Kevin “Stick” Bye designed lighting for Elton John's 60th birthday party at Madison Square Garden in New York, which also commemorated the artist's 60th sold-out show at the venue. Paul Becher, Nocturne co-CEO, was executive producer, and Peter Moll directed the video support. Madison Square Garden presented John with a banner commemorating this event.
Sets and costumes for this month's production of The Cunning Little Vixen at Houston Grand Opera are by David Zinn, with lighting by Lenore Doxsee, the same team who designed the revival of Flavio seen last month at New York City Opera.
Zinn is also costume designer for the Christopher Ashley-directed Broadway musical Xanadu, opening in June at the Helen Hayes Theatre, with Zachary Borovay (projections), David Gallo (scenery), Howell Binkley (lighting), comprising the rest of the creative team.
Justin Collie of ArtFag is handling visual design of Beyoncé's Beyoncé Experience world tour, with video gear from XL Touring Video. The tour started in Tokyo, moves to Australia, hits Europe in April, and North American arenas in July.
Count-Me-In for Women's Economic Independence and OPEN from American Express recently awarded Colleen Bonniol, owner of Seattle-based Mode Studios Inc., and seven other women entrepreneurs from all corners of the country mentoring, money, and marketing resources needed to grow their businesses and shatter the million-dollar barrier.
LD Rob Halliday is recreating his lighting for Daddy Cool for a new European touring production playing in a tent. The show opens in Berlin at the end of April. Working with him are production electricians Ian Moulds, John Tapster, and Chris Nicholls; lighting programmer Sarah Brown; and assistant LD Anna MacInnes.
Tom McPhillips of Atomic Design is the production designer for Martina McBride's Waking Up Laughing tour, with Atomic designing the set and Setco providing additional mechanical systems. Abigail Rosen Holmes designed the lighting, and video is by MooTV.
Philip L. Edwards, lighting manager at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, has been awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship for 2007. Through the fellowship, he will be spending a month in the US in October to visit a number of music colleges and universities to observe the way in which student productions — particularly of opera — are supported by design and technical backup.
A team of Broadway designers — Eugene Lee (sets), Clifton Taylor (lighting), Constance Hoffman (costumes), and John Gromada (sound) — are designing the world premiere of Ken Ludwig's adaptation of Treasure Island for the Alley Theatre in Houston, opening May 18.
Taylor also recently designed the NY City Center Encores! production of Face the Music and new musical Anne of Green Gables at NYC's Lucille Lortel Theatre; he is also designing a private production of a new Cambodian opera to premiere in Lowell, MA, this year and in Phnom Penh in 2008. The score includes a rock band, string quartet, and traditional Cambodian music.