Lighting designer Ken Posner for the Broadway musicals Hairspray and Wicked has also used grandMA control systems. Now, with Sinatra and Avenue Q already running on grandMA in the West End, Wicked is the next to move over from Broadway to the West End, scheduled to open on 27 September, 2006. Interestingly, the Apollo Victoria Theatre, home to Wicked, already has a fixed installation of a grandMA ultra controlling its LED house light system.
The consoles have already been used in New York with success. Binkley mentions that he's very grateful for all the help and support MA has given to Avenue Q since the beginning. Both designers prefer Hilary Knox as the programmer for their shows. His control choices for Avenue Q were a grandMA full-size for programming, a grandMA Light for show playback and a grandMA replay unit as backup. They controlled the moving lights, LEDs, video and conventional lights. After the production period only the grandMA light was used with the replay unit working as the backup.
(Lee Baldock)
