Romeo & Bernadette - Off Broadway - Jon Berger
Jon Berger’s setup for the 2020 Off-Broadway Premier of Romeo & Bernadette: A Musical Tale of Verona and Brooklyn at A.R.T./New York Theatres in New York City.
Read/See more..."The score combines small snippets of Medieval music, some Big Band Swing, 2-Beat, Classical, a bit of 60's Rock, and R&B."
Seussical - Regional - Benjamin Barham-Wiese
Benjamin Barham-Wiese’s setup for Seussical at a Community Theater in New York City.
Read/See more..."I am a 15 year old high school student in New York City so it has been a lot of work going to school during the day and playing at night."
Austen's Pride - Regional - Dennis J. Arcano
Dennis J Arcano's setup for Austen's Pride, a new musical of Pride and Prejudice at ACT in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Read/See more..."This setup also included six foot pedals: two on the timpani, a kick drum pedal, a hi-hat pedal..."
Matilda - Regional - Alec Wilmart
Alec Wilmart's setup for Matilda at the Village Theatre in Issaquah, Washington.
Read/See more..."One of the coolest things about this book is the role of the Bass Drum. I can’t stress enough how important having a concert bass drum is for this show. The lower, the better."
Working - Regional - Dennis J. Arcano
Dennis J. Arcano’s setup for a brand new, multimedia production of Stephen Schwartz's Working at ACT in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Read/See more..."The drum set is a 1989 Pearl Export that I stripped off the original black drum wraps."
Waitress - Tour - Noah Hadland
Noah Hadland's setup for the 2nd National Tour of Waitress at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Read/See more..."While having all the cymbals and drums to hit in a 360 setup is always fun, it's been an awesome experience to try to get the most out of this smaller setup."
Urinetown - Regional - Eli Maniscalco
Eli Maniscalco’s setup for Urinetown at the YMCA Boulton Center for the Performing Arts in Bay Shore, New York.
Read/See more..."As a working musician who gigs around town, I favor lightweight hardware that packs up small..."
Dear Evan Hansen - Tour - Ryan McCausland
Ryan McCausland’s setup for the National Tour of Dear Evan Hansen at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Washington.
Read/See more..."Being a part of this production has been an absolute dream come true for me."
Love Never Dies - Tour - Aaron Nix
Aaron Nix's setup for the 2018 National Tour of Love Never Dies at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Washington.
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Pageant - Regional - Scot Sexton
Scot Sexton’s setup for Pageant: The Musical Comedy Beauty Competition at ACT Theatre in Seattle, Washington.
Read/See more...“This was for the premiere show of A Sensible Theatre Company in Seattle, Washington. It is a wonderful drum book, covering lots of different styles of music.
Side Show - Broadway - Larry Lelli
Larry Lelli's drum set setup for the 2014/2015 Broadway Revival of Side Show at the St. James Theatre in New York City.
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The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Regional - Paul Hansen
Paul Hansen's setup for the The Hunchback of Notre Dame at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, Washington.
Read/See more..."The Tam Tam has the mounted 'throw ‘n’ go' mallet mount."
Miss Saigon - Tour - Russ Nyberg
Russ Nyberg's combined book setup for the 2018-2019 National Tour of Miss Saigon at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, Rhode Island.
Read/See more..."I remember the learning curve being a lot steeper verses other shows because there was a bit of choreography and memorization involved. I ran the show down every day to prep as a sub and it certainly benefitted me once I played my first show."
Spamalot - International - Petter Nilsen
Petter Nilsen’s combined book setup for Spamalot at Romerike Folkehøgskole, in Jessheim, Norway.
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Tuck Everlasting - Regional - Jacob Bradshaw
Jacob Bradshaw’s combined book setup for Tuck Everlasting at Hale Center Theater in Sandy, Utah.
Read/See more..."I combined the percussion and drum set book, which was quite the undertaking."
Curtains - International - Rob Holinaty
Rob Holinaty’s combined book setup for Curtains at the Drury Lane Theatre in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
Read/See more..."I am running a microKORG as a MIDI controller through my MacBook Pro into MainStage..."
Ain't Misbehavin' - Regional - Scot Sexton
Scot Sexton’s setup for the Seattle Musical Theater's production of Ain’t Misbehavin’ in Seattle, Washington.
Read/See more..."The drums I chose on this production are refurbished vintage Ludwig’s that I put Slingerland Beavertails on."
The Wizard of Oz - International - George English
George English’s setup for The Wizard of Oz at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England.
Read/See more..."As you’ll see from the photos, there’s a large amount of gear, some might say excessive..."
Life After - International - Jamie Drake
Jamie Drake's setup for the premiere of Life After at the Berkeley Street Theatre in Toronto, Canada.
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Chicago - International - Tim Sellars
Tim Sellars' setup for Chicago at the Court Theatre in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Read/See more..."For the ‘clank’ sound I went with a car brake drum..."
Miss Saigon - Broadway - Ray Marchica
Ray Marchica's drum set setup for the 2017-2018 Broadway revival of Miss Saigon at the Broadway Theatre.
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Seussical - Regional - Scot Sexton
Scot Sexton’s combined book setup for Seussical with Broadway Bound in Seattle, Washington.
Read/See more...“…I knew I would be juggling sticks, page turns, shakers, and beaters so as I was combining the books I was also working on my layout and choreography.”
Bright Star - Tour - Steve Bartosik and Joe Mowatt
Joe Mowatt on Steve Bartosik’s setup for the National Tour of Bright Star.
Read/See more..."The use of a Remo Frame Drum on a towel on top of the floor tom made for a perfect ‘suitcase’ sound when played with Promark Broomsticks."
Aladdin - Tour - Danny Taylor
Danny Taylor’s drum set setup for the North American tour of Aladdin at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Washington.
Read/See more...“I took the jingles off of an LP Cyclops Jingle Ring and placed a band of ankle bells on it instead, which I then attached to a DW Lowboy Hi Hat Pedal.”
Ragtime - Regional - Paul Hansen
Paul Hansen’s setup for Ragtime at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, Washington.
Read/See more...“Seen here are many of my usual stock effects…”
Kid Victory - Regional - Greg Landes
Greg Landes’ setup for John Kander’s Kid Victory at the Vineyard Theatre in New York City.
Read/See more...“Michael Starobin did his usual brilliant work with the orchestrations and the drum/percussion book and I always felt challenged musically and engaged throughout the show.”
Between The Lines - Regional - Sam Wisman
Sam Wisman’s setup for the world premiere and regional tryout of Between The Lines at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri.
Read/See more...“The styles and sounds required range from classic Broadway to swing, vaudeville, orchestral, rock, and disco.”
Groundhog Day - Broadway - Howard Joines
Howard Joines’ setup from the 2017 Broadway production of Groundhog Day at the August Wilson Theatre in New York City.
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Dreamgirls - Regional - Jim Reif
Jim Reif’s drum set setup for Dreamgirls at the Village Theater in Seattle, Washington.
Read/See more...“The fun never stops and the train keeps on moving.”
Kiss Me Kate - Regional - Scot Sexton
Scot Sexton’s combined book setup for the Seattle Musical Theaters production of Kiss Me Kate in Seattle, Washington.
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Cats - Broadway - Bill Lanham
Bill Lanham’s drum set setup for the 2016-2017 Broadway Revival of Cats at the Neil Simon Theatre.
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Finding Neverland - Tour - Greg Germann
Greg Germann’s combined book setup for the National tour of the Broadway show Finding Neverland at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Washington.
Read/See more...“The orchestra read was really fun because Elliott Kennedy, the composer and Simon Hale, the orchestrator, were open to letting me try out a few new things.”
Bandstand - Broadway - Adam Wolfe
Adam Wolfe’s setup for the Broadway production of Bandstand at the Bernard B Jacobs Theatre in New York City.
Read/See more...“When the onstage drummer is playing, I’m either tacet or playing percussion.”
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - International - Rob Holinaty
Rob Holinaty’s setup for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Drury Lane Theatre in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
Read/See more...“Incorporating the electronics has saved me a lot of space without sacrificing parts of the score.”
Urinetown - Regional - Chris Roberts
Chris Roberts’ setup for Urinetown at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Read/See more...“…This was when I was told the pit was literally a pit (no stairs, or elevators) and the only access were two ladders (one on either side)”
Seussical - Regional - Chris Roberts
Chris Roberts’ combined book for the Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School production of Seussical in South Hamilton, Massachusetts.
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Fiddler On The Roof - Regional - Chris Roberts
Chris Roberts’ setup for Fiddler On The Roof at the Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire.
Read/See more...“I played around with my cymbal choices a bit but went with a 16" and 18" crash. There isn't very much ‘riding’ and I wanted the option to be able to have two crash sounds.”
Evita - International - Tim Sellars
Tim Sellars’ drum set setup for Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Evita at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Read/See more...“You may notice that I have the majority of my cymbals on my left side as well as a floor tom to the left of the hi-hat. This is due to me being a left hander, playing on a right handed kit.”
Memphis - Regional - Whitney Kessling
Whitney Kessling’s setup for Memphis at the Playhouse on the Square in Memphis, Tennessee.
Read/See more...“It was a pretty straight forward drum set show, and fortunately it used a triangle for one song, so I got to use my Miller Machine!”
Ragtime - International - Craig Given
Craig Given's combined book setup for Ragtime at the National Academy for Singing and Dramatic Art (3rd Year Students Production) in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Read/See more...“I decided to take the two books (drum set and percussion) and combine as much as possible into a single book.”
Book of Mormon - London's West End - Tim Goodyer
Tim Goodyer's drum set setup for Book of Mormon at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London's West End.Read/See more...
Alex Zarzalejo - Don Juan: The Musical
Alex's combined setup for Don Juan: The Musical at the Teatro de la Luz Philips in Madrid, Spain. Read/See more...
New York Spectacular at Radio City - Joshua Mark Samuels
Joshua's Mark Samuels' drum set setup for the New York Spectacular at Radio City.
Read/See more..."This show was incredible not just because the orchestra and music was fantastic, but also because during one number in the middle of the show, the percussionist and I got off the band car, changed into costumes and headed up to the stage where we ran down the aisle and performed bucket solos."
Hairspray - International - Tim Sellars
Tim Sellars' drum set setup for Hairspray at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand for Showbiz Christchurch.
Read/See more..."You'll notice that I have a heavy set up of gear on my left side and this is due to me playing open handed."
Something Rotten - Broadway - Perry Cavari
Perry Cavari's drum set setup for the 2015/2017 original Broadway production of Something Rotten at the St James Theatre.
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Mary Poppins - International - Nick Apivor
Nick Apivor's combined set up for Mary Poppins at the Western Canada Theatre in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.
Read/See more..."As I was the only percussionist I needed to cover both percussion 1 and 2 books."
The King and I - Broadway - Dan Haskins
Dan Haskins' percussion set up for Lincoln Center Theater’s production of The King and I, winner of the 2015 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival.
Read/See more..."This was the largest orchestra running on Broadway at 29 players, and also the largest cast at 51 actors/dancers. The drum-set and percussion parts were all played by one person."
Finding Neverland - Broadway - Joe Choroszewski
Joe Choroszewski’s drum set setup for the Broadway production of Finding Neverland at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
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Fiddler On The Roof - Broadway - Kory Grossman
Kory Grossman's combined book set up for the 2015-2016 Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof at the Broadway Theatre.
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Mary Poppins - Regional - Joe Beam
Joe Beam's drum-set setup for Mary Poppins at Theatre Under the Stars in Houston, Texas.Read/See more...
Tarzan - Regional - Rob Fedson
Rob Fedson's setup for Tarzan at the Palace Theatre in Georgetown, Texas (Austin area).
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Cinderella - Regional - David Glover
David Glover's setup for Cinderella at the North Allegheny Senior High School just North of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Read/See more...
Parade - Regional - Sho Fujieda
Sho Fujieda's setup for Parade at Fullerton College in Fullerton, California.
Read/See more..."Here's a fun technique I used that was shown to me by another pit percussionist. Instead of having a full set of crotales for the single crotale note, I hit the glockenspiel with a finger cymbal on the high E flat."
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying - Regional - Alec Wilmart
Alec Wilmart's drum set setup for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, Washington.
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A Christmas Story - Tour - Matt Watson
Avenue Q - Regional - Mike Wecker
In The Heights - Regional - Brett Beiersdorfer
Brett Beiersdorfer's setup for In the Heights at the CM Performing Arts Center in Oakdale, New York.
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How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Madison Square Garden - Greg Landes
Greg Landes' drum set setup for the 2014 Madison Square Garden production of Dr Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! in New York City.
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Godspell - Regional - Greg Hersey
Greg Hersey's setup for Godspell at the Players by the Sea Theatre in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
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How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Regional - Russ Nyberg
Russ Nyberg's combined book setup for Dr Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.
Read/See more..."There are so many moments where a suspended cymbal roll or timpani hit is snuck into the middle of a groove."
Next to Normal - International - Tim Collins
Tim Collins' setup for Next to Normal at Macquarie University in New South Wales, Australia.
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Matt Windon - Young Frankenstein
"I was using my Pearl Masters MCX on the gig. 20" Bass Drum, 12" and 14" Toms and an Aspen Drum Company Snare. I have three Snares that are my 'go to' drums for shows: the 60's Supraphonic, an Odery 13"x6" that just has the perfect crack for a rock show and the Aspen. This one packs so much color, tone and projection into one drum. It was fantastic to capture the Big Band style and grab the Folk style music at the kit.
The cymbals on this gig were my Paiste Dark Energy Series. I had my 14" Hats, 8" Splash, 16" and 15" Crashes and a 21" Ride. These are some of my favorite cymbals on the market. They blend with a beautiful tone and sustain and the crashes respond quick, double as a suspended and can handle some heavy hits for their size. They sound great under a mic and amazingly live with a full orchestra. I've rarely used the 17" or 18".
I was using Vater 8A's, Brushes and Swizzle Sticks, Aquarian Modern Vintage Heads on the Toms, Aquarian TC1 on the Snare and an Aquarian Deep Vintage II on the Bass Drum.
In between my Hi-Hats and Tom were my LP Stealth Jam Block, a higher pitched LP Anniversary Block and an LP Cowbell. It's a blessing and a curse to have them in all black. I also mounted a Pearl Tambourine on the boom stand that housed the gems of my setup, the Miller Machines.
I borrowed your suggestion on the Favorite Mounts from your Setup Shots website and used the Pearl ADP30 mount to get the triangle and finger cymbal machines on one mount. This was a great combo and eliminated some stick changes, while producing excellent tones!
The snare drum above is one of my favorites. I have a bit of a snare drum... Hobby. That's a safe word to keep me out of an asylum and prevent my wife from trying to convince me to sell some and not replace each one with two new ones.
It was a PASIC purchase from my college years. I was drawn towards the drum by one that Andy Reamer used with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Around the time of purchase, the hot items were the Pearl Philharmonic drums and Black Swamp Drums with one strainer and trio units. I loved the idea of being able to use three different strainers to change my sound at the drum. It was a secondary concert drum for me when I originally made the purchase. The construction is fairly simple. It's a ten ply, maple shell with die cast hoops and three Dunnett strainers. The snare combo is composed of the Patterson Blues, wire and Pure Sound Snappy. As my collection of drums expanded and my pit space became more limited, this drum found a few adjustments to the tuning and tension on the snares and worked its way into more pits. It still sounds beautiful with an orchestra, but it just fills that void for us drummers who want the sounds of multiple drums and are limited on space. I am always looking for new ways to achieve the most authentic sounds possible and this was one of my more successful attempts.
On two side notes, I think the ideal snare drum would be the former GMS Concert Model with a different snare combo, snappy and something darker. I believe Steve Gadd had a two strainer drum a while back as well. Those could be modified to be excellent for those of us who aren't in the studio and attempting to have that orchestral sound and the drum set sound out of one snare."
If you're interested in seeing more Setup Shots click here.
On the 20th Century - Broadway - Eric Borghi
Eric's Borghi's setup for the 2015 Broadway revival of On the Twentieth Century at the American Airlines Theatre in New York City.
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Mary Poppins - Regional - Chris Monroe
Chris Monroe's drum set setup for the 2014-2015 Winter production of Mary Poppins at the Village Theatre in Everett, Washington.
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Wicked - Broadway - Matt Vander Ende
Matt Vander Ende's drum set setup from the currently running Broadway production of Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre.
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Side Show - Broadway, Cast Album - Larry Lelli
Larry Lelli's drum set setup for the recording session at Avatar Studios, New York City, for the 2014/2015 Broadway Revival of Side Show.
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Lion King - Broadway - Carter McLean
Carter McLean's drum set setup for the Broadway production of Lion King currently running at the Minskoff Theatre.
Read/See more..."The best part of this show is all the styles you get to play. It has an African/Pop core and then branches off to Rock, Latin, R&B Ballads, and Big Drum breaks."
Beauty and the Beast - Regional - Brett Beiersdorfer
Brett Beiersdorffer setup for Second Stage Production’s Beauty and the Beast at the Maria Regina School in Seaford, New York.
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On The Town - Broadway - Rich Rosenzweig
Rich Rosenzweig's drum set setup for the Broadway production of On The Town at the Lyric Theatre in New York City.
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Peter Pan Live - TV - Paul Pizzuti
Paul Pizzuti's drum set setup for the 2014 recording session of NBC’s Peter Pan Live at Avatar Studios in New York City.
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Matilda - Broadway - Howard Joines
Howard Joines’ setup from the 2013-2017 Broadway production of Matilda at the Shubert Theater in New York City. Read/See more...
Aladdin - Broadway - John Redsecker
John Redsecker’s drum set setup for the Broadway production of Aladdin at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City.
May 2014
Jeff Snider - The Addams Family
Jeff's setup from the National Tour of The Addams Family.
Jeff is a proud endorser of Soultone Cymbals.
Evita - Broadway - Bill Lanham
Bill Lanham's drum set setup for the 2012-2013 Broadway Revival of Evita at the Marquis Theatre.
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Mamma Mia - Broadway - Ray Marchica
Ray Marchica's drum set setup for the Broadway production of Mamma Mia at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City.
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Crazy For You - Regional - Ryan McCausland
Ryan McCausland's drum set setup for Crazy for You at the Hammonton Youth Theatre in Hammonton, New JerseyRead/See more...
Vanities - Regional - Dale Baker
Dale Baker's setup for a production of Vanities at the Theatre Raleigh in Raleigh, North Carolina.Read/See more...
Newsies - Broadway - Paul Davis
Paul Davis' setup for the Broadway production of Newsies at the Nederlander Theatre in New York City.
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Big Fish - Broadway - Perry Cavari
Perry Cavari's drum set setup for the Broadway production of Big Fish at the Neil Simon Theatre.
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Evita - Tour - Adam Wolfe
The Witches of Eastwick - International - Nick Anderson
Nick Anderson's setup for The Witches Of Eastwick at the Derby Theatre in Derby, United Kingdom.Read/See more...
How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Cast Album - Greg Landes
Greg Landes’ drum set setup for the cast album of Dr Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! at the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom in New York City.
Read/See more..."The show originally opened in 2006 but we finally got to create a fantastic cast album this past August 2013."
Cats - Regional - Brandon Miller
Brandon Miller's combined book for Cats at the Dutch Apple Dinner Theater in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
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Chicago - Regional - Joe Beam
How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Regional - Greg Landes
Greg Landes' combined book setup for Dr Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! at the Wang Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts.
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Annie - Broadway - Eric Poland
Eric Poland's drum set setup from the Broadway revival of Annie at the Palace Theatre.Read/See more...
Nice Work If You Can Get it - Broadway - Eric Poland
Eric Poland's drum set setup for Nice Work If You Can Get It from the 2012/2013 Broadway Revival at the Imperial Theatre.
Read/See more..."My goal was to get a sound closest to calf without having to deal with the upkeep and inconsistencies of natural heads.”
