Joseph was only 15 minutes long when first performed as a cantata in 1968, but grew in subsequent versions to 40 minutes and, finally, a full 90-minute musical. The new production shows its evolution in the technical aspects of production, especially its sound system: self-powered loudspeakers from Meyer Sound and, at the FOH position, an LCS Audio Matrix3 audio show control system with a CueConsole control surface. The system was specified by Duncan Robert Edwards, the show's sound designer, and supplied by Specialized Audio-Video, N.Y., with logistical coordination by Mark Norfolk and Mike Weirich.
In the years since Joseph's first performance, both Meyer Sound and LCS Audio were founded, but, while Meyer Sound systems have long been used in touring productions with runs ranging anywhere from 20 years down to a single night, rarely has the Matrix3 toured with a short-run production.
Joseph is carrying its Matrix3 because Edwards decided that the time had come to bring high-end modular digital technology to the upper crust of the bus-and-truck circuit. "LCS Audio CueConsoles have been used as FOH systems on Broadway and in Las Vegas for some time," says Edwards, a principal of Audio Design International in New York. "As for touring, several Cirque du Soleil tours have them, but their shows are always in the same tent and usually stay for a month or more. As far as I know, this may be the first time that an all-LCS system has toured 30-plus venues with runs of only a few days up to a couple weeks at the most."
According to Edwards, his selection of the Meyer Sound/LCS Audio combination was a result of his ongoing staff consulting role with Troika Entertainment, the tour management company for the production. Troika is a leading international producer of both touring shows and casino entertainment.
"My idea for the Troika touring model was to design standardized systems that were modular and scalable," Edwards explains. "These could be easily reconfigured for different shows, touring itineraries, crew sizes, and venues. The Matrix3 system is fabulous for that, because you can define exactly what you need as far as inputs, outputs and console facilities. The Meyer Sound CQ line fits nicely as well, because you simply add or subtract boxes depending on the needs of the tour."
The Joseph loudspeaker configuration has twin front towers each with (top to bottom) three CQ-2 narrow coverage main loudspeakers, one CQ-1 wide coverage cabinet, a UPJ-1P compact VariO loudspeaker, and a USW-1P compact subwoofer.
"The CQs work very well for this scalable theme," Edwards says. "I love the way they sound, and, in my opinion, they are better suited than line arrays for this application. The system is very cost-effective. Only four CQs and one UPJ-1P per side provide the required horizontal and vertical coverage for nearly all theatre-sized venues. Also, I can be completely independent of the house sound system, although in nearly all cases we supplement our rig with the house cluster and delay systems."
Having properly packaged it for the road, Edwards has found the Matrix3 to be exceptionally reliable and easy to use. "We have the CueConsole with its required computer infrastructure all housed in a single road case, and it ends up smaller and lighter than most consoles. The case also includes a 'doghouse' for the cables, network switches, and power. It's a tight little package that was inspired by what Jonathan Deans did for the Cirque du Soleil Corteo tour." (Corteo also uses Meyer Sound loudspeakers and an LCS Audio Matrix3 system with a CueConsole.)
Production sound mixer Cameron Grant was initially skeptical about
