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Post by crabtree on Apr 16, 2017 22:47:22 GMT
watching 42nd street yesterday and the slick appearance and disappearance of the staircase, among other pleasures especially with the gauzes, what is your favourite transformation scene or bit of stagecraft. In the 70's I worked backstage on Hans Andersen and every night I watched the glorious scene with Hans sat on a trunk on a seemingly empty stage. The trunk transformed into a coach, then the side of a boat with sails, and then wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen appeared as twinkly lights, then the town appeared - all done as a seamless, fluid piece of stage craft. Not really scenic, but the change from Joey the foal to big joey in War Horse always takes my breath away. The appearance of the whale in the Royal Exhange's Moby Dick was truly breathtaking. And the first time I saw the drought in the Lion King, I was much taken. But actual transformation scenes....? I suspect projections are taking much of that craft away.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 16, 2017 22:55:09 GMT
The transformation from Beast to Prince can be full of theatrical magic if done right.
Not strictly a transformation but the death of Charity Barnum (in the Crawford production) was done beautifully with her disappearing without being noticed.
Similarly the end of Act One of Our House always delights me - Joe Casey dancing on the gantry above the stage and then appearing at the same time in a different costume DSL. I have worked out how it was done - but it is still an amazing moment.
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Post by cheesy116 on Apr 16, 2017 22:56:32 GMT
The original production of Sister Act at The Palladium had some slick technical movement of the set and fixtures. The transition from the outside of the church to the inside then to the nightclub/police station was some of the best I've seen.
The large pillars would rotate and swivel and then move around the revolve to 'reveal' the inside.
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Post by partytentdown on Apr 17, 2017 9:26:33 GMT
A famous one which I like is when the kids in Gypsy 'grow up' and are replaced by the older actors - all very simply done with strobe lights but it always looks very effective. I believe it's one of the original bits of staging which always has to be replicated.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2017 12:34:54 GMT
Kudos to the recent UK tour of Mary Poppins; the house transforming, literally opening and unfolding to reveal the interior.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 17, 2017 12:57:11 GMT
The Phantom's lair has to be one of the best known I guess. With the candelabras rising from the "vast glassy lake".
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Post by HereForTheatre on Apr 17, 2017 13:08:09 GMT
This isn't a famous one at all but Curves production of Oliver! had one of the most clever sets i've seen. Basically the whole set was like Mary Poppins house on tour, Literally everything would open and close up to reveal something else or another room somehow hidden within it and completely changed the set. Infact the whole thing opened up to reveal the stage in general. You had two walls with a gate in the middle that acts as the "curtain" and the two side parted and opened up like the whole stage was a dolls house. At one point the whole thing then came together in the middle of the stage to actual create a literal full house, with the actors INSIDE it, that you watched through the windows. God knows how they afforded that set given they aren't known for the best sets in the world. I think Mr Mackintosh gave a little help with that production...he certainly lent them his best set designer in Matt Kinley (Miss Saigon, Les Mis)
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 17, 2017 13:30:53 GMT
Speaking of houses I suppose we have to mention An Inspector Calls...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2017 14:18:02 GMT
Speaking of houses I suppose we have to mention An Inspector Calls... Must we? it gives me violent A level flashbacks. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2017 18:14:32 GMT
Strange Interludes at the National when the hip flat makes way for the ship! It looked astonishing from the slips
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Post by PhantomNcl on Apr 18, 2017 11:59:17 GMT
The first mansion 'reveal' in the Adelphi production of Sunset Boulevard always brought a murmur of approval from the audience - from Joe pushing his car into the garage, bit of banter with Max, and then the lighting on the set came up to reveal the huge mansion and staircase behind the gauze. I don't ever recall actually hearing the set slide into place from the flies, unlike Christine's dressing room in Phantom which you can hear creaking a mile off!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2017 13:30:31 GMT
I completely agree with the staircase in 42nd Street. I was sat front row and didn't see it coming at all! That whole sequence of the stairs, then the smoke and lights, the dan ers marching down, it was dazzling!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2017 13:35:51 GMT
The first mansion 'reveal' in the Adelphi production of Sunset Boulevard always brought a murmur of approval from the audience - from Joe pushing his car into the garage, bit of banter with Max, and then the lighting on the set came up to reveal the huge mansion and staircase behind the gauze. I don't ever recall actually hearing the set slide into place from the flies, unlike Christine's dressing room in Phantom which you can hear creaking a mile off! hahah I love that show (Phantom) and wouldnt change it for the world but the only issue with it being 30 years old is some scene changes are so creaky and noisy. |
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Post by PhantomNcl on Apr 18, 2017 16:21:20 GMT
The first mansion 'reveal' in the Adelphi production of Sunset Boulevard always brought a murmur of approval from the audience - from Joe pushing his car into the garage, bit of banter with Max, and then the lighting on the set came up to reveal the huge mansion and staircase behind the gauze. I don't ever recall actually hearing the set slide into place from the flies, unlike Christine's dressing room in Phantom which you can hear creaking a mile off! hahah I love that show (Phantom) and wouldnt change it for the world but the only issue with it being 30 years old is some scene changes are so creaky and noisy. Ditto - for all it's so clunky in places (Christine's dressing room and the dismantling of the Masquerade staircase being the main culprits) other parts still give me goosebumps after all these years. The UK tour was an interesting version (I particularly liked the rotating 'drum' which opened up for the managers' office), but the journey to the lair lost a lot of its impact while Christine and the Phantom waited to be clipped into their safety wires, and I thought the end disappearance was very lazy. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2017 17:27:25 GMT
hahah I love that show (Phantom) and wouldnt change it for the world but the only issue with it being 30 years old is some scene changes are so creaky and noisy. Ditto - for all it's so clunky in places (Christine's dressing room and the dismantling of the Masquerade staircase being the main culprits) other parts still give me goosebumps after all these years. The UK tour was an interesting version (I particularly liked the rotating 'drum' which opened up for the managers' office), but the journey to the lair lost a lot of its impact while Christine and the Phantom waited to be clipped into their safety wires, and I thought the end disappearance was very lazy. Missed that tour unfortunately. How did they do the end? |
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Post by crabtree on Apr 18, 2017 17:52:08 GMT
A bit like being shown the magician's empty hat before the rabbit is produced, I love shows that start with an empty stage then show us wonders. As I remember the otherwise tiresome musical Mutiny started with an empty stage and then within seconds there was a magnificent ship in full sail, and revolving. but then they sang 'friends till the end' and an awful lot about 'Breadfruit'.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2017 8:09:26 GMT
I guess it wasn't technically a musical, but a play with lots of songs/shanties... The NT's Treasure Island 2 years ago.
When the ship rose up on the drum revolve, there was a round of applause for over a minute, with a couple of people standing up. Never seen that for a piece of scenery before!
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Post by PhantomNcl on Apr 19, 2017 9:10:46 GMT
Ditto - for all it's so clunky in places (Christine's dressing room and the dismantling of the Masquerade staircase being the main culprits) other parts still give me goosebumps after all these years. The UK tour was an interesting version (I particularly liked the rotating 'drum' which opened up for the managers' office), but the journey to the lair lost a lot of its impact while Christine and the Phantom waited to be clipped into their safety wires, and I thought the end disappearance was very lazy. Missed that tour unfortunately. How did they do the end? {Spoiler - click to view}
Christine & Raoul go off, the Phantom picks up his cape and puts the hood up, then turns with his back to the audience. Meg enters, puts her hands on his shoulders, and after giving him enough time to slip out from the cape and under the bed that he's standing in front of, she lets go of the cape which crumples to the floor.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 19, 2017 9:27:24 GMT
If you haven't been following the Bat Out Of Hell thread there's an incredible trick involving one of the actors "transforming" at the end of Act 2.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2017 9:30:18 GMT
I know its not a transformation, but when the boat in Show Boat came forward at the start of the show, it got a huge round of applause when I saw it!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2017 9:40:12 GMT
If you haven't been following the Bat Out Of Hell thread there's an incredible trick involving one of the actors "transforming" at the end of Act 2. More of a 'baptism'! |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 19, 2017 11:32:08 GMT
If you haven't been following the Bat Out Of Hell thread there's an incredible trick involving one of the actors "transforming" at the end of Act 2. More of a 'baptism'! I'm going again tonight and I'm going to try and work out how it's done, including counting how long he's "under". |
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Post by richey on Apr 19, 2017 13:05:21 GMT
I'm going again tonight and I'm going to try and work out how it's done, including counting how long he's "under". At the time I didn't think it was anything special, just a costume change but since you've mentioned it I thought more about it and need to see it again! |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 19, 2017 13:58:33 GMT
I'm going again tonight and I'm going to try and work out how it's done, including counting how long he's "under". At the time I didn't think it was anything special, just a costume change but since you've mentioned it I thought more about it and need to see it again! Costume change underwater, including boots, while holding your breath? Nothing special?  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2017 16:03:16 GMT
At the time I didn't think it was anything special, just a costume change but since you've mentioned it I thought more about it and need to see it again! Costume change underwater, including boots, while holding your breath? Nothing special? Then to emerge and continue singing? |
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