The quirky, non-traditional nature of the Sycamore household warranted a unique way of approaching the music, in that I wanted to relate the characters' individuality while staying true to the humor and life that the family brings to the play.
I composed several pieces of music using certain non-traditional elements drawn from each of the characters' habits and hobbies. I arranged curtain call music in a similar style from the song “Goody Goody.”
The script calls for two specific onstage fireworks effects. There were however numerous administrative restrictions to using pyrotechnics, or even having open flames inside the theatre.
To solve this problem I designed a custom circuit that uses a sound source to trigger LED lights. The actor was able to perform as if they were real fireworks onstage, while we triggered a cue to wirelessly send sound and activate lights coming from the bucket.
A Pulitzer Prize winning comedy by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart, You Can’t Take It With You follows Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, who has fallen in love with the boss’s son, Tony Kirby. When the Kirby’s are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things do not turn out the way Alice had hoped. The play is a laugh out loud lesson in finding true happiness in life, and taking it while you can.
