Young The Giant
American Bollywood
2023
The Playground was tasked with creating a show design to match the artistic statement of their fifth album, American Bollywood. The album brings about themes of identity, belonging, home and the multi generational saga of the immigrant in America.
American Bollywood is divided into 4 acts - Origin, Exile, Battle, and Denouement. Each act is presented by a symbol and color pallet. The Playground designed a set inspired by Bollywood with marigold garlands, multi foil archways, and large, white, round risers.
“Arriving on what looked like a Bombay television stage complete with marigold flower garland strings draped over the lighting rig and a disco ball, as well as hanging decorated glass, a focused Gadhia, wearing traditional Indian garb, appeared free and invigorated presenting the new material to the fans."
Cleveland.com
Young The Giant's American Bollywood Tour......
Team
Allison Ciccarelli
Creative Producer
Sara Full
Creative Producer
Dulce Martin
Creative Assistant
How we got there
The Playground worked with Mikey Lavi to portray the themes of American Bollywood by integrating the four acts from the album into the show. Each symbol was represented by edge lit plexiglass signs that changed throughout the night. The band created interstitial videos to play at the top of each act on a projection screen that was revealed behind a lattice printed scrim curtain. The Playground designed a marigold canopy and chandelier in place of an overhead lighting rig to help carry the Bollywood themes across the stage.
“The set was divided into four acts with an encore... the South Asian influence was evident throughout the night."
Cleveland.com
"Wrapped in such a comprehensive concept, this was Young the Giant's most epic presentation to date. For many, this may have been simply an indie rock concert with a few Indian-American flourishes; yet, it felt much more dramatic and emotional than many other performances.”
The Aquarian
