Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1531774
To recreate Dylan's sold-out 1963 performance at Carnegie Hall, we transformed the stage of the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. A filigreed proscenium was built to echo the iconic grandeur, and we collaborated closely with the visual effects department to ensure the stage and surrounding walls seamlessly integrated with the theater's grand, tiered interior. After filming this scene, we removed the proscenium and redressed the stage for two additional scenes set in Town Hall, taking advantage of the Basie Theatre's similar architectural features. Gerde's Folk City was probably the most important folk-music venue in New York City at the time— the club that every folk act with a national profile played when they were in town. It was in this storied club that Dylan played his first major gig in 1961. To create this space, we took over the historic Elks Lodge in Hoboken and transformed it by painting the space in dark, sultry tones with Havana-esque plaster. The downstairs bar doubled as a second location—the Gaslight Cafe—replete with a staircase descending from MacDougal Street. Columbia Records' Studio A is revered among Dylan enthusiasts as the site where Dylan recorded his first six albums. This historic studio also hosted legends like Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis, Barbra Streisand and Simon & Garfunkel. Mangold challenged us to forensically reconstruct "Studio A," leading us to analyze over two thousand photographs and build the set as a 1:1 recreation. We meticulously recreated every detail, from the custom sound mixing board to the baffle walls, microphones, speakers, music stands, pianos and organs. The Columbia mixing board was reconstructed by "Sound City" in Vermont as a nonworking prop, but all the vintage microphones and speakers were practical for recording Dylan's performances live. We leaned into a wonderfully preserved block in Paterson and transformed about two dozen A. BOB DYLAN PERFORMING AT CARNEGIE HALL. CONCEPT ILLUSTRATION BY MATTHEW SAMA. B. BOB DYLAN ON STAGE AT GERDE'S FOLK CITY. CONCEPT ILLUSTRATION BY KRISTIAN LLANA. C. GERDE'S FOLK CITY. SET PHOTO. D. COLUMBIA RECORDS' STUDIO A. BUILT TO THE EXACT SPECIFICATIONS OF HISTORIC SPACE. SET PHOTO. E. COLUMBIA RECORDS' STUDIO A CONTROL ROOM. SET PHOTO. F. MUSIC INN RECORD STORE EXTERIOR. SHOT IN HOBOKEN, NJ. PERMISSION WAS GRANTED TO USE THE "MUSIC INN" SIGNAGE. THE STORE STILL EXISTS ADJACENT TO DYLAN'S OLD APARTMENT ON 4TH STREET. SET PHOTO. G. MUSIC INN RECORD STORE INTERIOR. SET PHOTO. A C B E D