Broadway Who's Who: Rachel Hauck

One of today's most creative and acclaimed scenic designers, Rachel Hauck seems to just be getting started. And yet, she's been a fixture off-Broadway, regionally and internationally, as well as a highly credentialed educator. She's a multi-award winner, including a Tony Award, and we wouldn't be surprised to see her name on the nominees list in 2025 for her stunning design of Swept Away. Ms. Hauck is definitely qualified to make our Broadway Who's Who. 

Broadway Who's Who:

Rachel Hauck

DID YOU KNOW?

BIRTHPLACE: Ohio

EDUCATION: BA in theater from UCLA

TEACHING: Brown University, Vassar College, NYU, Cal Arts and Princeton University

INTERNATIONAL DESIGN: She's designed productions in London, Australia and Tokyo

REGIONAL COMPANIES: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Guthrie Theater, Arena Stage and McCarter Theater

OFF-BROADWAY: Signature Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, The Public, Playwrights Horizons, Ars Nova and SoHo Rep

HONORS AND AWARDS: Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Scenic Design (2016)

BROADWAY: 6 productions:

Latin History for Morons 

(2017 - Studio 54)

• Broadway debut

 

What the Constitution Means to Me 

(2019 - Hayes Theatre)

 

Hadestown 

(2019 - Walter Kerr Theatre

⭐ - Winner: 2019 Tony Award - Best Scenic Design of a Musical 

 

How I Learned to Drive 

(2022 - Samuel J. Friedman Theatre)

 

Good Night, Oscar 

(2023 - Belasco Theatre)

⭐- Nominee: 2023 Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a Play

 

Swept Away 

(2024 - Longacre Theatre)

 

Broadway Games: Setting the Stage

Last week was all about those fabulous show curtains that greet us as we enter the theater. But what about shows without show curtains? Well that's what this week is all about!

BROADWAY GAMES:

SETTING THE STAGE

Can you name the show just by looking at the opening set?

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK'S

BROADWAY GAMES:

CURTAIN UP!

Can you name the show just by looking at the show curtain?

Beetlejuice

   

The Phantom of the Opera

The Lion King

Wicked

Waitress

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical

War Paint

Sunset Boulevard (Revival)

Frozen

Diana

Six

To Kill a Mockingbird

Legally Blonde

BONUS: THIS ONE IS TOUGH! A BIG FLOP!

 Amazing Grace

Favorite Designs: The Scenic Design of The Great Comet

At the risk of being repetitive, for the second month in a row, our Favorite Designs feature focuses on a scenic design. I promise there will be other design elements highlighted in future months, but how could I resist the siren call of the brilliant set design for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 by Tony-winner Mimi Lien? 

True, this design takes the concept of "immersive theater" to an entirely new level. And it really is impressive for its sheer scope. Before you even take your seat, or the first note is played, you are swept up in a new, provocative time and place. But its genius is really in the fact that it enhances the performance rather than overwhelms it. 

The Lobby:

I'll never forget walking into the Imperial Theatre and stopping short when I didn't recognize it. Gone were the marbled walls and floor. In their place, hard gray plywood covered in Russian propaganda posters, some partially ripped, ready to be replaced by new, more sinister messages, including the cast board. The wall sconces and crystal lighting fixtures replaced by dull/bright florescent lights. The smell was of machine oil, perhaps, but definitely industrial. The feeling was that of suppression and danger. 

The Theater:

If you've been in the Imperial Theatre, you know how tall the house is. So, whether you've seen the show or not, you can probably imagine the sheer enormity of a room that size covered in red velvet draperies, floor to ceiling. And then the shock of going from the austerity of that war bunker-lobby to the opulence of an art-covered, brass-railed space. It comes at you in waves, as you realize every seat is in the middle of the action, that the aisle right in front of you is big enough for dancing Russians to pass you snacks...or illicit notes. Multiple light fixtures dangle overhead, like so many stars in the sky. The orchestra is, well, all over the place, intermingling with the audience. The light dim slightly, and the cast joins the fray.  We are transported, the outside world gone.

Now, that is genius design,

📸: C. Batka; mimilien.com

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