Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1998 - 15

nJune 19, 199 ,A Chams Line's record as the longest
running musical on Broadway was broken by the
popular British import Cals. Tllis milestone gives one
cause to reflect on the place of A Chams Line not only in the
llistory of musical theatre but in the llistory of lighting design
and technology. A Chams Line has become mytholigized for,
among other aspects of its production, being the first commercial production on Broadway to have computeHontrolled
lighting. I share with you here my own renliniscences and perspectives on the importance of tllis nlilestone
and the insights of over a dozen lighting designers and industry professionals with whom
I spoke-all of whom were active throughout
the transition from manual to computerized
forms of control.
~~that
Much has been written about A Chams
Line and its creators. Its self-reflexive, nonnarrative structure has been discussed in both
popular and scholarly publications.) When I
first saw the show (as a teenager not yet particularly interested in lighting design) I found
it both moving and entertaining. At subsequent \~ewings I started to realize that this
show, unlike any other, and regardless of
where I sat, did not make me feel that I was at a theatrical performance, but rather that I was part of a theatrical community.
Tharon Musser's renown lighting design supported that sense
of community and connection with the audience, particularly
01rough the clarity of light on Ole dancers on the line and the
use of the ··thought lights" Olat help to create the empathy we
all felt for each of the individuals that make up the chorus.
The sensitive and accurate cueing was another remarkable element of the design. The cues were carefully placed and
timed musically. When the show first opened at the Public Theatre prior to its Broadway run, that sensiti\~ty and accuracy
were achieved reliably by using a ten-scene preset console
controlling ninety-sLx electronic dimmers and two excellent
operators. However, all the shows on Broadway at the time
were run on resistance dimmers (piano boards), despite the
fact that electronic dimming, preset control, and some computer control had been in theatres throughout the country
since the mid sixties.
There were two major factors that delayed the transition
from resistance to electronic dimming (and by necessity electronic control). First, many of the theatres on Broadway were
as yet still wired with direct current. The installation of electronic dimming would mean Ole electrical service to the the-

atre buildings Olemselves would have to be converted. There
was little incentive to do so, as the building owners were not
necessarily the producers of the shows running in them and so
were reluctant to invest Ole capital in such remodeling
projects. Capital was also needed to build up a supply of electronic dimmers and controllers. In the nlid-seventies, Four
Star Stage Ughting supplied Ole lighting rental packages for
most of the shows on Broadway and the company had a large
stock of piano boards. Owner Frank DeVema would have to
invest significant capital to change over his
stock. Eventually,]oseph Papp, who produced
A Chams Line for the Public Theatre purchased Ole necessary equipment through
Four Star Stage Ughting. With such a huge hit
running on electronic dimmers and control,
DeVema had Ole market incentive to make
that investment in electronic control and discard the now obsolete piano boards.
It is interesting to note that although A
Chams Line was Ole first Broadway production to use an electronic memory controller, a
full year prior to its opening, electronic dimmers and a ten-scene preset board were used
at the Uris Theatre. Lighting designer Jane
Reisman insisted that a preset board was the best way to run a
concert series she designed throughout the 1974-75 season.
Reisman explained why she needed Ole preset console:
The Nederlander company brought in a concert performance every two weeks. There were about ten different performances over the year so every two weeks
there was a changeover. The groups came in in the
usual concert tour way, where they might show up at
noon or might show up at 6:00 p.m. Sometimes I
would have some kind of program or play list of what
numbers canle where but quite often I didn't even have
that. Our solution for it was to have some kind of looks
programmed or Olere was no way we were going to be
able to make this happen-Olis was in the days before
rock and roll boards.
p to this point, there had never been a non-piano board
on Broadway.l There were no preset boards in stock at the
union shops that supplied the Broadway houses. Reisman had
\0 search for a console Olat had a union "bug" (I.A.T.S.E .
stamp) on it in order to bring the console into the Uris. She finally tracked down a console that had been used by Imero
Fiorentino on television shoots.
There was concern, as the transition from manual to

There were two
majorfactors
delayed the
.transition from
resistance to
electronic
dimming.

TD&T

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1998