Playbill: The California redwoods are one of the most spectacular natural sights in the world. After all, it inspired a Broadway musical currently starring Tony winner Idina Menzel, who plays a woman who finds healing by climbing a gigantic redwood tree. For the show's design team, when it came time to visualize how the musical would live onstage, the objective was clear: they had to bring a redwood forest onto the stage of the Nederlander Theatre.
I would love to star in this. (Only half joking). I love trees and climbing. Redwoods are gorgeous. I went to both the Redwood and Sequoia National parks when I was 10 and it was incredible to see this towering trees. They're so gorgeous and it really gives you a new perspective once you are standing under them.
ReplyDeleteI find it really interesting that they created a show about this. It seems pretty simple and I'm not sure what the whole plot follows, but I would be curious to see it. From what I've seen, the set looks awesome. The video in this article made it feel very immersive and I can imagine sitting in that audience may make you feel like you were actually in the forest. Trees are a hard thing to get right on stage. They're natural and they're all so unique, but putting one on stage just feels wrong, and it's hard to make it feel authentic. I can imagine they faced that issue with this set, especially with the massive size required. But it looks like they've done a great job.
Prior to reading this article I only knew this show is Idina Menzel's new show and that it had a giant tree that she sang suspended off of. I honestly was not sure what to think of this show as I knew too many things out of context and honestly, I still do not know enough about the story to say with any certainty that I would like it. However, watching the video on the design I found fascinating. I love learning about the design behind the scenes and hearing about the way the floor was designed to resemble not only the rings on a tree, but also a map of the universe and a scan of the eye and so many other things. I really was intrigued by the way media was used in this production, having all of the LED walls to create an immersive space with depth was really effective. The symbolism of the tree being in the center of the stage is really beautiful, overall, I think that I would actually like to see this production.
ReplyDeleteThis is a set that I find incredibly interesting, and that I feel would be a lot of fun to work on. The effects created by all the flats being projected onto work really well, and give a very strong impression that I am looking into a deep forest, even just from the pictures. I also wonder how they built the tree in the middle of the stage. I remember Kevin's lecture during the first few weeks of class about the challenges of building trees on stage. One of the hardest things to recreate in the theatre world is something natural. When nothing is at the same angle, or at 90 degrees, how do you know exactly what needs to be done? Nature has an inherent balance to it, which requires you to have both practical and artistic skills when recreating it. I also think that this would be an incredibly fun show to see, as it involves climbing which I like to do in my free time.
ReplyDeleteI am obsessed with this show for so many reasons. It is about the outdoors and the forest, I love the outdoors and the forest! They have a partnership with REI, I love REI! Idina Menzel is the lead, and I love her! Also! This design team ATE! I mean are you kidding me!? That shit is incredible! Like that is actually a good use of video media. I love that everyone fly, but like they are in climbing harnesses, and then that platform that comes in and becomes the pirch wya up the tree, I love it! I love that in the program the choreographer is listed as “vertical movement and choreography by Melecio Estrella.” I think that is so fun! This would be such a cool show to see! I do not know when I will be in New York next, but if it is still playing I would love to see it!
ReplyDeleteI think there's something really interesting regarding the idea that the entire show is about connecting with nature and the design is almost completely consisting of LED screens. I am someone who has spent a lot of time fighting for the environment and making sure I do my part to help aid in the upkeep of our world. I have also had the opportunity to see the redwood forests and I understand the use of LED screens to encapsulate the vastness and ever growing feeling that the redwood forest has. But I wish the set could also encapsulate the themes of the show and use similar effects without the need for an LED screen. There are so many different forced perspective techniques that I think would have assisted in the creation in the set and being able to see something real and as vast as those forests on stage would be completely jaw dropping.
ReplyDeleteI really like the giant redwood tree that they have in the middle of the stage, but I think that the LED screens that they use to convey the rest of the scenic elements and the forest surrounding that tree fall flat of the mark.To me, I feel like the LED screens detract from the impact that the real tree gives you because it immediately takes you out of the moment. if there were more real trees, then the giant real redwood tree in the middle wouldn't feel quite as out of place. I think that's so many people who act as if LED screens do everything that a regular scenic element can do, only better or cheaper, but I couldn't disagree more. In my opinion, LED screens have to be considered even more closely than other scenic elements because they have an additional quality to them because they’re screens that means they won’t necessarily fit in with everything around them, especially if they are next to a 3-D structure, they’ll likely look flat.
ReplyDeleteI just recently went on a backpacking trip through the redwoods. Driving down from the airport driving through the forest as the trees start to get ridiculously big is breathtaking. We were on the roads winding through trees that were bigger than our car. It also felt almost prehistoric from all the ferns littering the forest floor around tree trunks that sat there undecomposed because of the tannins in their bark and trunk. The scars all over the giant trees from lightning strikes that couldn't take down the massive beasts. The sounds of the wind whistling through the treetops hundreds of feet overhead and walking alongside the giant trees makes you feel like you are a child again exploring a whole new world. Even just taking a portion of that on stage is a fantastical pursuit. I am very interested in how they got the bark to be modeled from the tree and how long that would last along the run of the show. Busy since it is only through August it might only be temporary.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing how far theatre design has come in making something on stage feel like a believable redwood forest. I also really loved the idea of mixing traditional set elements with technology, modern forms of presentation (such as LED screens) and the more nuanced way we can think about sound (through immersive sound). The task of designing a forest that served as a believably real space, particularly as it was so integral to the story, was a huge design challenge! I love that even gave the tree a name, Stella. At times it felt like the tree was a character in the show in and of itself! Such a charming addition. I always feel there is a certain kind of magic to live theatre, because there is no back saving through editing or post production and the audience has to buy into the world being created live before their eyes. I really admire the creativity and collaboration of the scenic with the sound and video design in creating this overall immersive environment.
ReplyDeleteThis musical about a bunch of dramatic outdoorsy Californians convincing a woman to solve her problems by climbing a really big redwood tree truly makes me feel seen. I have never felt more representing on a theatrical stage than by this musical about redwood trees and using the really big trees as a coping mechanism. THIS is Californian culture. I really love the design of this show from what I’ve seen in the photos and video, I think that it really effectively captures the grandness of redwood trees, and truly how mystical it feels to be surrounded by them. I really love redwood trees, and I think that their existence as evergreen trees that are really tall and really old does in fact make them a perfect symbol for this show about life and death and stuff like that. I’m curious about how this show is doing in reviews, and I hope that maybe I will get the chance to see it.
ReplyDeleteI always love a good scenic model, and I really appreciated the scenic designer’s take on this show. I think bringing the forest out into the audience was the right choice to create an immersive experience like this. Especially when the setting is such an identifiable location, I think most people can relate to the experience of being in some kind of forest or being around a large quantity of trees. I also really liked the sound designers take on creating an immersive experience and his opinion of moving past just the auditory sense into a physical sense. honestly I always think the more senses that you can include in a show the more immersive it gets whether that's more than visuals. some of the most immersive theater experiences I've seen have been with sounds that feel like I can hear them moving or feel the vibrations of it or sets that have included scented haze so I can smell it too.
ReplyDelete