Play It Again, Sam images
Tom created the most wonderful design for this Woody Allen comedy. The action takes place in the New York apartment of Allan Felix, a film journalist and critic, in the early 1970s. Instead of portioning them out, I'm going to give you all the photos at once so you can see the progression in the stage picture. For commentary and details, scroll down the page.
Above is what the audience saw when the lights first rose: A skyline in which all the buildings are strips of still images from movies that Allan desperately admires.
At the start of the main action, the forestage lights came up to reveal the interior of Allan's apartment (above).
Through most of the play, at least in the intervals when Allan wasn't daydreaming, the filmstrips turned into blank frames and the room was fully lighted (above).
The people who make Tyvek—the greasy-feeling, untearable, paperlike material FedEx uses for its overnight pouches—probably had no idea it was also a scenic resource. Tom needed a 5-foot-wide roll material that was nearly white, translucent, strong and capable of being glued to other articles. He bought a remnant of Tyvek from the manufacturer and printed empty frames and sprocket holes on the front.
Then Marisa printed images on a transparent stock used for offset printing plates. She used lots of spray adhesive (Whee! Use only in well ventilated area!) to stick them to the back of the Tyvek, filling the frames. Then the crew hung the strips on large boxes, up to 11 feet 6 inches tall, with ropelights mounted inside. We used 3 rolls of gaff tape to secure and mask the edges.
There's something wrong with the third photo above. In performance, at least from my seat, you could not see the filmstrip images. Someone may have fiddled with the light settings before I made the pix.
This set was perfect for the script. Allan's visions came and went between pseudoflats; there were 15 of them, so plenty of slots for entries and exits. Of course that meant bracing the units was a challenge, since nothing could run down to the deck . . . or visibly overhead . . . or to the back wall. Shane worked a wonder by finding—free—the ugliest possible 70s-colored sofa. We finally decided the trouble with the cushions was just wear and tear and not a ferret's nest. A third of the crew painted the floor, a striking grain effect in red and gold to match the Casablanca poster at Stage Left. All in all, an excellent project with just the right peppering of stark surprises to keep everybody interested.
You might enjoy seeing a better image of those filmstrips. Here is a much larger photo (about half a megabyte).
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Set photos