Beyond All Boundaries at the Solomon Victory Theater is the Centerpiece of Multimillion Dollar Renovation
New Orleans Museum to Debut Major New Attraction November 7, 2009
LA ProPoint, a national leader in the design, engineering, fabrication, and installation of stage and show systems, is proud to announce the completion of its role in The Hettema Group’s major theater project, the Solomon Victory Theater at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The centerpiece attraction of a $300 Million museum renovation, the Solomon Victory Theater is a brand new 250-seat theater with a 30-foot tall, curved, sharkstooth scrim screen that stretches to 120 feet wide. The wraparound screen will serve as the exclusive staging ground for “Beyond All Boundaries,” an immersive documentary produced by legendary actor and producer Tom Hanks, whose critically acclaimed WWII projects include “Saving Private Ryan” and “Band of Brothers.”
LA ProPoint, which has a reputation for being the go-to team of highly skilled and experienced technicians, fabricators and craftsmen, applied its expertise in design, engineering, fabrication, and installation to the Solomon Victory Theater’s overhead rigging equipment, show action equipment, sub-system show control, scenic elements, and many other facets of this detailed project.
As a team, we are accustomed to working in fragile historic spaces and expansive outdoor environments—all manner of venues,” said Mark Riddlesperger, founder and president of LA ProPoint. “But the Solomon Victory Theater project presented something altogether unique: the opportunity to honor an exceptional period in American history while tackling an incredibly intricate professional challenge.”
Beginning this fall, “Beyond All Boundaries” is poised to set new standards for immersive theater entertainment, employing 4D technology to launch audiences on a WWII odyssey that spans four continents and brings to life the oppressive heat of Pacific jungles as well as the penetrating cold of the European winter battles.
“The Solomon Victory Theater project was complex, involving multiple show action elements, including the incorporation of moving 3D props and scenic elements such as city flats, a 1940s style radio, a death camp guard tower, D-Day tank traps, a naval anti-aircraft gun turret, and a B-17 bomber. LAPP also provided the 40-foot tall velour main show curtain and motorized track system, motorized scrims and blackout drapes, borders and other soft goods—not to mention that oversized main scrim/projection screen,” explained Andy Hanlen, LA ProPoint’s project manager. “We weren’t simply helping to build a theater. This felt more like building a world.”
The full extent of the National WWII Museum’s major renovation will not be complete for several more years, yet “Beyond All Boundaries” at the Solomon Victory Theater is on track to debut November 7, 2009.
“We created ‘Beyond All Boundaries’ for the National WWII Museum with the intention of providing an immersive experience like nothing audiences had ever seen, heard or felt before,” said Phil Hettema, president and CEO of The Hettema Group. “To make all the pieces come together as we intended, we needed to partner with a top-notch team, and LA ProPoint delivered crucial stage and show systems savvy at every step of the way.”
About LA ProPoint
Since 2002, LA ProPoint has been a leading provider of design, engineering, fabrication and installation of stage and show systems for all aspects of the entertainment industry, from concert halls and theme parks to outdoor amphitheaters and movie sets. Strategically headquartered in Southern California in the city of Sun Valley, the company has a huge reach. Its highly skilled, experienced technicians, fabricators and craftspeople regularly take on far-flung projects from the Hollywood Bowl and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas. For more information about LA ProPoint and its many projects, visit www.lapropoint.com.
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