Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1349602
for the facades and Emma Sparer for Sardi's. They worked from street views, research, including historical illustrations and a lot of interpretative zhuzhing. When in doubt, more light bulbs. Early stages of the development of 44th Street included an alley and theaters that were to be added by visual eff ects. The Prom on Broadway originally played at the Longacre Theatre and boy did theater critics love to point that out on social media. "It was snubbed!"—due to budget reasons! Jamie had the idea to design a retro vibe marquee inspired by Meryl Streep's character Dee Dee Allen's fantastical (non-LED) vision of Broadway. Beyond just names in lights, it's also the nostalgia perpetuated by other musicals like 42nd Street, the title credits for All That Jazz and the fi nale of the movie Chicago. The Eleanor! marquee would capture that avor and was to be framed in the Sardi's second- oor windows, featured during the reprises of "Changing Lives" when the singers discuss going to Indiana to change the life of a young lesbian named Emma. This became the fulcrum of the Sardi's/Shubert set relationship. From this, development for the exterior street and Sardi's stage set could be ushed out. Height, width, stage use, sightlines and how the exterior street set would marry to the interior Paramount set would all be dependant on this sign's placement. This is when Jamie's skill and background in graphic arts really shined/gittered. I cannot think of a greater tribute to the love of graphics than her design talent driving the show to feature a visual statement in this way. She understands the power of an iconic impact and the compliment is evident. Not only did it create a icon for the set but a theme that would infuse itself into the branding for the movie (including the credits). The marquee was made of retro rock-and-roll equipment called Jarags. It's notable that the production had been advised that these units were temperamental, had been phased out and we should consider building our own sign. That proved to be too cost-prohibitive considering the timeline. Yes, LED was considered, but Jamie really wanted the authentic look. So the Jarag units were pulled out of Canadian storage, one hundred forty units shipped, workshopped, rigged together, all thirty-fi ve A. PRELIMINARY LAYOUT USED FOR BUDGETING AND DEVELOPMENT. CREATED IN VECTORWORKS AS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE SET DESIGNER AND ART DIRECTOR. B. EXTERIOR PLAN AND ELEVATION FOR THE SHUBERT THEATRE. HOME OF ELEANOR! THE MUSICAL DRAFTED BY SALLY THORNTON C. 44TH STREET SET. SET PHOTO. A B C