The latest touring edition of “Wicked,” winner of multiple Tony, Drama Desk and Grammy Awards, is traveling with a new DiGiCo Quantum 7T console purchased through Milwaukee-based Clearwing Productions.
The desk includes DiGiCo’s theatre software designed specifically to help meet the demands of theatrical workflows, with functions such as an Auto Update System, Aliases, the Players tool and a VCA programming map.
“We spent the better part of two years planning the upgrade for the touring show, and the DiGiCo was the obvious winner,” says Zach Williamson, current associate sound designer for the Broadway and touring productions of ‘Wicked.’ “We were looking for the console that will take us for the next 10 to 15 years on the road, and the Quantum 7T is it.”
The Broadway show at the Gershwin Theatre continues to use the same analog console it has since day one, nearly 7,000 performances ago, but the touring version needed the capabilities and smaller footprint afforded by the DiGiCo console. “The Quantum 7T is light to travel with and load in, and its reliability is exceptional, which is critical for a touring console,” notes Williamson. Both he and sound designer Tony Meola appreciate the console’s performance for tours that have taken it from Seoul to Sao Paulo, as well as for extended “sit-down” runs in Mexico City and Tokyo.
“We like the sound of the console, and the Quantum engine gives us a lot of security, allowing us to actually eliminate the monitor console we had been using and take our monitoring feeds directly off of the front-of-house console for the Aviom monitors,” Williamson says. “The Quantum processor can support that for our fairly high channel count, while the console’s theatre software gives us features such as aliases and profiles that track individual performers. And the 7T’s flexibility of layout means we can condense the entire production to layers on two fader banks and the master section.”
Until recently, the tour was mixed on the same analog system used on Broadway. “It wasn’t an easy decision for our team to replace that,” front of house engineer David Romich says. “It’s a reliable console with a trusted, musical quality.” This production—known colloquially as “Munchkinland,” it’s the second national touring company in the show’s long history—was built in 2008 with emphasis on streamlining the original travel footprint. “The SD7T was always an option, but the dual-Quantum engine configuration gave us the power and redundancy we needed to make the move.”
“We eliminated at least 1,500 pounds of console and outboard gear, with the 7T also taking on the load of onstage and orchestra monitor mixes,” he adds. “That alone was a huge savings.”
Romich notes that the “T” theatre software made it possible to transpose and edit the show’s 300-plus cues from the original analog system, including MIDI commands, fader positions, plus dynamic channel and routing settings: “The theatre software allows us to operate the show with the same fluidity of analog, but allows every parameter to be recalled if we choose. ‘Channel Cues’ is an incredible powerful view that reveals every channel parameter for programming and troubleshooting.”
The changeover from analog to Quantum 7T was ambitious, Romich concludes. “Once programmed offline, the physical swap, rehearsals and debut happened within 48 hours; we never missed a show,” Romich says, adding that he and Assistant Sound Engineer James Wilcox operated shows and navigated the new 7T with ease. “The Quantum is a huge step forward and has all the features we need for a production like this.”
