Lighting has been designed by Ben P Cracknell and is being operated on the tour by Darran Curtis. This is Elvis is one of a series of theatre productions on HSL's current wall chart. It's being project managed by Mike Oates, who says: "HSL is always pleased to work on Bill Kenwright's productions, and this show is a great one to be doing, as it is taking the country by storm, and really proving that Elvis is neither dead, nor working in a chippy in Blackpool! We're also pleased to be working with Ben again."
The first half of This Is Elvis is based on the lead up to the seminal TV show - The 68' Comeback Special - an event that re-established Elvis's career and drew phenomenal ratings. The second half is the concert itself, featuring Elvis's greatest ever hits superbly replicated by actor Simon Bowman.
With a relatively Spartan stage look and minimal props, the lighting has much work to do in recreating various different scenes and atmospheres. Cracknall also tried to give the impression of an authentic timeline, mimicking the effect of the more limited stage technology of the 1960s - particularly in the first half - whilst simultaneously making the show interesting for a 21st century accidence.
Robe ColorSpot and ColorWash 1200 ATs - nine of each type were the primary moving light sources overhead, used for general and specific gobo washes in act one and for stage effects and beam patterns in act two. Curtis comments that they have been extremely reliable.
There are 10 Martin MAC 600s doing the general stage colour washes, which are used for rock 'n' roll style bumps and accents in the second half. The intelligent lighting cues were carefully built so as not to visibly move too much during act two, again retaining a period feel.
They are using six Vari*Lite 1000s for cross stage washes, hung on drop bars 10ft off the ground at the sides. These are particularly useful for rear-lighting the backing singers and band, and the drop bars are a neat idea that saves having a large amount of boom lamps in the wings. Their tungsten lightsource is also very usable in the first act.
One of the reasons a comprehensive moving light rig was specified was to limit the amount of time that focusing sessions would take up onstage. All this can be done remotely, leaving the rest of the generic fixtures to be focused from FOH and the stage clear for others to work. This was necessary because the tight get in days at each venue also have a show that evening.
In addition to the generic FOH spec that's sent out to each theatre, the production is carrying a number of 'specials'. These include 4 Source Fours with 36 degree lenses and scrollers; three Source Fours with custom gobos rigged onto the circle rails, projecting onto the front tabs; three Atomic strobes for the concert, two 4-lite Moles; 10 JTE PixelLine 1044 LED battens washing the cyc and six 20-cell MR-16 battens. There's also two classic VSFX glass animation discs, fitted onto Source Four light-sources and used for cloud projections in the first act.
The plain cyc of the first act, is replaced in the second with an Elvis 'bulb-cloth' backdrop that drops in, with 'Elvis' emblazoned on it four times in P-lights. These are transformed on the fly floor, and nine circuits fed from the cloth into the dimmers. The lighting from Vegas Hotel sign drop from the first act is also fed into the dimmers and controlled by Curtis using a WholeHog II.
Dimming is by an Avolites ART2000 48 way, with an ART2000 48-way switch rack dealing with all the moving light power distribution, plus the hazer and fans.
Curtis says: "The service from HSL has been absolutely excellent and the kit is all in top condition. These are two essential elements for keeping a fast-moving show like this on the road."
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