Head of sound Mike Somerville explains: "It's a very busy show for sound and having Leopard for our sound reinforcement was the ideal solution to deliver the best overall sound possible. With nine Leopards and 2 900-LFC subs each side I've never heard anything in that theatre sound so good. I was extremely impressed by the way the sound was very even across the entire frequency range as you walked both towards and away from the arrays. It was a much smoother progression, in both level and consistency of frequency response. To me this marks a step forward in linear loudspeaker development and makes Leopard a bit of a game changer in the small line array category."
Lighting and video also came from Blue Parrot, designed and programmed by managing director Jonnie Clough. He comments: "Legally Blonde is an incredibly fast-paced show and I needed a rig that could keep up. The almost exclusively Martin rig was spec'd due to the known reliability of the units and their superior performance. Today's market includes multifunctional fixtures which I try to avoid - I like to spec a certain light to perform a specific function and perform it very well, rather than using 'jack-of-all-trade' lights which can be mediocre at best (they have their place in the industry, just not in theatre!). The rig included 12 Viper Profiles, 14 Quantum Profiles, three Viper Performances, four Wash DXs and 25 Auras, as well as 21m of VDO Sceptron 10. I am yet to come across an LED wash light with a richer colour mixing system than the MAC Aura in calibrated mode - producing all the shades of pink required to light this show (there's a LOT of pink), from deep hues to light pastels. The ability to put custom metal gobo's into the Quantum Profiles was also a huge money saver.
The VDO Sceptron was a great addition to the show, providing an incredibly dynamic frame to the downstage portal of the set. I used this in two ways: solid colours to complement the lighting on the larger more open scenes and playing video content to add extra sparkle during some of the musical numbers. It really helped bring the set and lighting elements of the show together."
David Robertson, the show's Producer for the Pantheon Club said: "I can always rely on Blue Parrot to bring the very best to our productions; we get spoiled with all the latest equipment, sometimes before it even makes it on to shows in the West End. They bring in a truck load of gear equivalent in quantity to some professional touring shows and get our show up and running in only three days, including get-in, plotting and rehearsal. In particular this year with the Leopard system, I've never heard a show sound so good!"
(LSi Online)
