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KV2 Audio system selected for Australian production of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” musical

In the wake of the success of the 1991 animated film “Beauty and the Beast”, Michael Eisner, Disney’s then-CEO, took the plunge to produce it as a musical on Broadway in 1994. The stage musical was the first full-length stage show to be produced by the newly created Disney Theatrical Productions (DTP) company. A new Australian production - based on the 2021 UK revival - is currently mid-way through a tour across Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

Sound designer and long-time Disney collaborator John Shivers turned to KV2 Audio for this production. He first started work on “Beauty and the Beast” for the Shanghai production in 2018. He and his associate designers Kevin Kennedy and Greg Pink along with sound engineer Andy Sharman then started designing the new, re-conceived version of the show which launched at the London Palladium for a limited 12-week run before heading out on a nationwide tour. A similar production is now on tour in Australia. “I specify KV2 loudspeakers for all my shows now”, declares Shivers who has designed KV2 Audio systems for a large number of Broadway musicals including “The Lion King”, “Kinky Boots”, “Pretty Woman”, “Shucked” and many more.

Kevin Kennedy describes the system in use for “Beauty and the Beast”: “Where space permits, we use the ESR215s as main left and right loudspeakers. For Beauty, we use two sets as upper and lower systems for most of the venues, with EX12s flown near the lower ESR215s as infill for the first few rows. If space is limited, we replace the upper 215s with EX15s with a further two EX15s as balcony delays flown from a delay truss midway into the house. A pair of SL412s serve as our centre cluster, with one SL412 focused on the circle/balcony while the other acts as a downfill for the stalls.”

“We also have a pair of EX1.8 subs as part of the centre cluster which provide low end reinforcement for the circle and stalls and a pair of floor-standing VHD2.18J subs providing low end for the main seating area”, he continues. “We deployed twenty compact EX6 loudspeakers for foldback, both on- and off-stage, and as fills in the house for places shadowed by the main PA such as the boxes and extreme sides of the auditorium. ESD5s - over forty in total - were used as front fills, under-balcony delays and surrounds, and finally, we made a late add of three EX10s to beef up the surrounds.”

“Beauty and the Beast” is currently playing at the Lyric Theatre, Brisbane, and will be moving to Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne, in June where performances are scheduled until the end of October 2024.

(Photos: KV2 Audio)

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