Stage Directions: The new Broadway musical Mean Girls, based on the film, premiered at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway this month. Responsible for the production's video sets is British video design team FRAY Studio, who worked closely with director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw and set designer Scott Pask to create the sophisticated, fast-paced, and at times, surreal worlds of North Shore High's famous students.
5 comments:
I love the sound of this. Everything about what these designers are saying really shows where their heads are at, how strong their vision for this show is, and that they are all on the same page. How Ross says he loves slow fades but that that effect does not suit the show impresses me alone. When a designer gives up a favorite element for the good of the show, you know they are dedicated to that show and they will do everything in their power to convey that show’s essence to the audience. The other thing that really impressed me was the talk of designing the media almost as choreography. I am extremely interested in lighting for concert and dance, so that concept is familiar to me. I find intense satisfaction in lighting that goes perfectly to the music, highlights movements and the choreography on stage, and is made of colors that match the song but also avoids being cliche. I know I probably won’t like the music in Mean Girls, but I know I’ll enjoy the media set a ton.
I am so interested in the creation of the Mean Girls musical. The set, media and choreography work so well together that you know the collaboration process must have been extensive. When initially looking at the set, I thought it looked sort of plain, but seeing it in action with the First Look video really brought it to life. The scenic designer has done an amazing job at creating a space that can transform, not only into different locations but into some beautiful "limbos" that exist within the musical. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to take a movie and convert it into a musical from a design perspective. The audience has so many expectations going in and you can't give them the movie- but I don't think that's what anyone truly wants either. I think many people expect it to be recognizable from the movie, but also to be surprised and wow'ed by new elements. Julie Taymor's adaptation of the Lion king has set such a high bar for movie musicals that it seems impossible to live up to. Nonetheless, I think Fray Studio did a wonderful job of creating a flexible space that suits the need of this high energy script.
I was extremely skeptical when I first heard about Mean Girls being adapted into a broadway show. It seemed slightly unnecessary and very transparently commercially motivated, especially when the movie is such a widespread hit. “Sophisticated, fast-paced, and at times surreal” are not exactly words I would use to describe the overall themes of Mean Girls, but I was still very curious about the thought process the producers had developing the show anyway. From both the stills and the description of the first act alone, the show actually does seem quite fast-paced, and I wonder how that will come across to the audience. I think it’s interesting how they decided to make the set contain almost entirely LEDs and complex media content-- that definitely gives off the aesthetic of their world being surreal. From the photos of the show, it also seems very different from the grounded world of a stereotypical American high school in the movie.
Mean girls is definitely the genre and type of show that calls for media to be at the forefront of design. It is so modern and prevalent in this digital age that it only makes sense for the stage design to mimic this. I love that FRAY studio was able to recognize the intimacy of the theatre and created an LED based design that did not seem artificial but "magical." When done correctly, and with the right intent, media has to power to take a production to a whole new level that would have been unachievable before just because of the nature of its adaptability. I do wonder how involved the scenic designer was in the creation of the looks at it almost seems as if the media takes over the whole set. Did they decide what colors to use or was it FRAY studio? Where was that line established?
I cannot think of a better way than LED screens to do Mean Girls. The media design and the musical itself fit like gloves. When I was watching Mean Girls, I was impressed by the fast-paced scene change and the eye-catching colors onstage, which cannot be achieved by the genius use of the LED screens. The most fascinating element is the media design. It can depict a real or a surreal world in an interesting way with a tint of cartoon style. Those bright colors and bold design give the show a feeling of youth and radiance. And the LED screens bring social media right in your face, which is very powerful. The lighting and costume also go naturally with the LED. And it is interesting to learn that why Mean Girls uses LED screens rather than the projection, which make s me consider more about the relation of media design with other aspects more in the future. It was a whole new theater experience to watch a heavy-media show as Mean Girls.
Post a Comment