KLAD – Entertainment Design

We were recently commissioned by The New York Musical Theatre Festival Executive Director & Producer Isaac Robert Hurwitz and Board Chair Sharon Fallon to create an award (for lack of a better term) to present to this year’s honorary festival chairman; Baz Luhrmann. Who could refuse? We support everything that NYMF does in supporting, nurturing and showcasing new talent in musical theatre. We consider musical theatre to be an important art form and, well, we love being involved with musicals.

And Baz Luhrmann? Genius. His work is magnificent. Between the NYMF graphics and the work of Baz and his wife/Production Designer Catherine Martin (or ‘CM’ as he refers to her), we had plenty of inspiration. Together, they will soon be bringing Strictly Ballroom to the stage. On her own, CM also has a great line of home decor products. Renaissance people.

The challenge; an award that was not an award and that will be memorable and evocative enough for this high powered creative couple to display. Something original that might stand out from their many other acknowledgements. We did a few roughs and sent them to Isaac and Sharon. Isaac provided terrific direction and the designed evolved into the sketch above. We moved, as we frequently do, from pencil to the Adobe Creative Suite back and forth with Vectorworks 2011 to create a jewel that reflects the sensibilities of Luhrmann and NYMF.

Shout – outs to our friend and colleague Cris Dopher who hooked us up with Andy Leviss who happened to both the assistant sound designer for the Festival AND able to help with the detailed laser cutting of PlexiGlas that the design required.

NYMF presented this to Baz at the opening night party Monday evening. TheatreMania covered the event here. Claire Danes made the actual presentation with Isaac and then Kellie O’Hara performed. Great and talented people abounded throughout the space.

And it came in a nice little box.

Check out NYMF if you are at all interested is seeing or supporting the next generation of musical theatre. For the next three weeks they will be filling New York with great songs, great books and great dance. You’ll be able to say you saw it first. Where else could you see shows like these;

• My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding
• The History Of War
• Most Likely To Die
• I Got Fired: A Revenge Musical
• Petrouchka
• Oklahomo: The Adventures Of Dave And Gary
• Jay Alan Zimmerman’s Incredibly Deaf Musical
• Cocaine: The Band – The Musical

See you at the theatre!

—Kevin Lee Allen

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