PRG AUDIO AND JBL® VERTEC® LINE ARRAYS TAKE MANHATTAN AT 2007 TONY AWARDS®

The American Theatre Wing's 61st Annual Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards announced the winners in 25 categories of distinguished achievement in theatrical productions. The prestigious event was held June 10 and aired live on CBS. Winners included The Coast of Utopia cast members Jennifer Ehle and Billy Crudup for Best Featured Actress and Actor in a play, respectively, while Spring Awakening won eight awards, including Best Musical.

Sound designer Dan Gerhard turned to PRG Audio for a system that would meet the necessary criteria for the dynamic production, specifically the ability to handle the combination of vocals (including speech) and elaborate musical ensembles. As in years past, Vertec components fit the bill.

The system at the Tony Awards included 16 Vertec VT4888 mid-size line array elements and eight VT4880 arrayable subwoofers per side, with a center array of VT4887 small-format line array elements providing down fill. According to Gerhard, the consistent performance and light weight of the Vertec loudspeakers are advantages over competitive products. "With JBL's Vertec Line Array Calculator software, I know how the system will sound before I have even turned it on," Gerhard said. "The Vertec speakers are also very easy to rig, and they keep a low enough profile to stay out of camera range for the TV broadcast."

With years of experience in engineering live sound productions at Radio City Music Hall, Gerhard knew the acoustic challenges of the space required a high-performance, highly controllable system. "Because the room is expansive for a performance hall, there is a consistent amount of ambient noise coming from the audience at all times," Gerhard said. "So we have to maintain the audio system at a higher level than in more intimate venues. There are also certain characteristics of the room that can create some non-intelligibility if the output at certain frequencies is too high. The Vertec system has proven to be very easy to manage and its behavior is highly predictable."

"The continued deployment of Vertec line arrays at the Tony Awards over the past several years demonstrates the reliable performance of Vertec in one of the world's most prestigious performance venues," said David Scheirman, vice president, Tour Sound, JBL Professional. "We are pleased that PRG Audio and Dan Gerhard – leaders in their respective fields – once again turned to Vertec for this high-profile event."