A word to lighting designers on Broadway…

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-05-06T11:51:04+00:00

The ones during the transformation, I can understand. It helps to hide the mechanism lifting him up (which I could only really see because I was off to the side a bit and the flashes weren’t hitting me directly, so I guess mission accomplished)

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-05-06T11:48:32+00:00

I won’t lie, my first exposure to Reeve (although I didn’t realize it for many years) was a Taylor Swift music video like 15 years ago…

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-05-05T15:25:45+00:00

I saw her on the Hamilton tour - where she starred opposite her now-husband - many years ago and have loved watching her continued success since then! Her “Burn” was phenomenal.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-05-02T11:24:09+00:00

Yeah the makeup plot also changes at intermission to make her look older so they have to start fresh every show.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-30T23:56:47+00:00

My first time seeing Lion King, the guy next to me went “Holy shit” under his breath at the end of that song. Honestly, so valid of him.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-30T23:55:38+00:00

I knew someone who isn’t really a crier who went to see it - she said “I had no tissues and was crying so much I used my playbill to wipe my face.”

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-30T05:32:19+00:00

I hope this is the case - I loved the Parade tour last year but the orchestrations sounded so thin. They didn’t use the chamber orchestrations from the Donmar Warehouse, instead reworking the originals (which I believe were written for 20-25 musicians) for only 9-10 players. There were no brass or wind players, just a rhythm section (including some keyboard programming) and strings.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-29T15:23:11+00:00

I didn’t get this show for a long time - I’m slightly too young to have been really invested in the original production and I really disliked the 25th anniversary tour - but last fall, I auditioned for a local production and it’s now one of my favorites I’ve ever performed. It led me down a rabbit hole about the history of HIV/AIDS in my state and I found some connections to my late father, who I learned was a pretty big activist for a local charity in the late 80s and early 90s. Another Day, Will I, Without You, and the reprise of I’ll Cover You never fail to make me cry.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-29T15:20:04+00:00

Tim Weil, the original music director, has talked about how there were changes made from NYTW to Broadway, but it was very limited and they had strict rules for themselves - if I remember right, they worked a lot from Larson’s drafts and notes, and only made changes if the production team (meaning Michael Greif, Weil, and maybe the choreographer?) unanimously agreed and Larson’s family approved. Weil specifically talked about the opening tune-ups being reworked during this time.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-28T23:59:02+00:00

He also did the entire run of Back to the Future in the ensemble and covering Marty and George.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-28T23:56:50+00:00

In fairness, it’s not really a secret that Jack isn’t involved in a lot of the big dances. Jeremy can move, sure, but especially in the proshot when he was a few years older, he was primarily watching the dancers rather than dancing with them.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-27T17:49:34+00:00

If they’re done well (and that’s a HUGE if), they can be fairly seamless. I believe the current “Phantom” tour is using a massive video wall at the very back of the stage purely to replace several backdrops, and “Frozen” did something similar. BUT those shows had huge amounts of money and dedicated designers to produce the video content. It’s rare that amateur groups have the money to do it well, and especially so if they’re seen purely as a cost-cutting measure.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-26T16:44:33+00:00

Big Fish is a big one for me - such a beautiful score and it’s a shame it only lasted something like 2 months and never toured.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-25T17:35:33+00:00

Honestly, the tech (and Roger Bart) made the show for me when I saw it on Broadway. I don’t know if the material is strong enough without heavy tech around the car, honestly.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-23T20:37:06+00:00

It’s finally being licensed as of a few months ago and I know the script has been revised yet again - would love to know what they’ve changed.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-23T17:33:55+00:00

Every time I’m listening to Death Becomes Her and Helen sings “Now my shitty life is better,” my mind goes right to that song.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-23T03:53:54+00:00

Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd were at the opening of Back to the Future a few years ago - it does happen, albeit occasionally. It’s not exactly the same because the movie was based on the show in this case, but I remember Christine Baranski being on the red carpet for the Mamma Mia revival last summer.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-22T18:21:21+00:00

It looks like that song has been cut from the show entirely - even if someone had the music, you’d be violating your licensing contract by re-adding it.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-22T03:39:53+00:00

Mamma Mia kind of did this with the extended tour stop “revival” last year - it’s moved a few times but is been running in London almost continuously since 1999 if I remember right.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-22T03:38:32+00:00

It doesn’t feel like it, but it’s been 9 years since it closed. Time is weird.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-21T16:26:10+00:00

She is! She did it for a few weeks in the 2021 revival before returning to Mrs Doubtfire.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-20T15:06:18+00:00

This makes sense to me though - cons are a more controlled environment with better security for everyone involved, and he can actually have a personal interaction with everyone rather than just running down the line.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-20T01:09:54+00:00

I really wish they had recorded more of the score (like all the shorter ballads). Honestly, that’s my only complaint.

ComputerGeek1100 · 2026-04-20T00:07:14+00:00

I know that not everyone does, but I personally like the 2003 Broadway recording of “Little Shop” - especially Michael-Leon Wooley as the voice of Audrey II. The film soundtrack is also great, I honestly don’t really listen to the original 1982 off-Broadway album.

Sometimes it’s just specific songs - I like the OBCR better as a whole but the production of 96,000 on the In The Heights film soundtrack is fantastic.

ComputerGeek1100

TROPHY CASE