The Week in Review:

Coemar Reflection LEDko Comes to Town: LSA caught with Coemar when the company came to town to demonstrate the new Reflection LEDko to designers. It is the first LED soft profile and is available with three interchangeable optics - Soft Profiles Fresnel (12-45 degrees), Soft Profile PC (8-35 degrees), and Profile (various beam angles). It is also compatible with third-party lens tubes and accessories. It produces a uniform beam with no pixels, dots, or multicolored shadows. It also has a patented internal shuttering system, electronic 16-bit dimming, flicker-free operation with DMX-controllable LED freque3ncy from 500 - 5,000Hz, and bi-directional DMX512. The unit can also use gobos created from any standard printer and transparency sheet.

The unit comes in three versions. LEDko FullSpectrum offers smooth color-mixing with both RGBW and CMY modes, Its white light output is adjustable between 3,200K and 9,000K. It also incorporates a built-in library of leading gel filters from all major manufacturers. LEDko VariWhite features variable white color temperature control from 3,000 - 7,000K; maximum intensity between 4,500 - 5,000K; and adjustable white light for highlighting skin tones. LEDko White 3200K offers the highest white light output in the Reflection LEDko series. .Its 3,200K color temperature closely emulates tungsten light commonly used in theatrical, TV, and film studio applications. The units are also remarkably silent.

As profile units developed for the theatre, television, and special effects markets, among others, the Reflection LEDko is the first in what is certain to be a highly competitive product sector. Look for a review by Mike Wood in a future issue of LSA.

ESTA Foundation Tony Party Announced: The ESTA Foundation announces the return of its annual Tony Awards party. This year's edition, to be held June 12, will take place at SUN WEST Studios in New York. This evening of food, drink, and exciting awards show viewing costs $135 a person, with tables of ten available for $2,000. Profits will go to Behind the Scenes, which helps out industry people in need. For more information, go to http://www.estafoundation.org/bts/Documents/BTSTonyPartyInvitation2011_W.pdf..

Spider-Man Returns: The revised version of the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, also known among show fans as Spider-Man 2.0, reopened. As many expected, the show's libretto has been heavily revised, with the character of Arachne severely downgraded, the notorious Geek Chorus eliminated altogether, and several new songs added. Anecdotal reports indicate that the show continues to stop for technical issues related to the many flying effects. Spider-Man now has four weeks to settle in before opening on June 14.

A New Home for the Montreal Symphony: LSA also attended a press conference announcing the opening in September of a new home for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. As designed by Consortium Diamond and Schnitt Architects and Aedifica Architects led by Jack Diamond, with theatre consulting and acoustical services by Artec - this was one of the late Russell Johnson's final projects - it features an auditorium designed along the lines of the classic shoebox model. As everyone involved stressed, it is definitely not a multipurpose venue but a home for live music. LSA will report on the building once it has opened.