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A Medialon Manager control system, supplied by Scharff Weisberg, plays a central role in
conveying the eerie world of “Grey Gardens,” the musical
which sold out Off-Broadway and recently opened on
Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
America was first introduced to Grey Gardens, the
crumbling East Hampton mansion inhabited by the
reclusive, elderly Edith Bouvier Beale and her
mentally-challenged daughter, Little Edie, in the 1975
documentary by the Maysles Brothers. When the quirky
high-society pair -- the aunt and cousin of Jacqueline
Bouvier Kennedy Onassis -- were discovered living with
innumerable cats and raccoons in the derelict family
home they made fascinating subjects for the Maysles’
up-close-and-personal film.
For the Broadway version of their story Medialon MANAGER
is used as an intermediary show control system which
translates MIDI triggers sent from the main lighting
console to facilitate synchronized control of five
WATCHOUT display machines, three Barco R6 6K-lumen
projectors, two Christie lx25 2200-lumen projectors and
externally-mounted projection dousers.
The show’s projections, by designer Wendall Harrington,
include a huge wall of newspapers -- reporting that
Jackie O’s aunt and cousin were found in a houseful of
cats -- which comes up at the top of the show; shadowy,
leafy gobos which give a sense of “over-growness” to the
mansion; clips of cats which she manipulated with Adobe
Photoshop and After Effects to populate the house and
convey the “creepiness” of the place; and a patchwork of
Little Edie’s memories which display on the wall of the
attic space she retreats to. |
