Set Design for Grease

Theatrical set designer Derek McLane ’80 shows how his work progresses — from initial sketches on a yellow legal pad through the musical’s finished sets...

Theatrical set designer Derek McLane ’80 shows how his work progresses — from initial sketches on a yellow legal pad through the musical’s finished sets...

Theatrical set designer Derek McLane ’80 shows how his work progresses — from initial sketches on a yellow legal pad through the musical’s finished sets — and discusses some of his surprising, diverse sources of inspiration: the endless rows of lockers he remembers from high school; a Life magazine photograph of a drive-in movie theater; the colors in 1950s advertisements; and that era’s fascination with nuclear power.

For more on McLane, see "Storytelling Spaces," in this magazine's March-April issue.

 

You might also like

How AI Is Reshaping Supply Chains

Harvard Kennedy School lecturer on using AI to strengthen supply chains

This Astronomer is Sounding a Warning on ‘Space Junk’

As debris accumulates in low Earth orbit, the danger of destructive collisions continues to rise.

Understanding AI Vulnerabilities

As artificial intelligence capabilities evolve, so too will the tactics used to exploit them. 

Most popular

How Philosophy at Harvard Saved Itself

As humanities shrink across higher education, one department is flourishing. Is its success a fluke, or a roadmap?

Crimson Football: Harvard 41, Cornell 29

Erasing an early deficit, the unbeaten Crimson roll to an Ivy win.

Three Harvard Alumni and a Former Postdoc Named MacArthur Fellows

A labor economist, an organic chemist, a physicist, and a memory researcher were honored with 2026 “genius” grants.

Explore More From Current Issue

Colorful illustration of a split-level house showing various activities in different rooms.

Can the College do more to prepare students for the real world?

Black and white portrait of a woman with medium-length hair, smiling softly.

The outgoing executive director and Harvard Business School graduate went from dancing The Nutcracker to growing a ballet company.

Collage of three photos of an athlete in a triathlon: one swimming, one cycling, one running, in sports attire.

The Harvard triathlete and coach says she helps normal people to “do extraordinary things.”