CHANDELIER

The Fox Theatre is so ornate and visually distracting that a visitor might not think to look up. The ceiling is way up there, the gold carvings surrounding a circle of sky blue. A big, showy stained glass pendant hangs from the center. I can only guess its size, probably at least 4 m / 13 ft in diameter. We assume it is firmly secured. (For the other lawyers out there, remember when you first read the case about res ipsa loquitur?)                 

GUARDIANS

A row of - what? sea monsters? - guard the side of the balcony at the Fox Theatre. Sitting next to one of these might distract me from the show. Whoever designed the interior of this place was definitely on something.                     

HOW DID THEY DO THAT?

It looks like the wall of a fantastical oriental temple, with intricate stone work that in spots reminds me of a cleaned-up Angkor Wat. It's all fake, in a sense. Theater staff at The Fox told us that this is made from plaster molds and then painted. That in itself must have required a lot of labor, and then think of the maintenance. People who attend a performance don't exactly think they are in a holy place unless they stop to consider the price of their ticket.                        

IT GOES WAY BACK

This picture only gives an impression of how big the orchestra seating level is at the Fox Theatre. I brought a wide angle lens but it decided to have electronic issues during the shoot. (And, of course, it worked fine when I got home.) You can see a mezzanine, the high priced area called the Fox Club, but none of the vast balconies. You need a lot of space to seat 4,400 people.

I don't know what percentage of the seats they usually sell. We've only been a couple of times since it was restored. Hamilton and similar offerings are not up our alley. Snob alert: we've been subscribers to our symphony, across the street, and opera company for more than 40 years. Vissi d'arte.                    

THE FABULOUS FOX

Change of subject. Whether you knew it or not, there is such a thing as the International Photography Hall of Fame, and it happens to be located here. Besides exhibits, they do educational programs and workshops. There was one last Saturday about architectural photography, including two hours to shoot inside our totally over-the-top Fox Theatre.

It styles itself The Fabulous Fox. It opened as an enormous movie theater in 1929, closed in 1978, then rehabbed and reopened for stage shows in 1982. It has a twin in Detroit and seats about 4,400 in its present configuration. The decor is - what? - Greco-Roman-Byzantine-Hindu-Muslim madness but everybody loves its excess. More detail to come. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Theatre_(St._Louis)       

The Fabulous Fox

The Fox Theatre during an walk at dusk in the Grand Center arts and entertainment district. (Hey, Johnny Mathis is coming soon!)

The Fox is ming-bogglingly ornate inside, as illustrated in this set of photos I took on a tour for photographers some time ago.                   

Backstage

There were surprises backstage at the Fox. The hallways everywhere are covered by logos of the touring shows. They are surrounded by autographs of cast and crew. These are just a few examples. The halls were narrow, we were taken around in groups and it was hard to shoot. One of our CDP colleagues, a musician, told me his signature is back there somewhere but I did not find the show.

I think that will do it for the the Fox series. A few more edited pictures may show up on my Flickr photostream. There may be something fluffy tomorrow. Remember, today is International Pillow Fight Day. Check http://2013.pillowfightday.com/ to see if there is one in your city and go shoot it!       

The Auditorium

“Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!”
― Mae West

I agree with one of my favorite philosophers. These are some views around the interior of the Fox. It's a good thing it gets very dark during a show. Otherwise, how could anyone pay attention to the stage? 

Family note: it has been officially declared that the first-grandchild-in-production is a girl. Probable name Madeline, as in In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines ... And that's the exact reference.

IMPORTANT NEWS: I JUST FOUND OUT THAT TOMORROW, APRIL 6, IS INTERNATIONAL PILLOW FIGHT DAY. YOU CAN BET I'LL BE SHOOTING THE ONE HERE! GO TO http://2013.pillowfightday.com/ AND SEE IF YOUR CITY IS ON THE LIST. IF IT IS, GO TAKE PICTURES AND SHARE THEM ON CDP.

 

Decoration And Detail

It's hard to wrap your brain around the decoration inside the Fox. I couldn't think of something to compare it to. Easier to think of opposites like the unadorned concrete boxes at the Goodman in Chicago or the Barbican in London. The Fox is more like a Visual Tower of Babel.

These are just some examples. One of its nicest features is that there are large vertically open spaces between the lobby and the auditorium. The effect is increased by the use of mirrors.

There are spectacular flourishes around every turn, including complementary male and female images. The stained glass below, located on opposite corridors leading to the balcony, represent a king and queen. I don't know what to make of the reliefs on the bottom. The design of the woman looks to me to have Native American elements. And what's with the stuff coming off their ears?

I may slip in an Arch picture tomorrow. Then, into the auditorium.        

Enter The Hall

This what you must  pass through at the Fox Theatre to reach your seat for Blue Man Group or Spamalot. It looks like it should cause a transformative experience, such as Pamina and Tamino encounter toward the end of The Magic Flute. (Sorastro could happily hold court here.) You just have to wonder what the people who designed this place were smoking.

The fourth picture is a closeup of the image over the entry doors, seen much smaller in the first and second shot. It doesn't seem to work with the fierce guard in the third one, who looks vaguely Babalonian except he is holding a scimitar, which is Arab. The last picture is what confronts you at the back of the lobby, where you must mount a great staircase to confront some Broadway fluff or your doom, depending on the quality of the production.

Factoid: it looks like this space is full of intricate stonecarving and marble columns. Not so. It's all painted plaster, every bit of it, here and in the auditorium.

We will begin to go inside tomorrow.       

The Fabulous Fox

The Fox Theatre, which styles itself The Fabulous Fox, was opened in 1929 as one of America's great movie palaces. It's big, 4,500 seats, and its Egyptian-Babylonian-Arab-Indian-Rococo architecture and decor is beyond belief. The overall effect is less of a style than a hallucination.

As huge city-center cinemas gave way to suburban multiplexes, the Fox went dark in 1978. I do remember, though, hearing the Greatful Dead and Cream there in its declining days when I was a student at nearby St. Louis University. Some years later, with the aid of two visionary philanthropists,  the Fox reopened, restored in all its over-the-top glory. Now big name acts (Jerry Seinfeld is coming soon) and touring Broadway shows keep it busy.

The St. Louis Photography Meetup arranged for a photographers tour on Saturday. These pictures were taken from the stage, the second with a fisheye lens. More grand views and details over the coming days.

Sorry for being rather light on comments yesterday. I went out to shoot the orchid show and take some fisheye shots around the Arch. Then our daughter, son-in-law and grandchild-in-progress came over for Easter dinner. No rest.         

Jellyfish Invade Grand Boulevard!

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Last Friday's First Night celebration had an oceanic theme. The reason for this escapes me since we're in the middle of the continent. In any event, there were these large, white, glowing jellyfish-like things floating up and down Grand Boulevard. It was an ingenious touch. This one looks like it wants a ticket to see Spamalot next week at the over-the-top opulent Fox Theatre, a 4,500 seat monster of a venue.

The theme was carried on by a large, elaborate sand sculpture of Neptune (I guess). His expression looks sad, like his best friend, Sponge Bob, just left and took a job at Sea World.

We're going riverboating today on Downtown St. Louis 365.