Electric Spectacle: Designing Color and Light for the Stage offers an intimate look into theatrical lighting design and collaboration through the eyes of four-time Tony Award winner, Kevin Adams.
The book traces Adams' transformation from Texas-born set designer to self-taught Broadway lighting designer, chronicling numerous productions including his 20-year journey with "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" and his groundbreaking work on "Spring Awakening." Rather than focusing solely on technical aspects, Adams emphasizes the art of collaboration with directors, choreographers, designers, and performers across ten significant productions that shaped both his career and the theater industry. Central to the book is Adams' response to the revolutionary transition from incandescent to LED lighting in the early 21st century, documenting how this technological shift transformed stage design. Adams reveals his unique approach of using his own home as a laboratory for lighting concepts that later appeared in his Broadway designs. Through detailed examples and extensive visual documentation—including light plots, paperwork, handmade collage and works on paper, scenic models and renderings and production photos from high-profile musicals spanning 1998-2025—readers gain insight into the creative process behind theatrical lighting design.
Adams shares valuable lessons on creative problem-solving, communication strategies, and navigating the ups and downs of theatrical life, making this comprehensive work both an educational resource for students of theatrical lighting design and emerging professionals and an accessible behind-the-scenes look at how Broadway magic is created.