Lighting the Musical

1. What is the primary difference between a play and a musical?

The obvious answer is music. A modern American book-musical tells a story with dialogue, songs and dance. As Jean Rosenthal points out in The Magic of Light, the modern musical is an "entertainment" which adapts the technicques of the opera, the dance and the drama.

You treat the script, or book, with the same respect as a dramatic script, whether it deserves it or not. The songs are an integral part of the script; the words are important. You study the movement, the integrated dancing, as you would for ballet. You soak in the score as you do for opera. And you seek the emotional key to the whole. After which you are free to admit that the musical is not a drama or an opera or a ballet, but a form of amusement which incorporates the technical demands of all other forms. (Rosenthal, pg 75)

Typically a musical has a much larger cast and many more scene changes than you would find in a play.. With the obvious exception of Shakespeare, most plays can be staged with a cast of four to ten actors in a single interior box set. The action usually unfolds over a day or two and the shift from day to night only appears outside an upstage window.

For example, Henrik Ibsen's A Dolls' House (1879) has a cast of ten and is staged in a single interior set - Helmer's Living Room - which traditionally has a window in the down right wall. The action unfolds over three days: December 24 through 26. The first act is in the morning, the second act is late afternoon and the third and final act is at night.

Rodger and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! (1943), on the other hands, has a cast of nine major characters plus both a singing and dancing chorus. As originally written, the show requires six different sets.

1. The Front of Laurey's Farmhouse,
2. The Smoke House (Jud's cabin),
3. A Grove on Laurey's Farm (the setting of the Dream Ballet),
4. The Skidmore Ranch,
5. Skidmore's Kitchen Porch and
6. The Back of Laurey's Farmhouse

Four of the sets are full stage and two, The Smoke House and Skidmore's Kitchen Porch, are typically played down stage in front of a drop. Only one of the six, The Smoke House, is an interior.

Act One begins in the morning, "a beautiful morning" and ends in late afternoon. The second act is at night. In addition to the thirteen songs, five of which are major production numbers involving both the singing and dancing chorus, there is also a full scale ballet.

In summary, A Dolls House has...

1. A single interior set (Helmer's Living Room) which can be easily divided into six McCandless acting areas and
2. Day and night "light" is only needed outside the down right window

On the other hand Oklahoma! requires...

1. Six different sets
   (Note: The work is usually performed with only four sets
   1. Laurey's Farmhouse,
   2. The Smoke House,
   3. A Grove and
   4. The Skidmore Ranch)
2. Full stage day and night scenes,
3. The ability to divide the stage into two zones--
   1. Full stage for the five major production numbers and
   2. Down stage for the book scenes and the more intemate songs,
4. The ability to focus the audience's attention on the singers and
5. A dance light plot for the dream ballet.

2. What is the minimum number of lamps needed to light the performers in a small musical?

Twenty-four + Follow spots. A bare minimum light plot for a musical can be produced by adding the 12 lamps in a dance light plot to a 12 light McCandless plot. The six lights in the Ceiling Cove would light the three down stage acting areas, the six lights on the First Electric would light the three upstage acting areas and the twelve side light from the dance plot could be used to produce a full stage wash of Sun and Moon light as well as heighten the dance elements in the production numbers.

Minimum Light Plot for a Musical

3. What is the function of the follow spot?

To isolate the major performer (singer) in a pool of light. There are two basic approaches to the use of a follow spot in a musical. In a Broadway style production the star is spotted from the moment he makes his entrance to the moment he leaves the stage. In an academic or community production, the singer (or singers) is usually only spotted during the musical numbers

4. What is the minimum number of follow spots necessary to light a musical? Why?

Two. Because the plot of a typical American musical is a love story there will undoubtly be a duet ("People Will Say We're In Love") between the pair of young lovers (Curley and Laurey in Oklahoma!).

5. Briefly outline the techniques used in developing a light plot for a musical.

When developing a light plot for a musical, most designers take a cue from opera and dance and begin with a basic repertory plot to which they add specials.

6. What is generally included in a basic repertory plot?

Although it is possible to build a basic rep plot around the 24 units described above, I personally would use a two color acting area system and I would add washes of down light (and/or back light) to the minimum layout. For me, the base rep plot should include...

1. A two color (warm and cool) area system (left - center - right),
2. A two color (sun and moon) full stage wash of high angle side lights from the ends of the on stage electric pipes,
3. A two color (warm and cool) full stage wash of back (and/or down light) from the onstage electric pipes and
4. A two color (nite and day) cyc wash.

Using Scoops for the down lights and the Cyc, and PARCans for the high angle side light, I can build a basic plot with 56 units.

1. 12 Ellipsoidals in the Cove for the three down stage areas -- 2 lamps per color, 4 lights per area
2. 12 Fresnels on the First Electric for the three mid-stage areas -- 2 lamps per color, 4 lights per area
3. 6 PARCans for the stage right wash -- 3 pipes, 2 lamps per pipe, 1 per color
4. 6 PARCans for the stage left wash -- 3 pipes, 2 lamps per pipe, 1 per color
5. 12 Scoops for the down wash -- 3 pipes, 2 scoops per color, and
6. 8 Scoops on the Fourth Electric for the Cyc wash

56 Unit Rep Plot

7. How are specials used in a musical?

Obviously specials are dictated by the individual show. In addition to the typical "pool of light" used to isolate a specific moment, many times an individual set will require special treatment. For example, Jud's Smoke House (Act 1, Sc 2) in Oklahoma! is typically staged on an 8'x12' wagon which is rolled down center. This unit is usually treated as a special acting area. If I were designing Oklahoma!, in addition to the Smoke House set, I would also have two specials for the Dream Ballet which ends the first act -- a pool of lavender down light center stage and a diagonal shaft of light upstage for the final moment when Jud carries Laurey's body off-stage.

8. Describe some of the typical cues you will find in a musical.

1. At the beginning of a song the the front lights dim down as a follow spot picks up the soloist. (Note: The number begins with the first note of the orchestra's musical introduction.)
2. If the chorus joins the soloist, the front lights will come up to their original level
3. If there is a build in the song or an upward key modulation, the stage will get brighter
4. If the song is a slow romantic ballad, the stage will fade to blue as the follow spot picks up the soloist
5. Often, during the last verse of the slow romantic ballad, the follow spot will tighten to a head/shoulder spot and the stage will fade to black.
6. At the end of the song, on the audience's applause, we restore the lights back to the original (book scene) look.
7. If the song ends the scene and it is an upbeat number we will traditionally black out the stage on the final cuf-off of the orchestration.
8. As the chorus exits the stage (usually after a large production number) we will pull the focus down stage by fading down (or out) the upstage light
9. As the chorus enters (or re-enters) the stage we restore the full stage look by bring up the upstage light
10. In a ballet sequence, such as the Dream Ballet in Oklahoma!, the light cues are usually motivated by changes in the music.

9. Describe several "basic looks" you will find in a musical.

In order to make the cueing process more efficient, most designers go into the dry tech with several basic lighting compositions sketched out. The nine basic looks for Oklahoma! are pretty typical.

1. Day- full stage
2. Day- down stage
3. Day- solo (Down stage day with the front lights dimmed)
4. Nite- full stage
5. Night- down stage
6. Night- solo (Down stage night with the front lights dimmed)
7. Night- bright (Used for the finale of the title number in Act II)
8. Jud's cabin
9. Jud's cabin- solo (Jud's cabin with the front lights dimmed)

Tom Jones (lyrics) and Harvey Schmidt's (music) 110 in the Shade (1963) is a typical book-musical in the "Rodgers and Hammerstein" mold. It is based on The Rainmaker (1954) by N. Richard Nash who is also credited with developing the musical's book. The original Broadway production, which opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on October 23, 1963, was directed by Joseph Anthony, choreographed by Agnes De Mille (who also choreographed Oklahoma! in 1943) and designed by Oliver Smith. The two act script has a cast of thirteen "named" characters plus chorus and is staged in four locations:

1. The Railroad Depot at Three Point, Texas
2. File's Office (an interior) on Main Street
3. A Picnic Area near the Band Stand, and
4. The Outside of the Rainwagon

I used 70 units (including 2- 6' sections of Strip Lights, a "Sun Box" and a "Moon Box") in our fall 2003 production. The 52 lamp basic rep plot included...

1. A four color area system (18 lamps -- 12 in the Cove and 6 on the First Electric),
   1. R08: Pale Gold (from stage right)
   2. R02: Bastard Amber (from stage left)
   3. R51: Suprise Pink (from stage right) and
   4. R55 Lilac (from stage left)
2. A two color full stage wash of high angle side lights from stage left (6 lamps -- 2 each on the First, Second and Third Electric),
   1. R01: Light Bastard Amber and
   2. R69: Brilliant Blue
3. A two color full stage wash of high angle side lights from stage right (6 lamps -- 2 each on the First, Second and Third Electric),
   1. R18: Flame and
   2. R65: Daylight Blue
4. A two color full stage wash of back and/or down light (12 lamps -- 2 on the First Electric and five each on the Second and Third Electric) and
   1. R21: Golden Amber and
   2. R121: Blue Diffusion
5. A two color Cyc wash (8 lamps on the Fourth Electric + 2 sections of Strip Lights)
   1. R121: Blue Diffusion
   2. R127: Amber Cyc Silk

The 18 special units included...

1. Front lights for the Rainwagon scene (2 lamps in the Cove),
2. Moon light for the Rainwagon scene (2 lamps on the First Electric),
3. Cross light into the up stage ramp (2 lamps on the Fourth Electric),
4. Cross Light into the Band Stand (2 lamps on the Third Electric),
5. Lightening (6 lamps on the Second Electric),
6. "Moon box" (hung up stage of the Cyc),
7. "Sun box" (hung up stage of the Cyc) and
8. Follow spots (2 lamps in the Cove).

Link to a PDF file of the light plot, the hook up chart, the Cue List and a page of photographs from the production