Client Spotlight April 2026
This month, our Client Spotlight shines on renowned production and set designer Dean Taucher. Dean has designed for theater, dance, opera, television, and film, and this month Dean makes his playwrighting debut with Movies TV Mayhem, a "comedic and wonderfully weird stage" play inspired by Dean’s four decades of experience working behind-the-scenes on major films and television series. Movies TV Mayhem opens April 23rd on Theater Row. Read on to learn more about Dean, the play, and an exhibition featuring his design work from Season One of The Sopranos currently on display at the Museum of the Moving Image through May 31st.
Tell us a little about your background and credits. Where did you get your start and where might people have seen your work?
Dean: Prior to my design career taking off I worked as a scenic artist on over 20 Broadway shows from Sugar Babies, 42nd Street, Cats, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon. I was a friend of Lynne Taylor-Corbett for over 40 years and designed dance works for her at Hubbard Street Dance Co., The Pittsburgh Ballet and The Atlanta Ballet.
I first started as a set designer in Chicago's off-loop theater scene in the mid-70's at St. Nicholas Theater founded by William H. Macy and David Mamet, The Organic Theater with Dennis Franz and Joe Mantegna where André de Shields got his start, and at The Victory Gardens Theater with William Petersen.
After spending years designing the worlds where stories took place, what was it like for you to pivot to writing the story? What was the inspiration for you to write the play?
Dean: No one experience set me to writing. It was more an accumulation of idiocy, illegality and "the slings and arrows of outrageous co-workers" from working on many movies and TV shows. I was the production designer on over 500 one-hour episodic shows from Miami Vice, New York Undercover, The Sopranos, and 20 seasons of Law & Order SVU.
The play is performed by three actors who play multiple roles, creating an opportunity for a real tour-de-force for your cast. What else can audiences expect from Movies TV Mayhem?
Dean: The director of Movies TV Mayhem, Richard Caliban, has created soundscapes and projected elements under the various characters to suggest different film genres. The show is a live radio show, live streaming, repurposed as a podcast that is about the misbehavior in film and TV production. It's like I'm king of media ... ... who needs Howard Stern ... ... well really, who does need Howard Stern?
What was it that first sparked your interest in design?
Dean: When in high school, every fall I worked in our Music Department on very elaborate homecoming floats. I thought set design might need applicable skills. I have an associates degree in set design from The Goodman School of Drama from when it was part of the Art Institute of Chicago.
You’re having quite a busy spring! In addition to your playwrighting debut, your production design work is currently featured in “Stories and Set Designs for The Sopranos” on exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image. If someone were to visit the exhibit and see your play, how would they be able to see the intersection between the two?
Dean: If you see my play, mostly real, you'll come to realise that throughout my career I was surrounded by people not unlike the characters in The Sopranos. Murderers, con-artists, drug dealers, and some really crazy dangerous producers. Then there were the people you couldn't trust.
At Christopher Street, we help people lead fulfilling lives. What does “fulfilling life” mean to you in the context of design, writing, or creativity in general? What makes the “Mayhem” of Movies TV Mayhem worth it?
Dean: In the context of the play, Mayhem continues because of people’s complicity, fear, not wanting to rock the boat, the go along - get along complacency that rules people’s lives. Maybe not the right attitude in the times we're living. That is the subtext under the outrageously funny stories that are the backbone of my play. For fulfilling I have a great partner, my wife Gabrielle Lansner, who is an incredible director/choreographer. We share a beautiful life between Red Hook Brooklyn and Sag Harbor
Thank you Dean for taking the time to answer our questions.
Movies TV Mayhem runs April 23rd – May 9th at Theater Row. Tickets can be purchased here.
Stories and Set Designs for The Sopranos is on display at the Museum of the Moving Image through May 31st.
To learn about Dean and his credits, you can check out his website.
