Broadway is bringing audiences back into the 1800s with an enchanting production of A Christmas Carol at the Lyceum Theatre. To create an immersive experience brimming with Christmas spirit, McLaren’s entertainment division engineered the overhead truss structure that supports a plethora of Victorian lanterns above the stage and everywhere over the audience. The team also provided structural engineering for the reconfigured historic theatre so the stage could be extended into the orchestra section, bringing the audience closer to the transformative story of Ebenezer Scrooge.
The Lyceum Theatre is the oldest continually operating legitimate theatre on Broadway (149 W 45th St, New York, NY 10036). Due to its historic nature, McLaren reviewed the existing overhead rigging points from a prior show, so new holes did not have to be installed in the plaster ceiling. The team analyzed the new front-of-house (FOH) super-truss structure that spans from the proscenium to the existing lighting bridge structure in the rear of the auditorium, and also evaluated the load effect on the existing roof structure. The truss structure now supports lighting, sound, and other production loads in addition to the personnel loads necessary to service the assembly elements (AKA the lanterns). The new truss structure utilizes three-sided catwalk-style rigging trusses.
Entertainment Weekly describes the show as being “so infectious, you’ll leave the theater with a heart full of joy and light.”
Playbill describes the play as a timeless — and timely — tale of redemption that welcomes theatergoers of all ages into an immersive experience that’s brimming with Christmas spirit. A Christmas Carol features dazzling staging, moving storytelling and 12 of the most cherished Christmas carols, including “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night,” and “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear.”
“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” ― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
