A new “cult” classic was born when Rocky knocked out his opponent Apollo Creed for the first time in 1976 on cinema screens the world over. This cult continued for six films, and 36 years later is still so alive that Stage Entertainment decided to produce a musical revival of the story. “Rocky– Das Musical“ just celebrated its world premier at the TUI Operettenhaus in Hamburg.
The most unexpected sets appeared on-stage during the outfitting period which continued for three months. Every single centimetre above, below and on the stage was used to perfection to present this highly evocative musical. The ring, weighing in at three metric tonnes, was suspended above the stage and made to descend amongst spectators during the show. This alone showed how work had been carried out with the greatest care and attention to detail. Lighting designer Christopher Akerlind was determined to create a spectacular lighting design.
Equipment consisted almost exclusively of Lightpower stock products. 29 Clay Paky Alpha Spot QWO 800s were installed, among others, and lights were controlled via a system composed of 1 full-size grandMA, 6 MA NSPs (Network Signal Processor), in addition to MA and Major dimmers.
Andy Peistrup, production electrician of Stage Entertainment, commented: “The Clay Paky Alpha Spot QWO 800s never failed to meet the lighting designer’s needs in terms of zoom field, brightness and gobo image quality. During rehearsals, the entire light rig ran up to 15 hours daily, clearly emphasizing the projectors’ excellent ability to manage heat.”
Lightpower also supplied Major multiple sockets, Major Saveking safety cables, Doughty clamps, Rosco films, Schuko Major load and power cables, and various special set-ups with Major and other accessories.
The light team was composed of: Uwe Eller, Jens Tantow, Babri Ahmadi, Roberto Banado, Heiko Henk, Kai Mauerhoff, Sascha Pinho, Kai Heyer, Andreas Haubold, Peter Faelske, Achim Zühlke and Theo Funke.