When it opened at Broadway’s New Amsterdam Theatre in 1997, The Lion King used a Clear-Com SB-440 four-channel wired intercom interfaced to a third-party UHF wireless intercom for its communications. Running at the Minskoff Theatre since 2006, the comms system has recently been upgraded with a Clear-Com FreeSpeak II.

Prior to the upgrade, the production used 85 to 90 channels of UHF-based radios for wireless intercom backstage coordination and performers’ wireless microphones. Due to the number of RF channels and the theatre’s location in Times Square, where there is a tremendous amount of wireless traffic congestion, the stage managers and crew frequently experienced signal drop-outs, interference, and intermodulation noise during the run of the show. This was particularly challenging for the Lion King team, given the need for many of the performers to enter on cue from the rear of the theatre.

The production is now using 16 FreeSpeak II wireless beltpacks and has been able to add additional beltpacks for its backstage staff due to the system’s capacity and scalability.

‘Our previous UHF wireless intercom didn’t provide enough coverage in passageways to the lobby and the lobby area,’ says the show’s Sound Department Head, Alain Van Achte. ‘After distributing antennas throughout the theatre and placing one in the lobby, our stage managers can wander about, confident that they will always stay connected. Deploying FreeSpeak II has also freed up frequency space within the UHF band, allowing the signals between remaining UHF devices to operate flawlessly.

‘Because it operates in the 1.921-1.928GHz bands in the US, FreeSpeak II doesn’t compete for UHF space,’ says Clear-Com Regional Sales Manager, James Schaller. As a result, productions that use FreeSpeak II in conjunction with UHF wireless systems enjoy better performance from their UHF systems.

‘A noisy, unreliable wireless intercom frustrates and fatigues our staff, generates complaints, and hurts morale,’ says Van Achte. ‘The amazing thing is how quiet the FreeSpeak II audio is. With a good set of properly-sealed headsets, you can really hear what’s being said during the show – wherever you may be. The FreeSpeak II is definitely making our lives easier, and our backstage crew happier.’

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