LIGHTING DESIGN
REVIEW
“[The] Set Designers… use a few surrealistic components to suggest homes and offices. Add to that the dynamic lighting designs by Larry Brechner, and the so-called static environment becomes an active participant in the performance.”
Genesius Guild – Damn Yankees (February 24, 2001)
Kevin
Murphy, The Times March 2,
2001
"Larry Brechner's lights
cleverly keep one set of performers in black and white, maintaining the
illusion of watching a 1940s movie.
Genesius Guild - City of Angels
Al
Boswell, Post-Tribune (Gary) April
18, 1999
"The technical genius of
the show was the lighting design by Larry A Brechner, who some consider to
be the best."
Genesius Guild - City of
Angels
Gregory
J Ladd, Post-Tribune (Gary) April
16, 1999
"For Example, lighting
designer Larry A Brechner and I probably put in something like five to 10
hours going through each scene about what lights were going to be
where," Long said. "And
it's more me telling him in vague terms what my ideas are and him telling
me in real terms how we might do that. Ideally, I want people with various
kinds of expertise to be able to do that."
Genesius Guild - City of
Angels
Kevin
Murphy, The Times April 9,
1999
(preview interview with director David Long)
"Subtle
changes from sunny daylight to rainy evening by Lighting Designer Larry A.
Brechner creates the illusion of reality in the cottage."
Theatre at the Center - On
Golden Pond starring Nanette Fabray
Kevin Murphy, The Times August
1, 1998 (unpublished)
"[The] set designer...and
Lighting Designer Larry A. Brechner create a home that is warm and cozy, a
ball park that works, and a satanic headquarters that truly smolders with
opulent flame-saturated ambience that simultaneously attracts and repels,
a lush and scary place."
Theatre at the Center - Damn
Yankees
Kevin Murphy, The Times
July 31, 1998 (unpublished)
Lighting Designer Larry A.
Brechner does a fine job with suggestions of lingering twilight and
too-constant dawn, underscoring the capricious moods of a skittish
populace, driven slightly mad by the lengthened days and foreshortened
nights experienced near the Arctic Circle.
Theatre at the Center - A
Little Night Music
Kevin Murphy, The Times May
1998 (unpublished)
Theatre at the Center's
"West Side Story" could, if it had to, stand on the strength of
its choreography alone. Happily,
it has even more than that to offer audiences, including good singing and
acting. "What more is
there?" you may ask. And
the answer includes an ageless story, excellent set design, lighting
design, and bright costuming. Lighting Designer Larry A. Brechner's
contributions range from subtle imposition of a church upon a bridal shop,
to the hot multi-colored spotlight support of choreography in
"Cool," in which the lights, themselves, become part of the
dance.
Theatre at the Center - West
Side Story
Kevin Murphy, The Times December
1997 (unpublished)
"While the setting in
much of the story is narrowly focused on dim to dark interiors...Lighting
Designer Larry A. Brechner provides a Padua that is large, bright and
multi-dimensional."
Theatre at the Center - Kiss
Me Kate
Kevin
Murphy, The Times August 29,
1997
"[The] set designer...and
lighting designer Larry A. Brechner have outdone themselves with the New
York City-scape they offer for this production.
Massive skyscrapers ring the set, with an abundance of lighted
windows stretching toward the clouds, and the shadows of lesser buildings
sculpting their lower regions. During
the second act, the magicians [Tang and Brechner] permit the audience
occasional insights into the power of illusion when sore of the
construction material is readily revealed.
It's remarkable!
Theatre at the Center - Bell
Are Ringing
Kevin Murphy, The Times August
14, 1997
"Set Designer Liming Tang
and lighting designer Larry A. Brechner, have combined their talents once
again to create a truly magical glade where fairies and social miracles
can co-exist comfortably..."
Theatre at the Center - Finian's
Rainbow
Kevin Murphy, The Times July
4, 1997
"...a fanciful, richly
detail setting...costumes with appealing lines, textures and colors; and
Larry Brechner's atmospheric lighting also fit together very nicely."
Theatre at the Center - Finian's
Rainbow
Welter
Skiba, The Hearld News Group July
1997
"The play is a lot to
look at. Scenic artist Liming
Tang and lighting designer Larry A. Brechner conjure up a 16th century
Spanish prison room, oppressive in its mass and murkiness. They magically
change that same space into a country inn (or "castle"), stable,
hacienda, and [a] plain of windmills..."
Theatre at the Center - Man
of LaMancha
Kevin Murphy, The Times May 20, 1997
"Larry Brechner's
lighting...changes to and from the prison [are] both instantaneous and
flawless. Brechner knows how
to get the most from The Center's abundant resources."
Theatre at the Center - Man
of LaMancha
Welter
Skiba, The Hearld News Group May 1997
"The most memorable song
is ''Heather on the Hill,' which begins with 'the mist of May is in the
gloaming...". This image
gives rise to a most enchanting lighting effect from Larry Brechner
bathing the hilly backdrop in an irresistible glow."
The
Genesius Guild - Brigadoon
Welter Skiba, The
Hearld News Group March 1997
"Scenic Designer Liming
Tang continues to work magic on the sets at The Center...with subtle
touches by lighting designer Larry A Brechner."
Theatre at the Center - Carousel
Kevin Murphy, The Times December 13, 1996
"The set, designed by
Liming Tang, and the lighting, designed by Larry A. Brechner, combine
beautifully, evoking a strong sense of the hotel's interior setting as
part of a much larger NY metropolitan context, including Central Park. The
room arrangement is solid, with fireplace, bay windows -- including window
seat in the bedroom bay -looking out on Central Park and surrounding
buildings."
Theatre
at the Center - Plaza Suite
Kevin
Murphy, The Times September
20, 1996
"Larry
Brechner's bright, even lighting intensifies the comedy"
Theatre at the Center - Plaza
Suite
Welter
Skiba, The Hearld News Group September
1996
"Set designer Liming Tang
continues to work magic on the stage of the Center for Visual and
Performing Arts. Coupled with
lighting designer Larry A. Brechner's work, the sets live."
Theatre at the Center - Annie
Kevin Murphy, The Times July
26, l996
"Set designer Lining Tang
and lighting designer Larry Brechner produce a variety of exotic locales
with minimalist strokes."
Theatre at the Center - Sweet
Charity
Kevin Murphy, The Times June
28, 1996
"Larry
Brechner's lighting has many special touches, including fascinating
silhouettes of dancers."
Theatre at the Center - Sweet
Charity
Welter
Skiba, The Herald News Group, June 26, 1996
"Set designer Liming Tang
and lighting designer Larry Brechner, with minimalist inclinations,
convincingly created everything from a Henry Street saloon to major
Ziegfeld sets."
Theatre at the Center - Funny
Girl
Kevin
Murphy, The Times May 31, 1996
"The lyrical quality of
the play is enhanced by music, lighting and choreography. Demonstrating forcefully that less can be more, Lighting
Designer Larry Brechner raises subdued lighting to the level of an art
form in presenting the dream and ghost sequences that explain existing
relationships and guide the current behavior of the living. That, coupled
with fluid movement...creates an atmosphere that powerfully communicates a
sense of continuity beyond death, of love more powerful than life."
The Genesius Guild - The
Secret Garden
Kevin
Murphy, The Times April 5,
1998
"Larry Brechner's soft
and subtle lighting enhanced the aura of misty memories...[in conjunction
with] outstanding costume designs gave the production a striking visual
impact."
The Genesius Guild - The
Secret Garden
Welter
Skiba, The Herald News Group, April 5, 1996
"Lighting Designer Larry
A. Brechner adds touches that subtly place the intimate little village in
a much larger universe"
Theatre at the Center- Fiddler
on the Roof
Kevin
Murphy, The Times, December 15, 1995
"Larry Brechner's
lighting captures many moods, such as the devotional fervor of 'Sabbath
Prayer' and the isolation of Tevye and the fiddler as they leave the shaky
stability of the village for an uncertain future.
Theatre at the Center- Fiddler
on the Roof
Welter
Skiba, The Herald News Group, December 20, 1995
"Larry Brechner's
lighting sharply defines the acting areas and enhances the shifting goods
in many subtle ways."
Theatre at the Center- Driving
Miss Daisy
Welter
Skiba, The Herald News Group, September 27, 1995
"Lighting Designer Larry
A. Brechner [hasl put a variety of Atlanta locales on the stage...relying
partly on solid components, and partly on judicious use of lighting."
Theatre at the Center- Driving
Miss Daisy
Kevin
Murphy, The Times, December 15, 1995
"Larry
Brechner's lighting captured the hard glitter of Broadway"
Theatre at the Center- Guys
and Dolls
Walter
Skiba, The Herald News Group, June 21, 1995
"The sets...lighted by
Larry A. Brechner, contrast a bright and intimate Broadway Neighborhood
with a regal nighttime Manhattan Skyline, the combination working well to
create a solid sense of place..."
Theatre at the Center- Guys
and Dolls
Kevin
Murphy, The Tires, June 15, 1995
"Larry Brechner's
lighting also enhances the changing the moods. Warm soft moonlight,
sometimes casting forest shadows, in the first act gives way to harsh
bright sunlight in much the second act."
Theatre at the Center- The
Fantasticks
Welter
Skiba, The Herald News Group, February 8, 1995
"Lighting Designer Larry
Brechner paints the atmosphere with a subtle brush that evokes strong
feelings in the audience if our reaction is any indicator."
Theatre at the Center- The
Fantasticks
Kevin
Murphy, The Times, February 17, 1995
"The
cast [is] ably backed by the subtle lighting artistry of Larry
Brechner."
Theatre at the Center- Holiday
Follies
Kevin
Murphy, The Times, December 2, 1994
"As to the relatively
simple set, and the lighting, hear the reactions of a group of second or
third graders as they came into the theatre: first a collective 'Ooooooo!'
followed by, 'It's Pretty!' Yes."
Theatre for Young Audiences- Winnie
The Pooh - A Christmas Tail
Kevin Murphy, The Times, December 2, 1994