Best Production Values- Page 2

[Chowd95]

Posted: 12/12/13 at 5:14pm

Did anyone on here ever see "An Inspector Calls?" I didn't get the chance, but the pictures of the set and the way it worked in the show seem pretty phenomenal.

[ethan231h]

Posted: 12/12/13 at 5:38pm

Pippin, Matilda,and In The Heights are such beautiful shows and everything in the show has meaning!

[Sauja]

Posted: 12/12/13 at 5:52pm

I'm surprised no one has mentioned South Pacific. I thought the set for the revival was beyond perfect. And the way they used the depth of the Beaumont to send those soldiers marching down was just perfectly staged. And the stage itself rolling back to expose the orchestra! Okay...yep. That was thrilling. And the designers knew when to dial it down and did simple beautifully.

[ARTc3]

Posted: 12/12/13 at 7:38pm

I saw An Inspector Calls. It was gorgeous. From the onstage rainstorm at the beginning to the entire set collapsing towards the end, everything about this production was visually impactful. I think An Inspector Calls greatly benefitted because of the close nature of its Director and Set Designer. Stephen Daldry (director) and Ian MacNeil (set designer) were partners at the time of this production.

In fact, I believe other "romantic partnerships" between directors and designers have inspired other truly visually spectacular productions. Buz Luhrman and Catherine Martin are also married and their films - and from what I'm told - their production of La Boheme were all gorgeous.

Updated On: 12/12/13 at 07:38 PM

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 12/12/13 at 7:49pm

At the other end of the spectrum, James Lapine (director) did so much with so little (a few chairs, a couple of doors) in the original, off-Broadway, MARCH OF THE FALSETTOS, that I spent that hour with my jaw on the floor. (Lapine is very hit or miss to me, but was unquestionably the former.)

For sheer extravagance, the original FOLLIES remains the gold standard for me.

And just to choose one flop, KING OF HEARTS has lingered in my mind for its amazing visuals, including a coup de theatre that put the entire cast on the roof of a cathedral!

[Broadway Geek2]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 8:02am

I agree with Sauja: South Pacific (revival) was lovely. I especially liked the beach in the back where women soldiers could relax, waiting for the horrors that will surely follow. Bali Hai was pretty awesome, as were the sounds of the thirty(!) piece orchestra filling the Lincoln Center theater as the stage pulled back. All enhanced by the lighting design.

[madbrian]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 8:51am

For me, the production values I've seen at the Papermill Playhouse are the best, even exceeeding Broadway. I'm sure I'll forget some, but first productions there that come to mind are My Fair Lady and Singin in the Rain.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 10:40am

Dreamgirls
Light in the Piazza
The Lion King
Sunday in the Park... (original)
Phantom of the Opera
The Secret Garden

These impressed me the most when I saw them from a purely design aspect...that they were also beautifully staged helped their impressions as well, of course...but that wasnt the question.

[ARTc3]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 11:31am

OMG... on my lists, I forgot, Phantom of the Opera. Phantom, although often overlooked by me is beautifully designed. Too bad we lost Maria Bjornson.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 11:55am

Yes. I dont love Phantom as a musical, but what she accomplished hasnt been surpassed, imo. Taymor, also doing double duty with sets and costumes, did an astounding job as well.

Inspector Calls is an interesting one. The sets got the best reviews of the show, and they were great, and very effective, but I hated the final collapse. I thought it all of a sudden looked like a set...and I almost got hit by a cup!

[TBFL]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 12:17pm

For me it will always be 'Time - The Musical' It opened in 1986 at the Dominion Theatre, London. I doubt i will ever see a set like it again. The amount of hydraulics involved was unbelievable. The whole stage floor lifted up into the flys and then tilted flat to face the audience, it had chairs that floated around in mid air, the huge projection of Laurence Olivier, and a sound system that was designed to reverberate through all the seats. Yes the story was terrible, but it was pure spectacle.

It starred Cliff Richard and then with David Cassidy and the late, great, Stephanie Lawrence. Freddie Mercury also recorded 2 songs from the show.






Updated On: 12/13/13 at 12:17 PM

[dreaming]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 12:43pm

I think War Horse and South Pacific are up there on my list.

I also think The Lion King is very good.

Peter and the Starcatcher is amazing from the standpoint that they made a great deal out of nearly nothing-and it was impressive.

[ARTc3]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 1:05pm

TBFL... thank you for reminding me of Time: The Musical. I too saw Time. Didn't come away with the same admiration for the scenic design as you did, but I appreciate the memory jog.

As you enjoyed Time, I think you might want to see Ka in Las Vegas. The hydraulics used in Ka out do Time. Honest. There are multiple stage decks all controlled by hydraulics, but the main stage has the same ability to "float" and tilt like Time, but in addition, in all of its possible position, the stage can also revolve! And, it has a more coherent "script".

Updated On: 12/13/13 at 01:05 PM

[TBFL]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 2:10pm

I probably have a rose tinted view of Time as it was the first big West End show i saw, and we were also sat in the front row, so were really bombarded by everything that happened on stage right in front of us. I was amazed that they could do something on that scale. Sets like that are rarely seen in musicals now - definitely a thing of the 80's! Metropolis and Which Witch (both huge flops at the Picadilly) are other examples of OTT production values.

Speaking of 'Time' and Vegas, Siegfried and Roy had John Napier design their costumes based on the ones he did for the musical.

Unfortunately i've never been to Vegas
Costumes

[ARTc3]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 2:20pm

cool link. thanks.