Broadway Breakdown: BONUS! Interview w/ SPAMALOT/THE GREAT GATSBY Lighting Designer Cory Pattak

Host: Matt Koplik
Guest: Cory Pattak
Date: April 23, 2024

Episode Overview

In this special Tony season bonus episode, host Matt Koplik interviews lighting designer Cory Pattak, who made his Broadway debut this season with two major musicals: Spamalot and The Great Gatsby. The episode delves into Cory's journey into lighting design, the craft and process behind designing for two of the most anticipated shows of the season, collaboration with other creatives, the unique challenge and artistry in theatrical lighting, and the nuance of storytelling through illumination. The conversation is a deep dive into the intersection of technical expertise, artistic vision, and Broadway tradition, all wrapped in Koplik’s characteristically candid, comedic, and theater-geek tone.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Cory’s Breakout Broadway Year

• Double Debut: Cory entered Broadway with both Spamalot and The Great Gatsby in the same season—a rare achievement for a designer.
  • "I actually did go back and look at a lot of lighting designers and see when they made debuts how many people did two musicals in one season. And it's a pretty small list." (01:24, Cory)
• Busy Schedule: Also lit Tick Tick Boom at the Kennedy Center; has Wonderful World next season.
• Cory explains the logistics and excitement (and exhaustion) of managing these back-to-back projects.

Beginnings in Theater & Lighting

• From Actor to Designer: Cory’s journey began in Pittsburgh, acting in school and community theaters, but practicality and self-awareness steered him towards design.
  • "I was fairly certain that being an actor is what I wanted to do. And then in high school I got wise to it... I was like, huh, this might not be the best path." (03:39, Cory)
• Cory's "knack" for design emerged from paying attention to the creative mechanics backstage while performing.

Early Inspirations in Lighting

• Cory recounts seeing touring productions as a formative experience—especially lighting by Ken Billington on Footloose, the Broadway production of Aida by Natasha Katz, and Tommy.
  • "Natasha Katz's work on Aida was kind of like nothing I'd ever seen before at the Palace Theater. It was just spectacular and... I was just like, oh yeah, this is what I want to do someday." (06:15, Cory)

Breaking Down the Design Process

Spamalot: Comedy & Speed

• Spamalot's Kennedy Center production was a last-minute replacement, assembled at "breakneck speed."
• Fast transfer to Broadway, overlapping projects, heavy logistical coordination. Many creative team members doubled up on shows.
• Spamalot’s lighting approach involved playing with comedic timing and lampooning musical theater conventions.
  • Notable Anecdote: The "spotlight gag" with Diva's Lament where the follow spot intentionally misses the performer, developed into nightly improv bits—"that always got a really big laugh." (13:12, Cory)
  • On parody lighting: "Funny lighting is really just about... what is this riffing on? What is this a parody of? And then what is the most sort of like, silliest version of that that we can do?" (15:07, Cory)

The Great Gatsby: Scale & Collaboration

• Early involvement in Gatsby (from reading in 2022), at first as a favor and networking, eventually landing the job for Paper Mill and then Broadway.
• The Broadway transfer required extreme speed and adaptation due to the theater availability and Tony cutoff—scenery was built in a third of the typical time.
  • "If you are a producer on Broadway and you are offered a house, you take the house... you don’t really get to decide what stage is best." (22:35, Cory)
• Filling the Broadway Theatre: The massive scale of the house required inventive lighting and scenic strategies to make scenes feel both grand and intimate.
  • "We have a couple things working towards us. Number one... you can close off the back rear mezzanine, it closes off 275 seats... The Broadway was built in 1925, so it has a really great deco feel. And then the third thing is just the backstage [size]." (24:49, Cory)

Collaboration & Craft

• Cory and scenic designer Paul have a 14-year partnership. Designing Gatsby was especially collaborative and iterative.
  • "Paul and I have been working together for 14 years... I am pretty involved early on with the design process, which is not always the case." (27:34, Cory)
• The process included early general research and conceptual discussions, then technical planning—including integrating video, costumes, and lighting to create shifting worlds (e.g., the Valley of Ashes vs. Gatsby’s mansion).
  • "We look at 3D renderings of things ... animate things in the computer and see how pieces can move in and out." (29:00, Cory)
• Back-and-forth about color palettes, light angles, and technical constraints.
• Communication with the director (Mark Bruni) was often "show it, not tell it": "Usually... I just do my thing in the theater, and [the director] responds." (36:21, Cory)
• Technical prowess allows for fast adjustments; modern lighting is highly automated, enabling quick experimentation.
  • "Everything is automated... you can sort of change it on the spot, whereas in the old days, you might have to climb up a ladder and change color, change a physical gel or refocus a light." (39:23, Cory)

Spotlight on Specific Moments & Techniques

• Shady (Act 2, Gatsby): Noir-inspired lighting, playing with silhouettes and shadow, designed in direct response to the choreography in rehearsal.
• The "Charleston Room" Cue (New Money in Gatsby): The now-talked-about blue and red split of the ensemble during a party, crafted as a quick, bold lighting choice to sharpen the contrast and carve out an intimate conversation—a favorite of both creators and audiences.
  • "That moment... It's probably, like, the most saturated cue in the show." (45:43, Cory)
• Act 1 Finale and the Cottage Reveal: Lighting as emotional punctuation, intentionally crafting cue build-ups and transitions that are more felt than noticed.
  • "The number of people who have said like, oh my God, the ending of Act 1 was thrilling and like, like I, I like lost my breath... I want people to have an emotional response." (48:42, Cory)
  • Discussed in detail how minute adjustments to the cottage reveal brought back the audience’s audible gasp—a microcosm of how fleeting and precise theatrical magic is.
• Transitions & Storytelling: "Lighting is the lens" in live theater since there is no camera to direct the eye; designers must guide the audience’s focus, especially during scene changes.

Lighting as Storytelling

• Lighting as dramaturgy: Cory acts as a real-time story editor. If he doesn’t know "where to put the light," it’s often a sign the script or staging needs clarity.
  • "Lighting designers are real-time dramaturgs because we have to light the show as we're teching it." (74:21, Cory)
• Light is instrumental not just for mood and visibility but for pace, narrative focus, and emotional temperature—particularly evident in both comedy (Spamalot) and romance/drama (Gatsby).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Two-show debut pride:
  • "Two musicals in a season – I can put my feather in that cap." (01:24, Cory)
• Lighting as comedy:
  • "We do a bit with the follow spot purposely missing Leslie at the top of Diva's Lament. That always got a really big laugh." (13:12, Cory)
• On the logistics of Broadway theaters:
  • “You don’t get to decide what stage is best. If you get a house, you’re just grateful. You figure out how to make it work and do the best you can to make it a hit.” (24:17, Cory)
• The blue and red "New Money" cue:
  • “We call it the Charleston Room... It’s probably like the most saturated cue in the show... And the number of people that were like, ‘Oh my God, can the show look like that?’” (45:55, Cory)
• On romance in lighting:
  • "How can the lighting be sort of the 20th musician in the pit for this show?... If the music is turning the dial up to 11, then the lighting needs to turn up to 11." (59:47, Cory)
• The ethos behind adaptation:
  • “It’s impossible to please everyone when you do a Gatsby adaptation. So all you can do is make the version that you want to see.” (68:15, Cory)

Important Timestamps

• 00:36 | Show intro, Cory joins
• 01:12 | Cory’s unprecedented Broadway debut
• 03:39 | Cory’s switch from acting to design
• 04:45 | Early lighting inspirations (Aida, Tommy, Footloose tours)
• 08:25 | Backstory of Spamalot’s whirlwind path to Broadway
• 12:29 | Comedy through lighting in Spamalot
• 16:40 | Great Gatsby: from reading to Paper Mill to Broadway
• 24:40 | Meeting the challenge of the vast Broadway Theatre
• 27:30 | Design collaboration process with scenic designer/director
• 36:21 | The director-designer relationship
• 38:16 | Adjusting lighting to meet tonal shifts (color, angle, etc.)
• 43:38 | How rehearsal observation influences lighting choices
• 45:33 | The origin of the show-stopping blue/red “Charleston Room” cue
• 53:04 | On the audience’s emotional, not technical, experience ("I don't want people specifically thinking about the lighting.")
• 55:44 | Precision and the collaborative "forensic" approach to theatrical moments
• 58:53 | Crafting romantic lighting ("let the music lead")
• 62:33 | Gatsby’s intentional romanticism & adaptation challenges
• 68:15 | The impossibility—and liberation—of pleasing all Gatsby fans
• 72:15 | How criticism from Paper Mill led to evolving the Broadway show
• 73:42 | The mathematics of musical narrative pacing: waiting for Gatsby
• 74:21 | Lighting as both technical and dramaturgical practice
• 77:12 | The challenge of transitions as the true test for a lighting designer
• 80:31 | Cory’s genuine love of Gatsby and the creative process
• 84:29 | Where to find Cory’s past interviews (In One podcast), upcoming projects

Further Links & Recommendations

• Follow Cory Pattak:
  • Instagram: @coreypattak
  • Website: coreypattak.com
  • Podcast: In One – conversations with designers (inonepodcast.com)
• Upcoming Work:
  • Gatsby and Spamalot on Broadway (with Spamalot touring soon)
  • Bye Bye Birdie, Nine at Kennedy Center; Next to Normal at Barrington Stage; Wonderful World in the fall.
• Host Matt Koplik: Instagram: @mattkoplik

Closing Moments

• Koplik and Pattak swap insights about art, collaboration, and the realities of putting up a new Broadway musical.
• Cory’s grateful, humble excitement about lighting two “divas of the season” (Leslie Kritzer and Eva Noblezada).
• Final shout-outs to Leslie Kritzer and the role of lighting design in actors' standout performances.

Summary Takeaway

This episode is a goldmine for theater nerds, design enthusiasts, and anyone curious about the hidden artistry shaping Broadway’s biggest moments. Cory Pattak’s blend of technical mastery and creative storytelling reveals how lighting breathes life into both comedy (Spamalot) and tragedy (Gatsby), shaping the audience’s experience minute-by-minute, all while navigating the head-spinning logistics and artistic challenges of Broadway’s brightest lights.