Lighting designer Ken Billington won a Tony Award for his lighting design for the revival of the classic Kander & Ebb musical when it first opened on Broadway. When the show moved to London, White Light supplied a rig including over three hundred ETC Source Fours plus three Robert Juliat Aramis followspots, and Wybron ColorRam 4" scrollers and an ETC Obsession 2 console, both the scrollers and console making their UK debut on the show.
The show's move to the Cambridge Theatre was to make way for the new production of Evita, soon to open at the Adelphi also using a rig from White Light. But the move was very tightly scheduled, with the first performance at the Cambridge to take place on the Friday after the last Saturday performance at the Adelphi (the show's equivalent theatre-hop in New York had three weeks). White Light therefore supplied a duplicate of much of the rig so that production electrician Gerry Amies and his team of Martin Chisnall, Mike Dixon and Ben Davies and the theatre's lighting team led by Dee Jarrett could prepare as much as possible at White Light then get started on the installation - though, as Amies says:"Not one bit of kit could get into the Cambridge before 11.30 on the Monday because of the get-out of the previous show." The get-out from the Adelphi was also run by Gerry Amies, Martin Chisnall and Ian Moulds.
Items of the rig which couldn't easily be duplicated, notably the scrollers and the flying light curtain, were returned to White Light where they were cleaned and re-prepped over the Sunday (with Paul Greener from Howard Eaton Lighting shortening the light curtain by one unit to allow it to fit into the new theatre) ready to be back at the Cambridge on the Monday. Ken Billington and his assistant Matt Daw then came over to re-light the show, which successfully re-opened on schedule.
Chicago is just one of the many musicals in London using White Light equipment, which can also be found on Billy Elliot, The Producers, Les Misérables, Footloose, and the upcoming productions of Evita, Daddy Cool, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Spamalot. White Light's equipment can also be found on touring shows such as Miss Saigon and Edward Scissorhands, as well as on a wide range of other projects including the summer opera seasons at Garsington and Grange Park.
(Chris Henry)
