How L-Acoustics Created a 360-Degree Disco on Broadway

Disco was once a great unifier. Before its mainstream explosion led to cries of “Disco sucks!”, it was a fusion of danceable R&B and marginalized cultures, bringing people together in a unique way. Disco’s roots in community and unity make it more than just music—it’s a cultural phenomenon.

In the summer of 2023, I experienced a similar unifying event on Broadway. I attended a preview performance of “Here Lies Love,” a concept musical by David Byrne and Norman “Fatboy Slim” Cook. The musical delves into the rise and fall of Imelda Marcos, the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. Although Broadway tickets aren’t as accessible as a night out clubbing, theater has the same communal spirit. Musicals, in particular, create an atmosphere where everyone in the room shares in the experience. “Here Lies Love” stands out as the first Broadway production to utilize an immersive audio installation featuring multiple zones of L-Acoustics speakers with L-ISA software for 3-D audio control.

“Here Lies Love” is set in a fictional Club Millennium, which took over the real Broadway Theatre. To emphasize the club atmosphere, the production removed orchestra seats to create a dance pit and installed modular rotating catwalks that extended up to the traditional proscenium. Elevated galleries along the sides of the dance floor and a raised “VIP Lounge” were also constructed, adding to the immersive club vibe.

With actors performing from various positions throughout the audience, the production needed to escape the limitations of traditional stereo sound. They achieved this with over 220 speakers divided into six audio zones, all controlled by object-based processing. This setup allowed for natural tracking of the action and used sonic cues to guide the audience’s attention, much like lighting does.

The choice of L-Acoustics speakers was due to their voicing, explained Cody Spencer, sound designer for “Here Lies Love” alongside M.L. Dogg. Spencer, who has experience tuning systems in live music venues, was familiar with L-Acoustics’ innovations in line source array technology. These speakers can distribute sound coherently across large spaces, ensuring intelligibility as actors sing and interact. It’s crucial in theater to keep sounds flat, feedback-free, and synchronized to avoid overwhelming the audience.

This comprehensive audio system was provided by PRG North America and combined speakers from L-Acoustics’ long-throw KARA series, medium-throw A series, and short-throw X series. Numerous subwoofer bins reinforced the low-end. The setup supported up to 96 inputs, mixing both automated and real-time manipulated live mics, and was managed through a DiGiCo SD7T Quantum console. The audio was fed via MADI conversion into 50 LA4X amps on a Milan-AVB network for routing, mapping, and monitoring.

Recognizing the importance of reliability, Spencer ensured “Here Lies Love” had multiple L-ISA 3.0 processors for 100 percent backup. One managed the spatial mix, another handled the frontal L/C/R mix for the VIP and mezzanine sections, and a third served as a hot-swappable backup in case of system failure.

Ensuring every seat experienced the show’s full audio range was challenging. Slight changes in set design or reflective surfaces could necessitate recalibrating the entire audio setup. The L-Acoustics Soundvision tool helped Spencer anticipate these variables, allowing for pre-cues and pre-delays to be reviewed before the show.

This intricate sound design expanded the once narrow sweet spot in theater audio, prioritizing directionality over volume to create depth. Much like the spiritual essence of disco, “Here Lies Love” achieved a perfect balance of people, music, and energy in the Broadway setting.

“Here Lies Love” closed in November 2023, but it paved the way for future immersive experiences. In April 2024, “The Outsiders,” a new musical based on S.E. Hinton’s novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s film, opened at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. By June 2024, almost a year after my encounter with the L-Acoustics/L-ISA installation, “The Outsiders” won several awards at the 77th Tony Awards, including Best Sound Design of a Musical for Spencer.

Although I haven’t seen “The Outsiders,” the acclaim suggests that the innovative sound localization and immersive audio approach continue to thrive. As live engagements and personalized experiences evolve, you can expect to hear more about L-Acoustics’ unified vision, especially as the company celebrates its 40th year this fall.