NEW YORK – Broadway productions are relying upon Aviom's Pro16 personal mixing system. Three of this season's musicals – Promises, Promises, Come Fly Away and La Cage aux Folles – are using the system to help the orchestra to stay on cue.
Promises, Promises, a musical adaptation of the 1960 Billy Wilder film, The Apartment, has the most traditional arrangement of the three shows, with a large orchestra playing in a pit near the stage. Production Resource Group (PRG) supplied Promises, Promises with its Aviom A-16II Personal Mixers and mounted them on the orchestra musicians' microphone stands so musicians can easily access and customize the mix they need to listen to in order to properly get their cues.
With an A-16II, individual performers can create custom monitor mixes tailored to their needs, including control over channel volume, grouping, pan, stereo spread, and master volume and tone.
The orchestration is a bit different at the Marquis Theatre for Come Fly Away, a dance revue based on the music of Frank Sinatra that mixes live music and singing with playback from Sinatra's actual recording sessions. Orchestra members use Aviom Personal Mixers to manage the combination of live and playback material, creating a monitor mix that helps them play each instrument at the appropriate time.
The latest Broadway staging of La Cage aux Folles is markedly different from its predecessors. Its set designers have created a club-like atmosphere for the production, with the band situated on two different sides of the stage, nightclub-style. Band members use the Aviom Personal Mixers to bridge the sonic gap between the two sides.
"The Aviom A-16II has become the standard personal mixer for many of the Broadway shows," said David Strang, general manager, audio for PRG. "With few exceptions, every project we work on, whether it is a touring theatre or Broadway, is now utilizing the product. It's invaluable to the musicians in the orchestra pit, to be able to dial in their own mix of exactly what they need to be listening to over their headphones or, in some cases, a monitor speaker."
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