Who is responsible for the creation of a set for a big Broadway show? Before the carpenters even begin construction, it must first be created by the set designer. The artistic voice creating a setting for the stage, a set designer’s visions transport an audience to a different world.

David Rockwell is the innovative mind that has designed sets for past Broadway shows like DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and ALL SHOOK UP. His work can presently be seen on the Great White Way in LEGALLY BLONDE and HAIRSPRAY. “I want the set to not get in the way, to extend the storytelling. The physical presence of a set bumps up the magic and special effect of a show,” said Rockwell.

Rockwell grew up around theater. His mother was a vaudeville dancer and choreographer. “All of us are a collection of things that sear into our memory. So much of my early interest in design grew out of a mother who loved theatre,” said Rockwell. “I’ve always been compelled by live theatre.”

“The first thing I want to do is immerse myself in the story, the music, talk to the director,” said Rockwell. Working closely with the show’s director, the set designer will create scale models of scenery and renderings to share with the production staff. “I feel like my job is to find the inner story,” said Rockwell.

Rockwell founded The Rockwell Group, a New York-based architecture and design firm that has designed The Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, Nobu Hotel and The W Hotel in New York, and the JetBlue Terminal in the John F. Kennedy Airport.

All the world really is a stage to Rockwell. When designing the JetBlue terminal, Rockwell utilized his past theatrical endeavors. He teamed up with Broadway director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell (HAIRSPRAY, LEGALLY BLONDE), and together they created an environment where on-the-go travelers could move about their space fluidly, thanks to a “choreographed” terminal. “I realized the thing that kept coming up was how you kept moving from space to space,” said Rockwell.

You can see Rockwell’s work in the upcoming Broadway show CATCH ME IF YOU CAN. Yet you may not recognize the work as his. “I try not to have a recognizable style from show to show,” said Rockwell. “There’s no thrill like having an audience react to a piece.”

By: Allison Thomas and Blair Stanley