A Conversation with Sound Designer Gareth Owen
The new jukebox musical spotlighting the music and career of Michael Jackson, MJ the Musical, has been a smash hit on Broadway, drawing praise from both critics and the public. The show garnered 10 Tony Award nominations and four 2022 Tony Awards wins, including “Best Lighting Design of a Musical,” “Best Choreography,” “Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical” and “Best Sound Design of a Musical.” The latter marked the first Tony Award win for veteran sound designer Gareth Owen, who took some time from his busy schedule to talk about the project, which debuted in early February at the 1,445-seat Neil Simon Theatre.
FOH: What was your approach to MJ the Musical?
Gareth Owen: My idea behind what I was trying to achieve was, ‘okay, if Michael Jackson was sitting next to me in the auditorium right now, would he be happy with what he’s hearing?’ Michael was absolutely fastidious about the sound of his shows. He was very particular about the tightness of the low-end and the clarity of vocals. We had to think quite carefully about how to achieve the best possible results. A big benefit here was that Lia Vollack, one of the producers of MJ, started her career as a roadie for The Ramones, and worked as a sound engineer and sound designer before being the head of Sony Music. She takes sound quality and how things sound very, very seriously, so we had a lot of support from her.
What were some of your challenges in designing the show?
Probably the biggest challenge was to deliver a rock ‘n’ roll sound without scaring a Broadway audience. And that’s not easy to achieve. Broadway often thinks that it wants rock ‘n’ roll sound, but it doesn’t really. It wants a tamed, sanitized version of a rock ‘n’ roll sound. There are exceptions of course, but that’s the sort of general rule overall. So, we had to think very carefully about how to deliver a sound that would be authentic for Michael Jackson and work for traditional Broadway audiences. We tackled that by putting in a lot of power, but making it very, very precise, and very, very controlled. I had used [d&b audiotechnik’s] Soundscape on about ten shows, so I was very confident that it would do what I wanted it to do. We used the complete Soundscape system, and then did something that’s never been done before on Broadway in that we tied the object-based audio to a tracking system.
It uses wave field synthesis from a Soundscape point of view, object-based mixing that tie to trackers on the cast and performers to follow them. We achieved a very theatrical imaging. It never felt like the sound was coming from the speakers; it feels like it’s coming from the performers. But then having paid homage to the theatrical traditions of making sure everything sound like it is coming from the right places, we were then able to increase the power and increase the weight of the system in a way that didn’t offend. That was the theory at least; I believe we succeeded.
The lack of big speakers causing sightline issues on the proscenium was a nice plus: traditionally in theater, we fly line arrays on either side of the stage, in what’s called a L/R system. With Soundscape, you don’t have that problem. For MJ, all the speakers are across the top of the proscenium arch. There’s nothing on either side of the stage blocking sightlines.
You also used the zactrack SMART tracking system…
Yes. Basically, SMART is a version of zactrack’s tracking system that doesn’t include all of the clever lighting console integration. We weren’t planning on using zactrack, but had used them for Cinderella in London in conjunction with the lighting department and we were impressed with it. We then spoke with zactrack about using it for just sound on MJ. They chimed in with ‘Funny you ask, because we’ve got a thing that we’re working on. Do you want to use it?’ We quickly responded ‘Yes!’ We track every cast member using 28 active trackers; six cast members wear two trackers each. They are all singers and dancers, so they are constantly in motion. Thanks to zactrack SMART, we can track anything, anywhere accurately and with a minimum of latency.
What were some other key equipment choices?
We used Avid mixing desks, d&b audiotechnik’s Soundscape immersive sound technology, Shure’s Axient Digital wireless system, a lot of DPA mics and Shure’s new KSM11 vocal mic. For the mixing desk, we’ve been using the Avid VENUE | S6L digital mixer for quite a long time now. The desk sounds absolutely fantastic and there’s a wide range of available plug-ins, but if you’re working with studio musicians, they are often using the same plug-ins and the same consoles. Combined with a very fast workflow and a very agile way of creating scene memories, that makes it very powerful to quickly work on a very detailed musical mix. I think that’s probably the number one thing for me — how quickly you can build mixes and adjust on the fly.
You were one of the first to use Shure’s KSM11 mic. How was that experience?
I have a great relationship with Shure. They called me one day and asked if I’d want to try a new mic head. I never say ‘no’ to trying out something new; why would you say no? So, these two KSM11 mics arrived, with no information, no spec sheet, no frequency response — nothing. They sat on my production desk for a couple of weeks before I got around to doing anything with them. I got the A2 up on stage with two handhelds and swapped one of them with this mic capsule.
One of the basics of Musical Theater Sound Design 101 is achieving vocal clarity. This mic definitely helps you hear the words upfront. As a designer, you’ve got to build something where you can hear the words and with the KSM11, the words are clean and clearer. We are not sure exactly why, as at the time, we had no specifications to go by and didn’t know what’s inside this thing. We evaluated it purely by ear. It was definitely better. So, we swapped the KSM11 mic head for our leading man, who plays Michael Jackson. We left it in and have not had any reason to change it. The KSM11 is a great step forward, and I’m enjoying using it.
Why did you choose Shure’s Axient Digital wireless system for this production?
I am a big fan of the Axient Digital system, especially as Broadway’s frequency world is becoming more and more congested. It’s harder to find spectra to fit anything in, so digital systems are now a necessity on Broadway. The agility, the frequency management and the robust nature of how the Axient system works makes it much quicker and easier to get a working frequency set.
The ability to use Shure’s Wireless Workbench software to quickly and easily change frequencies on the fly without having to get the mic packs off people is quite a big deal, when we’re putting packs under wigs or deep down under costumes. On other systems, getting them off just to change something as simple as frequency can be a real problem. So, the ability to do that remotely is a real benefit. The audio quality is fabulous and it compensates for body mass — as the human body absorbs RF energy — is really clever. That, combined with the robust nature of the packs, the fact that they’re lozenge-shaped, so they fit under wigs and in the small of the performer’s backs or in the waist; they disappear under costumes that much better. There’s a whole list of reasons why the Axient Digital system is very, very good.
Did the set design present any audio challenges?
Interestingly, the biggest challenge of the show actually was the stage foldback, mainly because of the set movement. Derek McLane’s set had side walls that open and close, so we couldn’t mount speakers on them. We also couldn’t mount speakers on the back wall because it slides in. The floor is sprung for the dancing — which in this show is pretty epic — so we couldn’t put speakers into the floor either. We wondered where in the hell we would put speakers. So we did something that I’ve never done before, which was to bolt two small line arrays to the front of the boxes in the auditorium and point them back at the stage. The bulk of the foldback — probably three quarters of the foldback on the stage for the cast and musicians — comes from line arrays pointing the wrong way. It’s not ideal, but it works and they’re happy. It’s not something I do out of choice, but it does the job.
How was working with Sound Associates, your rental shop for MJ?
The support provided by Peter Fitzgerald of Sound Associates is second to none. That’s the kind of service — the kind of support — we need when we are creating new shows from scratch, and we don’t know what the challenges or needs are going to be.
Tell us about the team you worked with on MJ.
The show certainly would not be what it is without Russell Godwin, the associate sound designer and Josh Liebert, the assistant sound designer. Maxine Gutierrez, who’s the A1, is absolutely fabulous. She put up with thousands and thousands of notes, never lost her cool, never lost her sense of humor. She makes it brilliant and continues to do so night in, night out. She has mixed other shows on Broadway, but MJ is the first time she’d created a new show on Broadway, and she rose to the challenge admirably. Then there’s Scott Kuker, who is far more than an A2. He stuck into everything, and nothing’s ever too much of a problem. Phil Lojo is the production sound engineer, and he managed to get speakers into places I really never thought we would. It was a great working with all of them and I am proud of the show, I think we all can be.
Michael Eddy is the co-editor of PLSN, FRONT of HOUSE’s sister publication.
