Tonight, Victor Hugo’s timeless story of longing, courage, and humanity comes to life. Stories like this remind us why we gather in the theatre — to feel deeply, to see one another more clearly, and to be moved by the beauty and tragedy of being human.
This epic tale rises from the ashes in our new in-the-round production of Disney’s THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME at @halecentretheatre 🔔 — now through April 25th!
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Executive Producer: Sally Dietlein
Managing Producer: @tysonjleavitt
Director: @david.p.smith
Choreographer: @lindsey.d.smith
Music Director: @alexvonmarshall
Scenic Design: @natebertone
Costume Design: Dennis Wright
Lighting Designer: @jaronkent
Projection Designer: @madelinemakesart
Sound Design: @michellekoknnlo
Properties Design: @bandannas
Hair & Make-up Design: @kblent61
Automation Design/Programming: @nickdherring
Sr. Technical Director: Andrew Ellis
Production Manager: @susan_kupferer
Technical Director: @smillermiller8 and Karim Abuabara
Production Stage Manager: @ellen_beckett
Scenic Charge Artist: @lu.k.q
Associate Scenic Designer: @mauri.anne
Assistant Scenic Designer: @shaneericksondesign
Associate Lighting Designer: @collin_schmierer
📸 Photos by Nate Bertone
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#hunchbackofnotredame #disney #broadway
Please, be our guest… 🎂
My absolute favorite moment to design in the @halecentretheatre production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was the final minute of “Be Our Guest” when the stage opened and a 23’ diameter 3-tier cake rose from below, topped by Belle, Lumiere, and the entire ensemble. Overhead, we had four 13’ tall 3D champagne bottles that shot sparks from within! Even more exciting than designing this moment was experiencing the faces on the families in the front rows as a larger than life cake lifted in front of them.
Watching the crew strike the 3 story castle and set a 3 tier cake in tech was one of the most magical moments of teamwork. There’s no theatre magic without stage crew and technicians, and this moment will forever remind me how crucial every member of the team is. I am deeply grateful to each person who makes this moment happen every single day.
Special thanks to @upstatescenic for building this epic cake for our production!
Directed by Ryan Simmons
Choreographed by @aftonwilson
Music Direction by Kelly DeHaan
Aerial Choreography by @razmidazl
Chief Production Officer @tysonjleavitt
Production Stage Mgmt by @susan_kupferer
Scenic Design by @natebertone
Lighting and Media Design by @jaronkent
Costume Design by @jenntaylor8
Hair and Makeup Design by @candicecroninmakeup
Sound Design by @theiconicstaging
Props Design by @bandannas
Automation Design and Programming by @nickdherring
📸 by @leaveittoleavitt
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#beautyandthebeast #setdesign #disney #scenicdesign #castle #beast #disneymusicals #isitcake #scale #designer #broadway #disneyonbroadway #waltdisneyworld #dreamitdoit #cakedecorating #cake
“Trust the process” — 12’ Flower Arrangement Edition! 🌼
I had so much fun spending the day making the largest floral arrangement of my life with the Queen of Florals, Michelle Jensen! What an epic project this was for @halecentretheatre and our production of MY FAIR LADY!
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#myfairlady #scenicdesign #floraldesign
Covent Garden has a very special place in my heart, as I spent my entire summer living there last summer while designing in the West End.
Immersing the audience in the details of Covent Garden was extremely important to me for our production of My Fair Lady, and the team at @objectconstructionla has stunningly recreated the architecture I spent months admiring and studying.
With the support of our incredible Prop Designer Michelle Jensen, the streets of Covent Garden will be bursting with color, as stunning floral landscapes flow out of antique pianos.
Be sure to get your tickets before they are gone! 🌼
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#myfairlady #scenicdesign #broadway
A moment for the floor?
Hunchback of Notre Dame has closed at Hale Centre Theatre now (sorry), but had to give a moment for my favorite piece: the floor.
@natebertone kindly gave me the loveliest floor to project on. Yes. That’s projections. Carefully created so it looks like this stone window is underlit. Deep collaboration with lighting, scenery and media brought this piece to life.
As projections and video designer, I wanted to give fluid smoke that moves us from scene to scene and lights up the stage. The result was stone truly coming to life.
Video 1- a favorite moment in the show- when Chopin takes the audience into Notre Dame.
Video 2- a little clip from projector focus
Video 3- rapid fire Timelapse of the making of the mask. To make this effect, I essentially connect my iPad to our projector system, and hand trace it digitally. It’s wildly difficult, but helps us exactly trace a hand painted floor.
Video 4- another focus shot, showing content playing without the mask
Picture 5 and 6- show photos taken by Nate Bertone
Directed by @david.p.smith
May I direction by Alex Marshall
Choreography by @lindsey.d.smith
Technical Direction Karim Abuabara
Production Stage Manager Ellen Richards
Scenic Design @natebertone
Costume Design @wrightmaninstaman
Lighting Design @jaronkent
Hair and Makeup @kblent61
Video and Projections @madelinemakesart
Automation @nickdherring
Sound Design @michellekoknnlo
Properties @bandannas
Produced at @halecentretheatre
Enter the Isle of Berk. 🐉
We partnered with @tctcincinnati for Dreamwork's How to Train Your Dragon The Musical Jr. Take a look at how we brought these epic sets to life for their final show of the 2025/26 season!
Once again, @natebertone brought us an incredible design for @halecentretheatre and we had the honor of bringing it to life!
It is so satisfying to watch this piece become something so stunning, especially in under a minute.😏 It’s important for all of us to take a step back and acknowledge the things we create!
This beautiful vase will be featured in Hale Centre Theatre’s upcoming production of the wonderful classic, My Fair Lady. 👒 Be sure to get your tickets for the show!
#scenicfabrication #sculpting #scenicdesign
Every good story comes to a fiery conclusion! 🔥 Happy Closing to HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON Jr. at @tctcincinnati — what a special production this was to design! Congratulations on spectacular run!
Under the brilliant direction of @roderickjustice choreography by @daygowop and music direction by @jameystrawn — the creative team includes @natebertone on Set Design, @frischmarionettes on Puppet Design, @johncoulterdesigns on Costume Design, @lightborneinc on Media Design, @y.babinskaya on Lighting Design, @daniellelobello on Sound Design, and @adam.borchers on Prop Design.
The incredible in-house production team, lead by Dani Lobello, consists of Maggie Foley, Andrew Nunley, Griffin Allen, Adam Borchers, Julie Cowger, Angel Hardy, Kyle Walker, Alix Frisch, Kendall Owings, Bunnie Dolezal, Lexi Facemyre, Miguel Barragan and Katie Noth.
Photos by @natebertone
Ring the Bells of Notre Dame with us one more time! 🔔
If you didn’t have a chance to catch Disney’s THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, check out one the video of our first transition in the Bell Tower!
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Executive Producer: Sally Dietlein
Managing Producer: @tysonjleavitt
Director: @david.p.smith
Choreographer: @lindsey.d.smith
Music Director: @alexvonmarshall
Scenic Design: @natebertone
Costume Design: Dennis Wright
Lighting Designer: @jaronkent
Projection Designer: @madelinemakesart
Sound Design: @michellekoknnlo
Properties Design: @bandannas
Hair & Make-up Design: @kblent61
Automation Design/Programming: @nickdherring
Sr. Technical Director: Andrew Ellis
Production Manager: @susan_kupferer
Technical Director: @smillermiller8 and Karim Abuabara
Production Stage Manager: @ellen_beckett
Scenic Charge Artist: @lu.k.q
Associate Scenic Designer: @mauri.anne
Assistant Scenic Designer: @shaneericksondesign
Associate Lighting Designer: @collin_schmierer
📸 Photos by Nate Bertone
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#hunchbackofnotredame #disney #broadway
A Barry’s and Brunch kind of Birthday… (tomorrow is the actual, but who can easily get together for brunch on a Monday?)
Thanks to these incredible gents for a great day! Cheers to surrounding yourself with people that uplift you, bring you joy and positive energy, and help you become a better version of yourself! 💪🏼 🎂
We are once again making some very fun things for @halecentretheatre — this time for their upcoming production of My Fair Lady, opening in May. 👒
Sculpting this 6 foot vase was quite the process and we LOVE how it turned out. 💚
Designed by @natebertone
#milkglass #rendertoreality #scenicfabrication
