Redwood

Redwood, the highly anticipated new musical co-conceived by Tony Award Nominee, Tina Landau (SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical) and Tony Award Winner Idina Menzel (Wicked), opened at The Nederlander Theatre on February 13th, 2025.

Touted by The New York Times as “among the most beautiful and wondrous theatrical creations,” this extraordinary production boasts a creative team that includes Video Designer Hana S. Kim, Scenic Designer Jason Ardizzone-West, Lighting Designer Scott Zielinski, and Sound Designer Jonathan Deans. PRG is proud to have supported the production with an extensive range of services, including scenic, automation, lighting, audio, and video, displayed gloriously over the largest LED display ever seen on Broadway.

Redwood tells the story of Jesse (played by Menzel), a woman who embarks on a journey by car from New York City to the redwood forest to escape the prolonged grief of her son’s untimely death. Much of the action takes place in the forest, where Jesse, convinces two botanists to include her in their research on one 300-foot redwood tree, nicknamed “Stella”.

The production relies heavily on video in place of traditional three-dimensional scenery to transport the audience from an apartment in NYC to a cross-country road trip, and finally, the forest. Here, not only is the audience immersed in nature, but as the actors ascend to the treetop, the changing perspective of the video content allows them to experience the earth falling away below. Kim was the first designer to join the creative team and recalls, “I'm a huge fan of Tina’s, so it was a dream come true.”

The set includes over 1,000 LED panels, forming thirteen screens, with the largest measuring 30’ wide x 21’ high. Kim explains, “Even in the more literal aspects of the content, we aimed to evoke the feeling of being in the forest rather than simply depicting it, with its mysterious whispers and comforting embrace, and to show how Jesse grows by being in that environment.”

Kim worked closely with PRG to source the ideal solution, selecting Chinese manufacturer Recience’s 2.6mm resolution. She explained, "Recience’s exceptional viewing angles stood out to us. We needed panels that displayed vibrant colors and high resolution, especially since our screens extended into the house. The resin coating on the Recience panels ensured a great viewing experience from challenging angles, avoiding the typical color degradation.”

The design also includes nine super-bright 4K laser projectors, used to project content directly onto the stage floor. “We were mixing the projection on the floor with the upright LED walls and even after color calibration, they still felt quite different. So, we made a strategic decision not to treat them like one surface. Instead, we tried to make content that has a relationship to each other, but not necessarily the same content flow between two surfaces,” Kim said.

Ardizzone-West collaborated closely with Kim on the production design. “We knew that video would be a very strong component, and it was exciting to create physical space that functioned as canvases for Hana’s work. But really, we all shared this notion of approaching the design sculpturally and conceptually, rather than as a series of screens,” said Ardizzone-West.

The central scenic piece in the show is “Stella”, the 32’ high x 14’ wide tree. Ardizzone-West describes Stella as a “healing energy” that Jesse connects with, and it is the one naturalistic element in an otherwise abstract design. The tree had to be climbable by actors who ascend, repel and swing from it. “It was very important that Stella feel as real as possible,” Ardizzone-West shared.

Stella rotates 180-degrees to reveal an LED screen on her upstage side. “She combines Hana's video content and Scott Zielinski's lighting, making it feel like light dappling through her unseen canopy. And the whole creative team imbued her with life in a way I rarely see with scenery,” said Ardizzone-West.

PRG’s involvement helped elevate Stella’s realism. “PRG made a beautiful version of Stella. It was an extraordinary level of personality and realism achieved by the combined teams of PRG, Scenic Art Studios and people from my studio.” said Ardizzone-West.

When it came to the lighting design, Zielinski was inspired by those photographs of the Redwood Forest that emphasized light and shadow. Although a small system by Broadway musical standards, using more automated fixtures allowed him to put the light exactly where he wanted and saved time in technical rehearsals. His fixture selection includes Martin Mac Encore, PRG Best Boy LED, GLP Impression X5 and, for followspots, Robe BMFL. “The Best Boy can do things that other moving lights can’t, the most important of which was to project beautiful leaf gobos in a soft focus.”

“Redwood was a successful collaboration between scenic, projection, lighting, costumes and sound, all working together to create a unique, immersive vibe,” said Deans, who led the charge on audio. “One of the reasons they approached me was because of what I've been doing for shows like Cirque Du Soleil where we're being wrapped in sound. They wanted sound to enhance the immersive experience.”

For authenticity, Deans ventured into the forest to capture sonic recordings, which were integrated into the performance. “We’re using multichannel audio, a technique that isn't new, but has evolved over time. This allows us to simultaneously highlight the voices, music and sound effects,” he said.

Given the presence of LED video walls in the scenic design, precise speaker placement was crucial to manage reflections and control sound energy. Deans chose Meyer Sound's Spacemap® Go spatial sound design tool, along with 16 LEOPARD® and 18 LINA® line-array loudspeakers, various point-source loudspeakers and low-frequency control elements to create a seamless auditory experience across the theater.

With the support of PRG and an incredible creative team, Redwood blends innovative design, cutting-edge technology and powerful storytelling for an unforgettable theatrical experience, inviting audiences in to explore themes of healing, growth, and connection.

Redwood is currently playing at The Nederlander Theatre.