Design Pop: Details That Work on Broadway and at Home
In honor of the 2018 Tony Awards on June 10, here’s decor inspiration from this year’s nominated plays and musicals
Gwendolyn Purdom
June 9, 2018
Lover of architecture, history, dogs, the Chicago Cubs, crowded bookshelves, and homes with a story. Former editor at Preservation mag and Culturess.com.
Lover of architecture, history, dogs, the Chicago Cubs, crowded bookshelves, and... More
Part of what makes live theater so immersive and powerful is the audience sharing a room with the performers as their stories unfold. And often those rooms are playing just as important a role as the actors. Ahead of the annual Tony Awards, which celebrate the best of the year’s theater offerings, we looked to design renderings from 2018’s Tony-nominated plays and musicals for fun ideas on how we could bring Broadway-level style elements home.
Image from David Zinn
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical
Living in a pineapple under the sea, as the title character does, is not a requirement to tap into the colorful spirit of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical. With 12 nominations including for best musical and best scenic design, the reimagined telling of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon has impressed critics nearly as much as its younger target demographic.
In the live show, our absorbent hero — an actual sponge — and his wacky crew of friends work together to save their vibrant underwater home, Bikini Bottom, from an erupting volcano. And they do it set to original songs by a wide spectrum of big-name musicians, including John Legend, Cyndi Lauper and The Flaming Lips.
The playful aesthetic seen here — popping with saturated yellow, blue and red — is loaded with personality.
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical
Living in a pineapple under the sea, as the title character does, is not a requirement to tap into the colorful spirit of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical. With 12 nominations including for best musical and best scenic design, the reimagined telling of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon has impressed critics nearly as much as its younger target demographic.
In the live show, our absorbent hero — an actual sponge — and his wacky crew of friends work together to save their vibrant underwater home, Bikini Bottom, from an erupting volcano. And they do it set to original songs by a wide spectrum of big-name musicians, including John Legend, Cyndi Lauper and The Flaming Lips.
The playful aesthetic seen here — popping with saturated yellow, blue and red — is loaded with personality.
Bold primary colors. Pairing vivid shades of royal blue and school bus yellow can re-create a similarly perky look offstage. In this contemporary London kitchen, the bold couches and rug are tempered by the more muted cabinets and lighting, though the mix of patterned flooring and textured exposed brick keeps things feeling eclectic.
Pineapple party. The musical conveys SpongeBob’s aforementioned pineapple home without being too over the top. Onstage, it’s suggested with color and the instantly recognizable diamond-and-dot backdrop pattern.
The tropical fruit itself, long a symbol of hospitality, can work as an understated accent piece too, whether it’s a decorative version, like these silver ones, or the real thing peeking out of a pretty kitchen bowl.
See how to incorporate more fruit displays in your summer interiors
The tropical fruit itself, long a symbol of hospitality, can work as an understated accent piece too, whether it’s a decorative version, like these silver ones, or the real thing peeking out of a pretty kitchen bowl.
See how to incorporate more fruit displays in your summer interiors
Image from Manuel Harlan
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Christine Jones, nominee for best scenic design, captured the bookish essence of the Potterverse in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the much-buzzed-about stage continuation of the Harry Potter series that’s up for Tonys in 10 categories. The two-part stage story picks up years after the books’ main action left off and follows now-adult, married, father of three Harry Potter and his youngest son, Albus, as they grapple with the past and the magical Potter family legacy.
Here, columned archways evoking both the Gothic halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the series’ formidable English rail stations are on full display.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Christine Jones, nominee for best scenic design, captured the bookish essence of the Potterverse in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the much-buzzed-about stage continuation of the Harry Potter series that’s up for Tonys in 10 categories. The two-part stage story picks up years after the books’ main action left off and follows now-adult, married, father of three Harry Potter and his youngest son, Albus, as they grapple with the past and the magical Potter family legacy.
Here, columned archways evoking both the Gothic halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the series’ formidable English rail stations are on full display.
Soaring ceiling. A peaked ceiling like this echoes Jones’ Harry Potter vision, while the lanterns hanging at varied heights may remind Potter fans of the floating candles that occasionally hover over Hogwarts’ Great Hall.
This home in Charleston, South Carolina, offers a lighter, more rustic take on the story’s lofty built environment.
This home in Charleston, South Carolina, offers a lighter, more rustic take on the story’s lofty built environment.
Statement clock. England, where Harry Potter and his fellow fictional wizards and witches reside, is known for one of the biggest statement clocks of all: London’s Big Ben. So the idea of including a large antique-style clock as a central design feature in both the play’s set design and a Potter-inspired room at home feels particularly appropriate.
See more touches of Harry Potter at home
See more touches of Harry Potter at home
Angels in America
Inspiration doesn’t have to come from a freestanding set piece. This costume rendering of an angel from the Nathan Lane- and Andrew Garfield-led revival of Tony Kushner’s groundbreaking drama Angels in America is an example of the work that nabbed Nicky Gillibrand a nomination for best costume design of a play. The other pieces of the two-part production — which packs several intersecting storylines about life, death, politics, the AIDS epidemic and, yes, an angel into its total running time of more than seven hours — are just as thought-provoking.
Inspiration doesn’t have to come from a freestanding set piece. This costume rendering of an angel from the Nathan Lane- and Andrew Garfield-led revival of Tony Kushner’s groundbreaking drama Angels in America is an example of the work that nabbed Nicky Gillibrand a nomination for best costume design of a play. The other pieces of the two-part production — which packs several intersecting storylines about life, death, politics, the AIDS epidemic and, yes, an angel into its total running time of more than seven hours — are just as thought-provoking.
Geometric gold. Angular gold lines like those that crisscross the angel’s chest in the costume rendering bring a similar sense of weight, majesty and sharpness to these light fixtures.
Image from Jim Gaffney
Other stylistic elements of Angels in America’s staging include this vision of heaven, a clean space dotted with light coming from above. Ian MacNeil and Edward Pierce also were recognized with a nomination for best scenic design of a play, one of the limited engagement’s 11 nominations.
Other stylistic elements of Angels in America’s staging include this vision of heaven, a clean space dotted with light coming from above. Ian MacNeil and Edward Pierce also were recognized with a nomination for best scenic design of a play, one of the limited engagement’s 11 nominations.
Marquee-style glow. In this London townhouse, dramatic points of light draw the eye upward.
Feathered feature. Not only do angels play an important dramatic role in Angels in America, but their fantastical presence in the story also has prompted bold design choices since playwright Kushner debuted the show in 1991.
Like the wings that can be seen in the play’s rendering of heaven, these curved art pieces in a Toronto home demand attention.
Like the wings that can be seen in the play’s rendering of heaven, these curved art pieces in a Toronto home demand attention.
My Fair Lady
Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of the classic makeover musical My Fair Lady is the show’s first Broadway staging in 25 years. Linguistics professor Henry Higgins’ central attempt to transform cockney flower seller Eliza Doolittle into a proper lady is only one way this updated musical tackles style. It’s also nominated for best scenic design of a musical, along with nominations in nine other categories.
This rendering by scenic designer Michael Yeargan of London’s Covent Garden sets the grandness of the building against the grit of city life, a fitting juxtaposition considering the story’s rags-to-riches arc.
Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of the classic makeover musical My Fair Lady is the show’s first Broadway staging in 25 years. Linguistics professor Henry Higgins’ central attempt to transform cockney flower seller Eliza Doolittle into a proper lady is only one way this updated musical tackles style. It’s also nominated for best scenic design of a musical, along with nominations in nine other categories.
This rendering by scenic designer Michael Yeargan of London’s Covent Garden sets the grandness of the building against the grit of city life, a fitting juxtaposition considering the story’s rags-to-riches arc.
Moody urban elegance. In another Toronto home, a bedroom gives off a striking balance of industrial texture and delicate light that mirrors the heavy iron and airy glass of the sketch.
Dramatic glass and light. Here, too, an arched silhouette of light set against a moody blue sky — all framed by strong black lines — plays a starring design role.
The 2018 Tony Awards, hosted by Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban, will air live on CBS on Sunday, June 10.
Tell us: Which play or musical’s design inspires you? Share your theatrical thoughts in the Comments.
More: Find out about other design and cultural events
The 2018 Tony Awards, hosted by Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban, will air live on CBS on Sunday, June 10.
Tell us: Which play or musical’s design inspires you? Share your theatrical thoughts in the Comments.
More: Find out about other design and cultural events
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Me? In a Nutshell? Harry Potter and the Cursed Child most definitely!
Lighting, lighting, lighting. That is the key to creating the effect wanted whether on Broadway or in ones home.