The show opens with a 90-second sequence that combines the lighting, music and projection, leading up to Izzard's grand entrance. To accomplish the look of controlled chaos, Monroe specified the most powerful Vari*Lite fixtures available, including 30 of the Series 3000 luminaires (18 VL3000 Spots and 12 VL3000 Wash units), all provided by Boston-based High Output Inc. "He's got the best fixtures there are, and it's a great-looking rig," said Joe Haller of High Output. "We provided him the latest and greatest, and we did it very quickly. The Vari*Lite fixtures were literally on our shelves for just one day before the truck was loaded and the tour headed out."
The tour was prepped in one of High Output's three production studios normally reserved for video and film work, which allowed ample room and rigging capability. "It's definitely not your standard touring package for a stand-up comedian," Monroe said. "It's a lot of lights for a one-man show, and the Vari*Lite fixtures are the bulk of what's lighting the performance. The lighting is done in a rock and roll manner - not like a rock and roll concert, but like he's a rock and roll personality. All of the trappings of the production are part of the way Eddie presents himself to people."
The rig consists of two 40ft long sections of Tomcat Swing Wing truss that are packed with moving lights every two feet. There are also two towers with three VL3000 Spot luminaires per tower. Four more units are mounted on the deck just offstage and out of the sight lines upstage. The truss usually hangs at 26-28ft, depending on the venue. It has been hung as low as 24 feet and as high as 30ft. The flexibility of the automated units makes the truss height a non-issue."The most impressive thing about the Vari*Lite fixtures is the photometrics and the 6-to-1 zoom range. They are just unbelievable," Monroe said. "When the lights zoom out from a 10° setting to the full 60°, the shift in intensity is imperceptible to the eye. It looks just as bright at the 60° setting as it does at 10°."
The 16-city, 50-show Sexie tour, which marks Izzard's first return to the touring circuit in three years, begins on 29 August at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver and concludes 8 November at the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia, before coming to the UK.
(Lee Baldock)
