Some of the original Off Broadway show's creators help bring to life this version produced by and at the Bristol Riverside Theatre, Bristol PA, with stage direction and choreography by Christopher Gattelli, and musical direction by Gary Adler. Lighting design was by David Pedemonti of APA Music & Pictures Inc., with programming by Nick Wyant.
Pedemonti was particularly impressed with the Vista's ability to combine big bold looks with the show's precise comic timing, and how quick and easy the show was to programme using the console's unique visually based lighting plot. He commented:
"When I designed Altar Boyz we made a visual representation of my light plot on the Vista screen. By being able to simply highlight the fixture or group of fixtures you want to manipulate in a visual way, it cuts your programming time in half. As you think of lighting as directional, you can easily find the fixture you want to manipulate by visualizing where the light is coming from in the theatre.
"The Vista made controlling the moving light plot effortless. Director Christopher Gattelli, who is intimately acquainted with the piece, was able to explore lighting effects he had always wanted, but was never able to achieve in other productions."
The Vista S3 console was used to control a lighting rig which included Martin MAC 250, MAC 300 and Matrix 300 moving heads, Chroma-Q Color Block and L&E MR-16 light strips LED effects, and various Source Four PARs, lekos and fresnels.
APA Music & Pictures' Jands Vista consoles were supplied by Jands exclusive North American distributor, A.C. Lighting.
(Jim Evans)
