Artiste Van Gogh lights Cyrano in NYC
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The classic tale of unrequited love premiered in November and has received praise for its design. Separated into five acts, Croiter says he uses the Artiste series fixtures to fulfil a different role in every scene of the play. “Their versatility was key and that’s what made these the perfect light for Cyrano,” the designer stated. “It’s my first time using them and they’ve worked perfectly.”
Croiter, who has over 25 years of Broadway and off Broadway lighting experience to his credit, uses the Van Gogh fixtures from an upstage position as the backlight system, forgoing conventionals or fixed position LED backlight. “There aren’t a lot of moving lights in the plot, so I wanted something with flexibility to be able to move around to use either as wash lights to cover the whole stage or to pinpoint certain moments and as specials. They move subtlety and either expand or contract the space.”
The theatrical-grade Artiste Van Gogh houses a high-CRI, 380W white LED engine for a high-quality, flat-field light and includes a 4-blade framing system. It also comes with interchangeable PC or Fresnel lens options. The designer says, “Cyrano is a period piece and not a rock show so I didn’t want to call too much attention to the face of the light. But, all of the lights were exposed so the appearance was important to consider. We used the Fresnel lens because it was essential to me that it look like a theatre light, like a Fresnel. The Van Gogh was just perfect. I’ve never quite seen anything like it.”
Cyrano opened 7 November at the Daryl Roth Theatre in Manhattan with a closing show scheduled for 22 December.
(Jim Evans)
