Bucking the trend of big productions for a more intimate tale, Broadway’s Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York) creates a rich, beautiful world with just two lead actors—Christiani Pitts (Robin) and Sam Tutty (Dougal)—delivering spirited performances on a rotating set. Currently playing at the Longacre Theatre, the high-energy show tells the tale of Robin, who is helping her ungrateful sister prepare for her wedding, and becomes involved with the British tourist she was hired to drive from the airport for the big day. The groom is his father whom he has rarely met. United serendipitously, if at first contrarily, Robin and Dougal make an unlikely but charming duo who teach each other about life through a series of comedic and poignant vignettes.
Two Strangers was previewed twice in London and then once at Boston’s acclaimed ART theater before making its Broadway debut. When preparing the Broadway version, London-based, Olivier Award-winning sound designer Tony Gayle knew it had to have a bigger, fuller sound than the previous incarnations. With only two cast members and five musicians seated on a catwalk upstage, it would need a little extra oomph for the Great White Way, and an L-Acoustics loudspeaker solution supplied by PRG quickly emerged as the right choice.
Detailed, Clear, and Transparent Sound
Having previously used L-Acoustics Kara II loudspeakers at the ART, and liking what he heard, Gayle once again specified the product for his main arrays and for many of the show’s fill enclosures.
“Kara gives me the subtlety that I need in theater—the transparency, the sound of it at lower level, and the clarity and detail,” Gayle explains. “It can also scale up when I need it to sound like a bigger box. It’s got that range. I like the way it’s very linear with L-Acoustics.”
He notes that at a low level he can hear the detail and excitement in the songs. Then, as the music gets louder, it still sounds the same, keeping the detail, while maintaining the same sonic signature. “With a lot of other speaker manufacturers, when it gets loud, it starts to change tonally,” Gayle observes. “You have to use plugins and EQ just to tame certain elements, especially the vocals. For me, vocals have to be very linear, very across the board, because that is what is driving the story. That’s so important.”
Multi-Series System Design Delivers Consistent Coverage
Gayle’s Two Strangers design features left and right main arrays, each comprised of 10 Kara II enclosures addressing the orchestra and mezzanine seating areas. Flown above those hangs are two arrays of five Kara II per side that cover the upper balcony seating. Between those two upper arrays are three A Series loudspeaker hangs—three A10 Focus over two A10 Wide—interspersed with a pair of LF hangs both featuring a trio of SB18 subs. Two additional SB18 are located one per side behind and beneath the main Kara II arrays.
Beyond that, two dozen coaxial X8 enclosures are spread throughout the room for various fill applications, while 65 ultra-compact 5XT loudspeakers surround all three seating levels and line the left and right sides of the stage for 360-degree audio coverage. The entire system is powered and processed by 32 LA4X amplified controllers.
Gayle uses the surround system for subtle effects, like band reverb to make the five-piece band sound fuller. The band includes the keyboardist/musical director, a percussionist, drummer, guitarist, and bassist playing an eclectic musical mix including pop, electro, and ballads. “It’s making sure that the songs all sit within the same world tonally so you don’t feel like something just came out of nowhere,” Gayle says.
Vocal Intelligibility and Musical Fidelity
Beyond the exuberant, poppier numbers, there’s a sensitive ballad where Dougal speaks/sings to his mother into his phone, nervous about attending his estranged father’s wedding. Conversely, in another moment, Robin and Dougal argue bitterly in their hotel room as drums underscore a dissonant ambient vibe expressing the tension of the moment. Capturing such emotive and diverse vocals is key to the mix.
Vocal intelligibility drives Gayle’s design strategy. “There are seven hangs of speakers on the main truss: two are subs, and three are dedicated purely to vocals—no band goes through them at all,” Gayle explains. “Vocals then hit every other speaker as well, mixed with band. I’d say vocals represent 75% throughout all the speakers. The front-fills are predominantly vocals.”
While Gayle wants the band to sound as big as possible, he needs robust vocal energy—especially with only two cast members and no pre-recorded vocals. “All those speaker hangs are there to cover the space and make sure I’ve got that headroom right.”
Cardioid-Configured Subs Keep LFE Focused
The sound designer deployed two cardioid sub arrays on the truss to keep LF energy off the stage. While he typically prefers ground-based subs that couple with the building structure, the flown configuration worked well here. “I was able to steer the sub image, and because they’re around the same height as the band, it felt right,” Gayle says. “I was pleased with the sub coverage—it’s quite a big theater for having no subs on the floor. We’ve got six flown in two cardioid hangs of three, plus one in each side box.” The cardioid configuration keeps low-end energy focused on the audience while maintaining the punch the show’s diverse mix of genres requires.
Collaborative Design Process
For Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York), PRG provided the gear, and Gayle’s American associate sound designer, Tony Award-winner Cody Spencer, has a strong relationship with them. Gayle’s longtime colleague Toby Chester, Global Application Lead for Musical at L-Acoustics, helped tune the Broadway show’s system, bringing expert understanding of the gear and offering efficient ways to optimize the design.
“What I like about working with L-Acoustics is that they make a product but don’t tell you, This is the way you have to be using it,” Gayle explains. “They allow you to do what you need to do, and they will respond and react accordingly. They never say, No, you’re using it wrong or it’s the wrong application.”
Transparent Sound for an Intimate Story
“I’m a very pragmatic sound designer—I approach each show for what it needs,” Gayle says. “What I really care about is: Can I hear the lyrics, and can I hear the orchestrations and detail in the songs?” With dozens of tracks mixed with two live vocals and a five-piece band, that balance is critical.
The Kara II system delivers transparent, detailed sound that scales from intimate ballads to high-energy pop numbers without changing character. For a show built on the chemistry between two strangers and their journey across New York, the audio at the Longacre Theatre creates the sonic space for that connection to happen.
For details on the show’s current run, visit www.twostrangersmusical.com. PRG can be found online at www.prg.com.
Please visit L-Acoustics at www.l-acoustics.com.
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