Show Curtains

[CATSNYrevival]

I was going to say the same. The changes made to Avenue Q were only made to better explain little "American" details to the West End audiences. The show curtain is just another example of that and not really necessary for the productions in the United States. You assume going in that Avenue Q is a fictional extension of the New York avenues. Especially given the subway parody design of the logo which is another aspect that was done away with for the West End production because the Underground artwork in the UK is completely different from the Subway art in New York. They assumed no one would get it.

[TheatreFreak05]

^^^That's probably why.

[lakezurich]

Yeah, I get the reason why they don't feel it necessary to use the Curtain, but I really like it nonetheless.

[dg22894]

I really do too.

[Actor 7]

Is a show curtain used for the new revival of WEST SIDE STORY? Also, is there a false proscenium that frames the show with a unifying motif?

[Byron Abens]

"But anyways, I always seem to be the only one sitting at a show that notices the blackout curtain go down about a second behind the scrim. Is there an actual reason that they come down at different times?"

Just an aesthetic choice. Rarely will a show curtain be on an automated line set, they will almost always be manually run. If there is not going to be a tableau or action seen through the scrim as it comes down then the blackout drop will be called a second later to help ensure that the scrim hits the deck first.

[TheatreFreak05]

^^^^^I noticed this when I saw 9 to 5 in LA. They used an orange scrim with a sun gobo for the curtain. When it came down after act two, the blackout curtain reached the floor a couple seconds later.

[KirbyCat]

Oh, ok. I've always noticed this and being a true techie nerd, I always wonder about the technical aspects of a show first before other aspects.
I have always wondered about the timing between blackout curtains and scrims because I notice it with most of the shows I see. The most apparent to me was in Mary Poppins and Young Frankenstein, which coincidentally both have absolutely stunning main drops!

And FYI- It took me two times seeing Mary Poppins to realize that the scrims before the show and during intermission, and after the show were two totally different scenes (When mary Poppins was gone, there was snow and it was all barren. When all was well, it was a springtime scene at #17 Cherry Tree Lane.)

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

"Is a show curtain used for the new revival of WEST SIDE STORY? Also, is there a false proscenium that frames the show with a unifying motif?"


In DC there was a curtain but that might have just been for the National Theater. I think they should have the Rumble fence in front of the opening set.

[Actor 7]

Yes, I like the idea of using the rumble fence. I'm not completely certain, but I think the original Broadway production in 1957, designed by Oliver Smith, had a false proscenium with iron fire escape motif, painted in orange. Does anyone remember if this was the case?

[Pianolin717]

I like the idea of the rumble fence, but I liked how the curtain went down slowly at the very end and you couldn't do that with the rumble fence. I saw a regional production without a curtain and they just slowly dimmed the lights more and more, but I preferred it with a curtain

[LotteTBS138]

>Does anyone know why they use a curtain only in the London version?<<

Because it's pocket change for Cameron Mackintosh.

[gypsy4]

check out the scrim used for The UK tour of mary poppins it's very brief.


scrim.

[RentBoy86]

Why didn't they just use the same curtain as the West End/Broadway version?

[CATSNYrevival]

Probably because it was somehow cheaper to use that one. It's always about money. The Broadway show has two show curtains, for the start if each act, correct? Or are the different images projections?

[nobodyhome]

Best show curtain ever was the one for the original production of On the Twentieth Century. It didn't appear till the overture was almost over, but always got a burst of applause when it did appear, then it was used when the curtain came down at intermission, and "Life Is Like a Train" was done in front of it at the top of Act Two.

Another great one was the one used in A Little Night Music, which was a replica of the one at the Drottningholm Court Theatre in Stockholm.

[broadwayguy2]

"Probably because it was somehow cheaper to use that one. It's always about money."

No, that is not true.. Particularly for a tour. A tour has EXTREMELY different demands than a sit down production. I discussed this in relation to a thread about Legally Blonde.

Mary Poppins is a MASSIVE show, even in it's altered form for touring. For reference, the US tour design, to the best of my knowledge, is identical to that used for the UK tour. When you have a month to load in a show and are able to make structural changes, you have a lot more freedom. When you do a tour, however, the time frame is different.

On tour, you have from the time the curtain falls Sunday night until Tuesday afternoon, not even two days later, to strike the entire production, load it into a truck, transport it a great distance, and then reassemble it in a new theater that can have a completely different layout... and adapt it as such. Even ONE extra drop can some times make it or break it. You have to have the room on the truck, you have to have time to load it, pack it, fold and unfold, center it, hang it, insert the pipes to keep it taught.. You also have to minimize those things because the number of available is not the same in every theater.. you don't want to make it MORE difficult for a theater to book your show.

Some shows are able to travel with two show decks or two prosceniums (Lion King, Phantom, or the original My Fair Lady for example), but doing that costs a LOT of money.. you have to pay the extra crew, the extra trucking, compensate for the extra time in each theater.. when you won't have a paying audience.. So yes, in THAT vein, money IS a factor, but it isn't the driving force.

Other things, like the full 3,000 pound show curtain from Hairspray, are nearly impossible to tour regardless of budget.

You can not judge what is possible on tour on what is possible in a sit-down production.

Personally, I am of the strong belief that directors and designers should conceive shows NOT with the idea that will "XXXXXXX fit into XXXXXXXX Theater on Broadway," but with the idea that more than likely, the show will have to tour, and the original sit down production, while more more complex, should be easily adapted to touring without the audience knowing the difference..

[CATSNYrevival]

Personally, I am of the strong belief that directors and designers should conceive shows NOT with the idea that will "XXXXXXX fit into XXXXXXXX Theater on Broadway," but with the idea that more than likely, the show will have to tour, and the original sit down production, while more more complex, should be easily adapted to touring without the audience knowing the difference..

I totally disagree with that. If everyone did that we'd have had a production of Legally Blonde on broadway with no set instead of just the tour missing major set pieces.

[broadwayguy2]

That is a very ill informed opinion. Reconceiving an existing show is totally different than conceiving a show from the ground up. So, no, the outcome would not be the current tour version.. Being blinded to only black and white is not the job of a designer. The possibilities are endless for how to do that.

I also find the accusation of "no set" insulting to David Rockwell and any other scenic designer. There IS a house on tour. It is NOT the same one on Broadway, but it IS a house set. Hypothetically speaking, had the tour version's set been used on Broadway, I'd bet dollars to donuts that you wouldn't be griping. Why? Because you wouldn't have had the unnecessarily large house st to being with and compare things to.

Frankly, as far as that particular set goes, yes, I like the house used on Broadway. I am alright with the touring version of the set as well. Personally, had I been presented with just a sketch of what the original set was and thought about touring it, perhaps I would have conceived the interior and exterior as rotating units (gloried periaktoi, if you will), maintaining as much of the Broadway visual as possible while making it more tourable - more sound (a solid back wall to the interior that would serve as the exterior), and allowing the set to split and travel into the wings, revealing Elle in the store dressing room. However, that would require some automation, which this tour travels without.

Back to show curtains, and the Mary Poppins one specifically. I also think it boils down to a case of people / fans not wanting to accept change once they have been accustomed to seeing something in one fashion.

[South Fl Marc]

My favorite curtain, while not a "show" curtain is the Metropolitan Operas House Curtain. The gold is beautiful and the way it rises and falls is so gracefull. Also it has the ability to either go very fast or very slow and everything in between.

My favorite use of this feature is in their production of Der Rosencavalier. For the end of Act one the lead soprano is center stage staring into a mirror. The orchestra plays this wonderful passage as she stares at herself and then finally puts the mirror down sadly. The curtain takes almost a full minute to descend, slowly framing her. The effect is breathtaking.

[BrianIdol]

The speed that a curtain rises and falls is always controllable - it's not just the one at the MET. Stagehands in the wings have control over the speed because they're the ones that are flying it in and out.

[Justin D]

As boreing as it is, I prefer the logo for Poppins' curtain than the house. I heard about the house changing in London (pre show, intermission and end of show) and I looked for it on Broadway but I did not notice any differences, I guess it was too subtle.

Any one see the new version of My Fair Lady? thats still one of my favs. starts out with roses and turns into faces.

[RentBoy86]

I totally disagree. I love when a show is essentially "built" into their Broadway house. For instance the revival of "Guys and Dolls" - the set is practically built into the theater. The same with "Spring Awakening" - because of the steps - and "Wicked." I think more shows should be like this. It makes it seem more like THIS is the definitive production rather than a show that just stopped into a Broadway house for a few months. I wish "Shrek" had taken that notion and had the swamp overtake the Broadway Theater, but oh well.

[KirbyCat]

Wait, where do they use a logo? Pics?
And yes, the changes are very subtle. The only change is that between acts, there is a slight layer of snow on the scenery. In the other curtain, it is springtime with more green shades in the trees and grass. And I don't know why, but I find the curtain to be so beautiful and simple!

[Eastwickian]

Avenue Q in London has a different curtain in the interval:

[gypsy4]

I really liked the pre-show set up for seussical {rigby national tour} It was really cool they had a elavator shaped box with the cats hat poping out. the national tour was one of my favorite productions.