CCL makes SA debut on Pretty Woman: The Musical

The South African premiere of Pretty Woman: The Musical has become the first local production to deploy d&b audiotechnik’s new CCL compact cardioid line array system, with the technology supplied by Eastern Acoustics and supported by local distributor Stage Audio Works. Produced by Showtime Entertainment, the musical opened at the Artscape Opera House in Cape Town before transferring to the Teatro at Montecasino in Johannesburg. To meet the demands of the production’s rock-influenced score, sound designer David Classen selected the newly launched CCL system as the foundation of the audio design.

A key attraction of the CL-Series for theatrical applications is its broadband cardioid performance, designed to reduce rearward energy and improve microphone gain before feedback. According to Classen, the system’s ability to minimise stage spill proved particularly valuable in an environment reliant on headset and lapel microphones.

“The passive cardioid behaviour of both the CCL tops and the flying CCL subwoofers kept the stage incredibly quiet,” he explained. “This clean stage environment gave us significantly more usable gain before feedback than we’ve ever had with a compact rig, allowing the vocals to sit effortlessly on top of the mix.”

The Pretty Woman deployment comprised 14 d&b CCL loudspeakers and six CCL-SUBs per side, supplemented by V-Series and E-Series systems for centre cluster and fill duties. Amplification was provided by D25 and D80 amplifiers connected via a Milan-AVB network infrastructure.

Classen also praised the system’s high-frequency performance and the use of d&b ArrayProcessing technology to maintain consistent coverage throughout the auditorium. “Whether you are sitting in the front row or the back of the balcony, the listening experience is identical,” he said.

Nathan Ihlenfeldt, CTO of Stage Audio Works, described the project as an important milestone for the local market. “The CL-Series represents a major technological leap, packing world-class broadband directivity control into an incredibly lightweight and efficient footprint,” he commented.