The company has been comissioned to provide full and accurate drawings of the Winter Garden in New York, for use by the hit musical Mamma Mia! which is to take up residence there later in the year. The Winter Gardens has been occupied by Cats for the last sixteen years, and no up-to-date, accurate groundplans (let alone CAD groundplans!) of the venue existed. Modelbox were asked to help by one of their long-standing users, Andrew Treagus, who is currently the General Manager for the ABBA-based musical, which is still running at London's Prince Edward Theatre.
Modelbox's Steven Wentworth, whose lighting design work is currently on show in New York at the new Madame Tussaud's museum, will undertake the project, making use of the latest laser measuring devices and CAD software. The plans will then be added to Modelbox's comprehensive venue database, which already includes the majority of theatres in the UK as well as touring venues around the world. These groundplans are now available to theatre practitioners who have their own CAD systems through the Modelbox Licensed Partners Scheme, details of which can be found on the company's website, www.modelbox.co.uk.
Though, if the Broadway production of Mamma Mia! repeats the success that the show has enjoyed elsewhere in the world - and follows the example set by its predecessor in the venue - it's unlikely that anyone will be needing to make use of those particular groundplans again any time soon!