Theater Tech Crew Learns Trade Secrets from Broadway Set Designer

On January 9, 2026, Mr. Merchant and the On the Town theater tech crew hosted a special Zoom conversation that offered students a rare, behind-the-scenes look at Broadway set design. The featured guest was Beowulf Boritt, the acclaimed designer behind the 2015 Broadway revival of On the Town and more than 24 Broadway productions overall. What followed was an in-depth, candid discussion about creativity, collaboration, and the technical challenges that shape large-scale theatrical design.

Boritt began by explaining the central concept behind On the Town. Rather than aiming for realism, he wanted the set to feel like a fable—a shiny, slightly unreal version of New York City that reflects how the city feels to first-time visitors. “On the Town is a fable and is not meant to be realistic,” he said. “What it captures is the experience that many have when they come to New York City for the first time – big, shiny, overwhelming, and slightly unreal. That’s what i was trying to capture by making it a little storybook, a little too shiny for reality, a little Wizard of Oz.” To achieve this, much of the set was constructed from polycarbonate, a fire-safe alternative to plexiglass. While visually striking, this choice created significant challenges: the material was expensive, difficult to color correctly, fragile, and hard to fabricate at the scale required for Broadway. Yet the translucence and reflectivity were essential to the storytelling, even doubling the apparent number of performers through mirrored reflections during large dance numbers.

One of the most memorable technical discussions focused on the famous taxi scene. Boritt explained that designers often avoid fully realistic vehicles on stage because they block sightlines and limit movement. “Video is dangerous on stage because it’s very compelling,” he said. “You have to make the video in such a way that you can still focus on the actors in front of it

and pay attention to them within the characters’ storytelling.” To solve that issue, the production used a single car seat and steering wheel combined with abstract video projections and a mechanically rocking base. Carefully synchronized with the music, the video and motion created the illusion of a chaotic ride through New York City, even though the actors never actually moved. Boritt emphasized that even a fraction of a second of mismatch between music, video, and movement could break the illusion.

Students were also fascinated by the dinosaur puppet featured in the show. Boritt described collaborating with specialized puppet makers to create a lightweight, durable, cartoon-like dinosaur that could stand still, dance with actors, and ultimately explode into pieces onstage. This moment highlighted how set design often overlaps with other theatrical crafts, requiring trust and communication across creative teams. Initially, the puppet team designed a dinosaur that was too realistic, so they had to refine it to be more cartoon-like. This back-and-forth conversation is essential for getting it right.

Lighting and color presented another major challenge. Because On the Town relied heavily on bold primary colors—reds, blues, and yellows—Boritt encountered unexpected problems when multiple scenic shops interpreted the same Pantone color swatches differently. The result was a mismatched palette that required extensive repainting, illustrating how even seemingly simple design choices can become complex in large-scale productions.

Boritt also shared personal stories about how he discovered set design as a career, recalling a childhood moment when he watched a massive scene change during an opera rehearsal for Verdi’s Macbeth. “During intermission, I watched a stagehand push a giant rock across the stage by himself,” he said.  “I was flabbergasted; I didn’t know whathe heck was going on.” That early sense of theatrical “magic,” combined with later internships and mentorship, solidified his desire to tell stories visually. He stressed to students that once he realized set design was an actual job, he committed fully to pursuing it.

The conversation concluded with practical insights into Broadway budgets and logistics. Boritt explained that modern Broadway sets can cost upwards of $1.5–2 million, with the majority of expenses going toward skilled labor rather than materials. Despite the enormous scale and pressure, he noted that On the Town was relatively smooth compared to other productions, proof that strong collaboration can make even ambitious designs successful.

Overall, the discussion offered students a vivid look at how Broadway sets are imagined, engineered, and executed. More importantly, it revealed that behind every spectacular stage picture lies a blend of artistic vision, technical problem-solving, and countless hours of teamwork—turning “fake worlds,” as Boritt put it, into unforgettable theatrical experiences.