A More Beautiful Set
A More Beautiful Set
#0A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:38pm
I thought the Grand Canal/Weeping Wall set from the recent production of NINE was one of the most beautiful and striking images I've seen on the Broadway stage.
Has there been a more beautiful set?
" ...the happiness in the tune convinces me that I'm not afraid."
#1re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:47pm
It was QUITE beautiful. I can't say EVER, but QUITE ...and that is capitalized.
:)
-d.b.j-
Vary My Days.
#2re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/3/04 at 10:53pmBriefly off-topic. Thanks for bringing back Albee; I've missed him.
"They have never understood, and no reason that they should.
But if anybody could . . . " --SS
#3re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/3/04 at 11:22pmI agree with the wall and the whole set of Nine was beautiful. Wicked has a really cool and beautiful set and same with phantom.
"Chicago is it's own incredible theater town right there smack down in the middle of the heartland. What a great city! I can see why Oprah likes to live there!" - Dee Hoty :-D
#4re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/3/04 at 11:25pmI liked a lot the sets of nine, but my favourite is the house of norma desmond in sunset boulevard...
Nobody expects the spanish inquisition!
#5re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/3/04 at 11:38pm
I agree with you all!
I know Oliver Smith did the sets for Camelot, Oklahoma and maybe even Peter Pan. Zeffirelli and Desmond Heeley have done opera and ballet sets. Have they done Broadway?
" ...the happiness in the tune convinces me that I'm not afraid."
NativeNewYorker
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/29/03
#6re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/3/04 at 11:38pmAida...especially when Aida sings "Past is Now Another Land"...I love the background...and the pool is awesome, of course...and the tomb at the end...such a pretty show.
#7re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/3/04 at 11:49pm
Oh, my bad.
I thought this was another discussion of the Dracula nudity.
MargoChanning
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
#8re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/3/04 at 11:59pm
Zeffirelli's sets for opera -- Traviata, Boheme, Otello, Turandot, Tosca -- are some of the most beautiful I've ever seen. According to IBDB, he received a special Tony for his designs and direction of an Old Vic production of "Romeo and Juliet" that came to Broadway in 1962 and was nominated for his sets for "The Lady of the Camellias" in 1963 (also directed by Zeffirelli, co-written by an impossibly young Terrence McNally -- his Broadway debut at 23 -- and starring Susan Strasberg as Marguerite).
Heeley has done several sets for Broadway. He won Tonys for his sets and costumes for "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern," and did beautiful work for the Richard Harris "Camelot" revival in the 80's, among others.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Updated On: 8/4/04 at 11:59 PM
#9re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/4/04 at 12:04am
Thanks ever so Miss Channing.
You are truly the first lady of the theatre!
" ...the happiness in the tune convinces me that I'm not afraid."
Link Larkin Wanabe
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/1/04
#10re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/4/04 at 2:47am
Glebb,
I saw Desmond Heeley's set for a produciton of "Camelot" at Theatre Calgary and it was pretty amazing if i recall. he is a great designer.
Akiva
musicaltheatreman
Broadway Star Joined: 5/22/03
#11re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/4/04 at 3:06am
i loved the set of broadway production of la boheme!!!
i also think the set for the lion king is pretty awsome!!!
#12re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/4/04 at 10:14amThe set for An Inspector Calls is still the most breathtaking set I have seen so far.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
millie_dillmount
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#13re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/4/04 at 10:48amPhantom of the Opera had a beautiful set as well.
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
#14re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/4/04 at 9:19pm
Would love to see that Heeley/Camelot set!
Actually I love the Oliver Smith design too, or at least the pictures and the bits on Ed Sullivan that I've seen.
" ...the happiness in the tune convinces me that I'm not afraid."
#15re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/4/04 at 9:22pmI never saw it live , wasn't born yet, but I have seen pictures of Boris Aronson's set of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC was beautifully striking, or strikingly beautiful. NINE's set was captivating though.
"Sing the words, Patti!!!!" Stephen Sondheim to Patti LuPone.
#16re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/4/04 at 10:16pmI don't know if I read this or if another poster here told me about it, but there was a musical that was set in the forest that was absolutely spectacular. When the director asked why the actors weren't on stage they called. "We're here." and it was at that moment they realized they couldn't use that set. Something about crystal spheres or something enclosing the trees? Can anyone help me out here?
My avatar is a reminder to myself. I need lots of reminders...
Updated On: 8/5/04 at 10:16 PM
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#17re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/4/04 at 10:43pm
The best sets Ive seen (in order)
1. Wicked
2. Phantom
3. RENT
4. Hairspray
5. The 2003 Revival of Gypsy
6. Les Miserables
Breakdown:
WICKED- Truly amazing. When I walked into the Gershwin on opening night, I just stopped dead in my tracks to take in the intricate and fantastically designed sets. The dragon is awesome! I also loved the sets for the show itself. Everywhere from the Great Gillikin Forrest (As Long As Your Mine), to Shiz University (Dear Old Shiz, What is this Feeling?, The Wizard and I), to the Emerald City (One Short Day), the list goes on and on. Everything was blissfully perfect for a show of this caliber.
PHANTOM- Hauntingly wonderful. The lake scenes are amazing and the sets make beautiful transitions from the dreary depths of the sewers to the stunningly gorgeous opera house. The chandelier was breathtaking and the scene where it swings violently over the audience and crashes to peices on the stage, was deservingly declared as one of Broadway's greatest feats in set making and special effects ever.
RENT- This show displayed how simplicity can work. It looked like a high school show set, but yet it was so mind blowingly real. The sets were phenomenal and were one of the best things about the show. They also contributed to why it has become a groundbreaking and period peice.
HAIRSPRAY- It felt as though one was being transported into a comic book. It's 2-D, awesomely designed sets propelled the audience into the 1960's. Another example of how non extravagance works. They were nothing like RENTs sets, but they werent gigantic, toweringly beautiful sets. They were plain and colorful.
GYPSY- Sam Mendes' smash revival had stunning sets and (like Hairspray) made one feel as though they were actually in the time period the story took place. The Diamond Burlesque sets were stunning and the cue cards on either side of the stage were clever and inventive. These sets were truly amazing ones that made smooth transitions from one scene to the next.
LES MISERABLES: Not until The Barracade scene was I REALLY blown away by these sets. Obscure and complex, that one set really took my breath away. Although I didnt like the show that much, I must address the sets and how surprisingly great they were.
Those are the best sets Ive EVER seen. 
Updated On: 8/4/04 at 10:43 PM
saddle shoe side kick
Broadway Star Joined: 6/24/04
#18re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/4/04 at 10:47pm
I wasn't a big fan of the show but Dance of the Vampires had spectacular set. The clouds actually moved across the backdrop and that drawbridge. To bring it down and then back up. Wow.
Little Shop of Horrors has a fantastic set especially with Audrey 2.
Hairspray has a really fun set that fits the show perfectly. -Penny
"I'm a pretty girl, mama." -Penny Lou Pingleton, Hairspray
"You like football, Ed?" "Yeah..." "Good. Me too." -Chad & 'Ed', All Shook Up
Updated On: 8/4/04 at 10:47 PM
"You like football, Ed?" "Yeah..." "Good. Me too." -Chad & 'Ed', All Shook Up
ponine24601
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/4/03
#19re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/4/04 at 11:00pmi love the sets for AIDA, Hairspray and Fiddler. Fiddler's setisn't that complex, but i love the trees and lanterns.
"People asking questions, lost in confusion. Well I tell them there's no problems, only solutions."
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#20re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/4/04 at 11:01pmI agree Matt, An Inspector Calls' set was amazing. That rain scene??? And the set from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer a couple of yeras ago was really gorgeous and the lighting too.
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#21re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/4/04 at 11:15pmson of a gunn. the show you are thinking of is "The Apple Tree". For the Garden of Eden. They had this huge, marvelous, Star Wars like Forrest set. The scene began and Mike Nichols called on the stage saying "Why aren't you there?" To which Barbra Harris and Alan Alda said "We are".
"Sing the words, Patti!!!!" Stephen Sondheim to Patti LuPone.
alterego
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/03
#22re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/4/04 at 11:36pm
An Inspector Calls had a fabulous set. In the area of musicals I'd have to give a vote for Robin Wagner's set for On The Twentieth Century and another, that wasn't on Broadway.
In the 1960's for the original Australian production of Camelot the producers nixed the New York sets(and costumes) for the designs of a young local designer John Truscott. They were sensational and led to these designs being used for the Drury LaneTheate, London production. He was later chosen to design the movie of Camelot and won an Oscar for his designs.
#23re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/4/04 at 11:48pm
I loved the sets for both Broadway productions of "Into the Woods."
The set for "The Producers" is a lot of fun.
"Nine" was inventive.
The "La Boheme" set was beyond gorgeous.
alterego
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/03
#24re: A More Beautiful Set
Posted: 8/4/04 at 11:56pmI used to love the sets of David Mitchell (Annie, I Love My Wife, Barnum) in the 70's and 80's and then he just disappeared. What ever happened to him? Is he still around? Another who you rarely hear of now is Douglas Schmidt.
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