/EIC: Tanya Bracco
Line Producer: Bjoern Stejskal
Video Content: Jon Pretnar (in conjunction with the show’s producers and graphics team)
Show Scenic Design Department:
Andrea Purcigliotti, Brendan Hurley
Scenic Artists: Lyvan Munlyn, Bill Depaolo
Stage Crew
Head Carpenter: Harold Larkin
Carpenters: Tom Gordon, Bill Palumbo, John Tutalo, Jose Rosario
Head Electrician: Shawn Walters
Lamp Operator: Cory Schaub
Head Intelligent Lighting Programmer:
Justin Cheatham
Equipment
Lighting
Light Action (custom truss and gear)
ETC Source Four LED
GLP impression X4
2 MA Lighting grandMA2 Console
ETC Paradigm Control System
Video
D3 LED
Managing Partner Sales & Marketing: Jason Barak
Director of Systems Engineering: Meric Adriansen
Senior Project Manager: Jim Pappas
Lead Technical Project Manager: Raphael Delacruz
TE-SMD-2.5mm
3 4.7' x 6.3' Units for Column Displays
1 14' x 11' Unit for OTS Shots
1 20.5' x 14' Flying Display
TE-SMD-1.6mm
1 4.7' x 6.3' Lower Column Display
565sq-ft UHD LED
9 Million Total Pixels