West Side Story at Miller Auditorium
Broadway Sound, Minimal Visual Impact: K-array Supports West Side Story at Miller Auditorium
For large-scale musical theater productions, sound must reach every seat in the house without distracting from the performance. For a production of West Side Story at Miller Auditorium on the campus of Western Michigan University, this requirement came with an additional constraint: the director and conductor specifically requested that the system avoid the visual impact of a traditional large-format line array.
With nearly 3,500 seats to cover, AVTEK worked closely with the production team to evaluate solutions that could meet both the acoustic demands of the show and the visual expectations of the staging. A successful on-site demonstration helped confirm that a compact, high-output approach could achieve both.
A Compact System for a Large Venue
Miller Auditorium spans orchestra, grand tier, and balcony seating, requiring even response and clarity from front to back. The production combined dialogue, vocals, and live orchestration, leaving no room for uneven coverage.
The main system consisted of twelve K-array Kayman-KY102 slim line array loudspeakers, flown six per side, with K-array Thunder KS4 I and KS4P I subwoofers providing the low end. The slim profile of the system preserved audience sightlines while delivering the output and coverage required for the space.
The production also featured 28 channels of Shure Axient wireless systems, including AX1 beltpacks and TL47 microphones, along with a fully miked orchestra, all requiring consistent coverage across the room for dialogue, vocals, and orchestral content.
In theatrical environments, loudspeakers should support the performance without becoming part of it. Large-format systems can compete visually with lighting and scenery, shifting focus away from the stage. Following the demonstration, AVTEK supported the final system design and deployment.
"We needed a system that could deliver full-scale musical theater reinforcement without visually overpowering the stage. After hearing the system in the room, it was clear the compact K-array solution could meet both the technical and aesthetic demands of the production." - Andrew Walker, Production Lead, AVTEK
During performances, the system delivered clear dialogue intelligibility and detailed orchestral balance across the auditorium.
The result was a sound system that met the demands of a large-scale musical while maintaining the visual integrity of the production, showing how compact loudspeaker design can support both performance and artistic intent, letting the story of West Side Story play out exactly as intended.
