Broadway musical Illinoise ’s sound mixer and designer Garth MacAleavy does his preparation for the evening show at the St. James Theatre in New York, on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. Marco Postigo Storel for NPR hide caption Ninety minutes before curtain on a recent Tuesday evening, Garth MacAleavey, the sound designer and sound mixer of the Broadway musical Illinoise, went through his checklist.
“I'm going to run pink noise through every speaker. Make sure everything's working,” MacAleavey said. Pink noise is “all of the audible frequencies of the human ear, all the same amplitude.
So, we're getting everything from, I guess, 20Hz to 20,000Hz.” Illinoise is a Tony-nominated dance musical based on Sufjan Stevens’ album Illinois and the singers and musicians perform on a split, multi-level bandstand above the stage. Illinoise ’s MacAleavy has many items for good luck around his table like rocks, shells and message from colleagues.
Marco Postigo Storel for NPR hide caption Next, MacAleavey’s “A2” – backstage sound assistant Hannah Overton – played each instrument and talked into every microphone on the bandstand, to make sure they were working properly. MacAleavey, who is making his Broadway debut with the show, comes from the world of contemporary opera and music. “This is like a real music concert: rock show sometimes, chamber music concert sometimes,” said MacAleavey.
Once the audience was seated, a light cue flashed from the stage manager, and the sh.
