sexaholix

written by and featuring

john leguizamo

royale theatre, nyc

broadway theatre, nyc

national tour

hbo

directed by peter askin

lighting designed by kevin adams

FROM: LIVE DESIGN by David Barbour and Ellen Lampert-Gréaux

Sexaholix: A Love Story

Claustrophobia is the last thing you'd associate with John Leguizamo, whose performance is, literally, all over the place. He makes his entrance through the auditorium of the Royale Theatre, interacting with his adoring fans; once onstage, he's in a constant state of movement, providing high-energy reminiscences of his life and loves. Prior to Broadway, Leguizamo toured extensively with the show; Adams came onboard for the transfer for the Royale. In fact, he is the only credited designer.

"They wanted something really simple," says Adams, who came up with a curtain of 100W clear lightbulbs that hangs towards the back of stage. "There are 41 strands, each with 27 bulbs," he explains. "The hang went very quickly--we strung them to a pipe and called it a day." However, this relatively simple device has many virtues: "Basically, [Leguizamo and director Peter Askin] wanted an in-one playing area. They asked for black masking, but you can't do that for a Broadway show. So I told them I could still get that same configuration of space using the lightbulb wall; it cuts the stage in half and pushes [Leguizamo] downstage. That gives me two layers of background behind him--the lightbulb wall and the existing stage wall. It also opens up side positions--I can wash the lightbulb wall with saturated colors shooting across the stage from low side positions. Putting light onto lighting instruments is a strategy I often use." The bulbs also perform chases, which serve to pump up the audience during the opening, the curtain calls, and other transitional moments.

The other lighting element is a series of three rows of L&E Mini-Strips hung above the lightbulb wall. "They're a sculptural element and they provide backlight for [Leguizamo]," Adams says. "They're 8' strips and they form three 24' lines of light. One row is R27 [Medium Red], one is R83 [Medium Blue] and one splits between no-color and R22 [Deep Amber]." Other color elements include ETC Source Fours gelled in R27 from side house positions and units with Adams' familiar dot templates (R7808) aimed from the balcony rail. Most of these units are focused on the proscenium and the audience. "I only have about 70 units in the show," he says, "but about 35 of them are used to light the audience. I think [Leguizamo] likes having the audience visible. A few solo artists like looking into a void but his desire to see who he's speaking to is pretty typical."

In addition to the Source Fours and Mini-Strips, the equipment package includes a couple of Mini-10s, two PAR-64 units, and one Lycian 1290 followspot, all controlled by an ETC Express unit. Gregory Husinko was electrician on the Leguizamo show. The lightbulb curtain for Sexaholix was built by Atlas Scenery. Lighting equipment was supplied by Westsun.

Even as both productions (HEDDA GABLER and SEXAHOLIX) were completing their limited engagements, Adams was off to other projects, including a revival of the Off Off Broadway production And God Created Great Whales, and a new jazz music-theatre piece, Brutal Imagination, at the Vineyard Theatre, typical assignments for the proud owner of New York's most eclectic résumé.

addendum:

For the national tour of SEXAHOLIX and for the show’s return to Broadway to the larger Broadway Theatre, the three rows of 8’ mini-strips were replaced by three rows of ETC Pars.