Designing Broadway: How Derek McLane and Other Acclaimed Set Designers Create the Visual World of Theatre

by Derek McLane, Eila Mell, Ethan Hawke (Foreword)

In this richly illustrated and information-packed celebration of Broadway set design, Tony Award–winning designer Derek McLane explores the craft while reflecting on some of the greatest stage productions of the past few decades.

Together with other leading set design and theatre talents, McLane invites us into the immersive and exhilarating experience of building the striking visual worlds that have brought so many of our favorite stories to life. Discover how designers generate innovative ideas, research period and place, solve staging challenges, and collaborate with directors, projectionists, costume designers, and other artists to capture the essence of a show in powerful scenic design.

With co-writer Eila Mell, McLane and contributors discuss Moulin Rouge! , Hamilton , Hadestown , Beautiful , and many more of the most iconic productions of our generation. Among the Broadway luminaries who contribute are John Lee Beatty, Danny Burstein, Cameron Crowe, Ethan Hawke, Moisés Kaufman, Carole King, Kenny Leon, Santo Loquasto, Kathleen Marshall, Lynn Nottage, David Rabe, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Wallace Shawn, John Leguizamo, and Robin Wagner.

Filled with personal sketches and photographs fromthe artists’ archives, this stunningly designed book is truly a behind-the-scenes journey that theatre fans will love.

Genres: Theatre, Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published November 22, 2022

Reviews

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was so interesting i learned so much! derek mclane is amazing i had no idea how many sets he's done

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW!
Check out this amazing coffee-table book about Scenic Designers of the past, present and moving forward.
Revel in the marvelous photography of scenic designs from past Broadway productions and many current shows.
The book features interviews with the designer, director and occasionally others involved. It often features models, full scenic designs and production stills.
A Scenic Designer is a very interesting career path and this book showcases all of the creative ways to showcase that. Part historian, architect, artist and ultimately collaborator bring this job to the foreground with this dazzling book.

[Mordred Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous and stunning book. I loved every page.

Whether you want to learn more about set design or just love looking at outstanding theatre designs this is the book for you! Not only is the book filled with lots of high quality photos but it also has plenty of descriptions and interviews to tell you all about the inspiration behind each one.
There are sets from various kinds of shows, not just musicals, so there is a lot of diversity in terms of style.

I don't have a single complaint. I love this book immensely and would recommend it to anyone.

[Jak Krumholtz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have preferred less plays covered with more details on their design but I also don’t have much background knowledge in plays and set design. Some really cool sets in here and I kinda want to see some plays now.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting book on stagecraft!