A new production of the award-winning, critically-acclaimed play “The Beautiful Dark” by Erik Gernard is using gobos to great effect, according to a recent Broadway World (BWW) review. The lights that first introduce audience members to the troubling narrative cast jagged shadows, giving the impression of scattered razor blades or shattered glass and offering a sense of foreboding and disorientation. This underscores one of the play’s central themes: how mental illness and emotional pain can fragment our sense of reality, often with devastating results.
“That’s the point of Erik Gernand’s play The Beautiful Dark — every person’s view is resoundingly different,” writes reviewer Amanda Finn. “Under the direction of Suzan Kurry, Gernard’s award winning play made its Madison premiere on Friday night. This particular show is one that, under innumerous societal circumstances, leaves the audience pondering how the world can become so dark.”
The production explores many universal questions of family, love, heartbreak and violence, and it does so by contrasting light and dark. In this regard, the gobos play a singularly critical role, both by illuminating parts of the set and by casting shadows on others.
“The Beautiful Dark” screenplay won Premiere Stages’ 2013 Play Festival, beating out 400 or so other submissions. The New York Times deems Gernard’s work “deserving” of that high honor. The show in Madison, Wisconsin, opened to a sold out house.
If you are a theater director or set designer interested in exploring how gobos could help you effectively tell a meaningful story on stage, contact GoboSource today. Our lighting experts can assess your needs and help you select the perfect custom gobos to propel your production’s narrative forward.
