The Week in Review

Mainstage-Vincent Lighting-Production Advantage Merger Called Off: In what easily qualifies as the shocker of the week, the proposed merger between Mainstage Theatrical Supply, Vincent Lighting, and Production Advantage has been called off. It is particularly surprising since all three companies exhibited at USITT together. The new company, to be called Mainstage LLC, would have created a major new industry entity. We've heard conflicting things about the future, but the tone of the announcement (which can you find at http://plasa.me/3nao2) sounds pretty definitive to us.

Save Tungsten: A group of internationally known lighting designers are banding together to save the tungsten bulb. Thanks to a combination of market factors, environmental concerns, government legislation, the incandescent bulb is threatening to go the way of the dodo, as LED units gain favor. Not so fast, say these LDs, who fear that one of the fundamental tools of their trade may be going away. For more, and to learn to how take action, go to http://plasa.me/bettr.

FCC Aims to Sell Broadway Airwaves: As The New York Times notes, the FCC is at it again, talking about users of wireless mics -- like Broadway shows, sports events, and churches -- to move to another spot on the airwaves, while the frequencies previously used by them are auctioned off. It appears to be a plan to raise government revenues off the back of the entertainment industry: "The F.C.C. counters that the airwaves are public property and that theater owners have long gotten preferential access to the frequencies. The commission also points out that the first $7 billion raised by the auction is to build a nationwide public safety communications network and that many members of Congress have urged the commission to sell everything it can to raise money to reduce the nation's deficit." Needless to say, nobody is happy with a decision that could compromise the quality of Broadway shows. Stay tuned; for the full story, go to: http://plasa.me/vese6.

PLASA CEO Testifies Before House of Commons: As anyone knows who supplied gear to the Olympics ceremonies in London, there were tremendous government-mandated restrictions that amounted to a gag order. This has caused enormous frustration among companies that merely wanted to publicize their participation in one of the top entertainment events of 2012. Indeed, as Matthew Griffith, PLASA's CEO, testified in the House of Commons, "What no one thought would happen was that, post the Olympics, that ban would stay in place or that there wouldn't be a relaxing of that ban." Go to http://plasa.me/smc5v for more details on the event, which ended with the promise of government action.

ALD Reorganizes: The Association of Lighting Designers, the UK-based organization, has been a mainstay of the British theatre world since its founding in the 1960s. Now big structural changes are in the works. These include hiring Ian Saunders as executive director, opening an office on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the heart of the West End, and adding Rick Fisher as vice president (along with Richard Pilbrow) as well as naming Mark Jonathan deputy chairman. Johanna Town and Katherine Williams are taking on new duties as well. This could be a big year for the ALD. For all the details, go to: http://plasa.me/bghbt.

Anti-Gay Musical in Malaysia: Here's another shocker. It's a truism in our culture that musical theatre is the most gay-friendly art form in the world. Well, not so much in Malaysia where Abnormal Desires, a government-backed musical is being produced. Here are some of the grotesque details: "Penned by 73-year-old director and screenwriter Rahman Adam, who has characterized homosexuality as something that could spread across the country like a virus, the musical centers on three LGBT friends who party, use drugs, and engage in casual sex while recruiting young people to become part of their group. The friends incur the wrath of their religious neighbors who seek to reintroduce them to the teachings of Islam. The three individuals who do not change are ultimately killed in a lightning storm while those who repent are spared. The Papa Roach song 'Last Resort' is featured in the production." We don't expect to see this one in New York any time soon. For more, go to http://plasa.me/8rk1u.

Moses on Stage: As readers of the March issue of Lighting&SoundAmerica know, Sight&Sound Theatres, based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is famous for its elaborate stage productions taken from the Bible. The company announced that its next production will be about Moses and we can say for sure that it will not be intimate: "Moses did have an action-packed life, from being sent down the Nile in a basket when he was a baby to parting the Red Sea, encountering God in the form of a burning bush, experiencing the ten plagues of Egypt, and receiving the Ten Commandments from God. All of these events will be portrayed in the show, which will cost several million dollars to produce. Enck says they will be presented in immersive, innovative, and creative ways, using projections, puppetry, and state of the art technical equipment." For more, go to http://plasa.me/5p2ee.