|
|
|
|
|
| The "Lovelight" laser show opened February 4, 1977 to sell-out
audiences at Boston's 310-seat Hayden Planetarium. By the middle of March, just six weeks
into the scheduled thirty week run, more than 15,000 people had attended the show. Tickets
cost $3, and the show played ten times a week. Later that year, a second show opened at
the Metropole Theatre in London. "Lovelight", produced by Interscan, was the world's first laser drama. The three-act musical featured a completely original story and musical score. |
|
The story told by "Lovelight" was open to interpretation by the viewer. It started with the beginning of life on earth and continued through ancient history to humanity's future. The presentation made extensive use of the Hayden Planetarium's $1,000,000 Zeiss star projector, which was often spun in circles and panned wildly by the projectionist. Sparing use was also made of the planetarium's built-in strobe lights, located in the crawl space surrounding the dome's perforated inner surface. A brand-new speaker system was installed for Lovelight's completely original audio score. Many repeat patrons said they found the soundtrack as impressive as the breath-taking laser effects. Before the start of each show, audiences were warned to stay in their seats, and if they should feel dizzy, to close their eyes. All lights were then shut off, plunging the theater into complete darkness. Next, the star projector was slowly ramped up, until the audience was immersed in a starry night sky. The laser projector tape recorders were started, and the introduction began: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
