| Set design issues | |
| Posted by: Revned 09:55 pm EDT 04/23/24 | |
| In reply to: Stereophonic Seating Advice - den 04:55 pm EDT 04/23/24 | |
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| When I saw STEREOPHONIC, I was in Row E of the rear mezzanine, and sitting there was very frustrating because not enough attention was paid to adapting the staging to the Broadway space. When the actors were in the upstage “sound booth” area (behind the glass) I generally could not see their heads because of the overhang of the proscenium. The rake of the mezzanine is steep, which does create problems for sightlines, but in this case I felt the problem could have been solved if the director and designer had bothered to go up there and test out sightlines before the set was loaded in. The downstage studio area could have been shortened by a few feet and the whole set moved a bit downstage. I understand that in Broadway theatres there’s usually no way to make sure everybody can see absolutely everything, and there are usually a few obstructed-view seats at the extreme sides or back, but in this case there were at least three more rows behind me and the problem must be as bad or worse for the people in all of those seats; that’s too many people every night not getting to see the actors’ faces during key scenes. I enjoyed the show, but I have another criticism related to the set as well. The program and some lines in the script made it clear that the first three acts take place in a recording studio in Sausalito, CA, and the fourth act in one in Los Angeles. And yet absolutely no change was made to the very detailed, realistic set or the props dressing it to indicate the change in locale. This may sound like a petty criticism, but given that the show’s calling card is its extreme naturalism and pseudo-documentary aesthetic, it seemed to let down our willing suspension of disbelief to present a second studio that looked exactly the same as the first. And it also wasn’t necessary. On a Broadway budget, they could have found a way to do some kind of transformation of the set. But I also don’t think that would have been needed if Adjmi had agreed to make a few slight adjustments to the script: All four acts could have been set in the same studio. The script makes it clear that the band’s fame and fortunes have increased by the last act as their careers have taken off; it wouldn’t have hindered the storytelling to have them still using the same recording studio to make their next album even though their circumstances had improved. Either solution would have made the last act more believable. |
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