"When the production was moved from the Las Vegas Hilton to the Paris Las Vegas, everyone wanted to create a new look and feel for the show so that they could really compete against the larger Vegas shows that were established on the strip," says Medvitz. "Barry had never done a theatrical-type show before, so they felt this was a great opportunity to capitalize on the intimate 1500-seat Paris Théâtre."
Over the next several months the production team began to discuss, sketch and create the exact design concepts desired. It was then up to Medvitz to take those concepts and weave then into a complementary lighting design.
"Barry wanted this show to have an abstract artistic theme, but they didn't want it to be cliché. They also wanted to use timeless art pieces that would connect throughout the show; therefore we knew video would play a big role in the production. But since we were now in a traditional theatrical setting, the lighting had to have a theatrical feel to it as opposed to a concert feel."
As Medvitz and his team made the move from concepts to physical design, they knew they would need to enhance the house lighting rig at the Paris and so they made the decision to purchase additional lighting instruments to bring their design to life. Once given approvals for the new purchases, PRG Las Vegas provided Medvitz with his instruments of choice; 40 VLX Wash and 25 VL3500 Wash FX luminaires.
"In the design, we knew the lighting would be competing with five high-resolution LED video screens and a soft LED backdrop. But since Barry would only be performing 28 weeks out of the year, the additional lights purchased for the show also had to be flexible and useful to the other shows that would be using the space. When we added all these necessities together, we knew it had to be VARI*LITE fixtures. They are powerful, possess great color, and are always flexible in a lighting design."
(Jim Evans)
