Electric Spectacle

Kevin Adams has designed lighting and scenery for musicals, plays, opera, solo performance, dance and film. His work has been seen on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Las Vegas, the West End and around the globe. He has received four Tony awards and nine Tony nominations for his design work on Broadway.

• IntroductionChapter 1: Becoming a Lighting Designer, 1962-1996Case study: Early Shows and a Rather Plain LightbulbChapter 2: Hedwig’s Modest ArrivalHedwig and The Angry Inch, Off-Off Broadway, 1997Case study: Gooseneck FootlightsChapter 3: Hedwig Moves Uptown…Two BlocksHedwig and The Angry Inch, Jane Street Theatre, Off-Broadway, 1998Chapter 4: Hedwig Hits the Road—Developing IdeasHedwig and The Angry Inch, Boston, Los Angeles, London, 1999-2000Case study: Frames of LightChapter 5: Maybe We Can Do Something More AttractiveSexaholix, John Leguizamo’s solo show, Broadway, 2001Case study: Lighting with Incandescent LightbulbsChapter 6: A Life Changing ShowSpring Awakening, Atlantic Theatre Company, Off-Broadway, 2006Case study: Home LightChapter 7: Time to Make a Plot and Cue the ShowSpring Awakening, Atlantic Theatre Company, Off-Broadway, 2006Chapter 8: Moving to Broadway/Adapting a PlotSpring Awakening, Broadway, 2006Chapter 9: Directors, Group Collaboration and Expressing Ideas in Pre-productionChapter 10: Do You Have Any Ideas That Interest You?Next to Normal, Off-Broadway, 2008Case study: Looking and Seeing with Mark WendlandChapter 11: Magic SheetsNext to Normal, Broadway, 2009Chapter 12: Adapting a Plot to TourNext To Normal, US National Tour, 2010Chapter 13: Let the Sunshine (and Snow) In!Hair, Broadway, 2009Chapter 14: FollowspotsHair, Broadway, 2009Chapter 15: This Band Green DayAmerican Idiot, Broadway, 2010Chapter 16: Attending Rehearsal and Noting IdeasChapter 17: Finally, to BroadwayHedwig and the Angry Inch, Broadway, 2014Chapter 18: Writing the CuesHedwig and the Angry Inch, Broadway, 2014Chapter 19: Different Ways to Start a Light PlotHead Over Heels, Broadway, 2018Case study: Surviving Company Housing with ColorChapter 20: Making a Show During the COVID LockdownThe Social Distance Dance Club, The Armory, NYC, 2021Chapter 21: Funny Girls and Undercover TasksFunny Girl, Broadway, 2022Chapter 22: Making a Shop OrderFunny Girl, Broadway, 2022Chapter 23: Making and Closing a Beautiful ShowSwept Away, Broadway, 2024Chapter 24: Full CircleChess, Broadway, 2025Chapter 25: Tips for Young DesignersChapter 26: Graduating from CollegeOr, Now What?Appendix A: KA’s Guide for Guests Visiting Tech Acknowledgements

Kevin Adams brings remarkable generosity, warmth, and wit to every page, making this both a compelling read and an essential instructional guide. With a candid, unmistakably personal voice, he takes us behind the curtain to reveal his process on some of Broadway’s most dynamic, innovative and visually striking productions.—Anne Militello, Lighting designer; Professor Emeritus, California Institute of the Arts Kevin Adams is one of our great storytellers who sees light in the world, and the world of light, in wholly original and inspiring ways. Here he brings his life-long conversation with the world around him to full, rich, luminous life. An essential guide to boldly living, lighting and making theater.—David Zinn, Set and Costume designer Kevin Adams is a true artist using light as his medium. This beautiful, accessible book charts his journey of making a life and making theater, revealing a profound creative process meant not just for designers, but for every theatrical collaborator: teachers, playwrights, producers and directors alike.—Susan Hilferty, Costume and Set Designer, NYU/Tisch Graduate Design Chair of 25 years