THE ONLINE ATELIER OF JUSTIN "SQUIGS" ROBERTSON, THEATRICAL ILLUSTRATOR
Broadway shows can hit it big, running for years and providing an economic boon for those involved and entertaining countless audience members. The Phantom of the Opera has been a mainstay on the Main Stem for a couple of generations, over 35 years of a run upon closing. The shows that entertain theatergoers for so long can challenge an illustrator to reflect cast changes and to explore more facets of the show than is usually allowed with brief runs. Here are a few of the shows that I’ve had the opportunity to draw many times: The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Hamilton, and Chicago.
Over 35 years haunting Broadway, The Phantom of the Opera has made an indelible mark on the Great Bright Way. I’ve been tasked with helping celebrate milestones and cast changes, and the show has been a part of so many of my Broadway-centric endeavors for as long as I can remember. Above (left) is my sketch heralding the 30th anniversary of the show (featuring Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, Peter Jöback, and Ali Ewolt); and at right is the cast in 2018 (Ben Crawford, Ali Ewolt, Jay Armstrong Johnson).
Cast changes can break new ground in the way of better representation and inclusion as seen at top with Ali Ewolt, the first Asian American to play Christine on Broadway, and just above, Norm Lewis, the first Black American to play the Phantom on Broadway (pictured with Sierra Boggess as Christine) and Emilie Kouatchou, the first Black American to play Christine on Broadway.
The Phantom’s Red Death costume as drawn for a personal project and Lot 665 (“A papier-mâché musical box in the shape of a barrel-organ. Attached, the figure of a monkey in persian robes, playing the cymbals.”) as drawn for a specialty card in The Lights of Broadway Show Cards.
Wicked Clockwise from upper left: Original Broadway cast, Rachel Tucker and Kara Lindsay, Lindsay Mendez and Katie Rose Clarke, Jessica Vosk and Amanda Jane Cooper, Alexandra Billings (first trans actress to play Madame Morrible), Brittney Johnson (first Black actress to take over the role of Glinda on Broadway).
Hamilton has taken the world by storm bringing the story of the “ten dollar founding father” to multitudes through the lens of what America looks like. Here are two illustrations I created early in the Broadway run, representing slightly different takes on the original Broadway cast, starring author Lin-Manuel Miranda.
I’ve followed the creation of the show from White House poetry slam to Miranda’s Twitter account to the 2012 Jazz at Lincoln Center presentation of The Hamilton Mixtape. Here is my sketch inspired by the show’s run at the Public in 2015 and an experiment in combining rough pencil sketching with inked/colored bits (members of the ensemble with Miranda and Ariana DeBose as the Bullet).
The City Center Encores production of Chicago opened on Broadway in 1996 and continues today as the longest running American musical in the Theater District. Above left is my take on the original 1996 cast starring Ann Reinking, Bebe Neuwirth, and James Naughton drawn for The Lights of Broadway. The first time I attended the production in person, the resulting sketch (above right) shows Amy Spanger, Amra Faye Wright, and Christopher Sieber.
Some of the wonderful cast replacements I’ve been asked to draw include ground-breaking R&B vocal star/actress Brandy and country music star Jennifer Nettes (shown with Carly Hughes).
Here are a few of the periodicals my work has found its way into…
Hemispheres The September 2021 issue of United Airlines’ inflight magazine featured this article about the Broadway theater industry’s comeback as the global Covid-19 pandemic was easing up. I got the synopses of 15 small articles from writers Ellen Carpenter and Nicholas DeRenzo. I created an illustration for each, compiled a collage of them for the splash page, and capped it off with a hand-lettered title.
Encore Monthly In 2021, editor Robert Viagas enlisted me to contribute an illustration for an article touching base with musical theater writers about what they had been working on during the pandemic. And then a couple of issues later my work was featured in an account of illustrators celebrating Broadway theater, including various phases of my process. Both articles were written by Ken Bloom.
Wall Street Journal This May 2015 issue featured a special section featuring Broadway shows then advertising with the paper. My illustration was requested to be a colorful Times Square scene with the characters in the shows interacting from billboards and marquees.
Variety The Nederlander Organization contacted me to illustrate an advertisement in Variety congratulating James L. Nederlander and Nick Scandalios for being named to Variety's Gotham 50, those who are helping to revitalize NYC's rich showbiz legacy.
I truly love the work of Stephen Sondheim! When I was falling in love with musical theater, I was fortunate to have a mentor introduce me to several of Mr. S’ shows and sent me on the path of fandom. And as I was learning about Sondheim’s work, I was also learning about the work of illustration legend and huge inspiration Al Hirschfeld. So just as Steve and Al are forever connected for me, so are theatre and illustration.
Sunday in the Park with George, in its exploration of art and legacy driven by and floating on the words and notes of Sondheim and James Lapine, ties together so much of what I cherish and find inspirational. At left are the original Broadway stars Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters, and at right are the stars of the 2017 Broadway revival, Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford.
Into the Woods has long captured my heart and wonder in its connecting of classic fairy tales to create a whole new story. At left, the stunning original Broadway cast (1988) starring Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason, and Chip Zien; and at right, the wonderful 2022 revival cast starring Patina Miller, Sara Bareilles, and Brian d’Arcy James.
Follies is one of those legendary, storied productions that folks who saw the original tell of the experience again and again. I didn’t. But on the occasion of the show’s 50th anniversary, I drew that original cast in honor and celebration of Sondheim, Hal Prince, and James Goldman’s master work.
Two productions presented by Classic Stage Company and directed by John Doyle: Passion (2013) with Judy Kuhn, Ryan Silverman, and Melissa Errico; Assassins (2021) with Steven Pasquale, Brandon Uranowitz, Will Swenson, and Judy Kuhn
Two takes on Company: The 1970 original production led by Dean Jones and the 2021 revival starring Katrina Lenk
Pacific Overtures (1976) starring Mako; Sweeney Todd (1979) starring Len Cariou, Angela Lansbury, and Edmund Lyndeck
Sondheim in Lyrics I created this collage of Sondheim’s words as requested by director Christopher Gatelli for an installment of the 92nd Street Y’s Lyrics & Lyricists series. The graphic was revealed in bits during the finale.
Representing this titan of theatre has been very important to me over the years. The illustration on the left (“Four Sondheims”) has appeared around the world for various Sondheim tributes and articles. And the six images on the right are various ways I’ve paid tribute to Mr. S on The Lights of Broadway Show Cards.
Jumping from stage to screens of various sizes, I’ve commemorated shows for some fab folks wrapping seasons of shooting.
Only Murders in the Building (Season 3) on Hulu, commissioned by Sas Goldberg. Claws on TNT, commissioned by Carrie Preston.
Seal Team on CBS, commissioned by Toni Trucks. Night Court on NBC, commissioned by Lacretta.
Since most my work is rooted in the world of theater – the storytelling, the movement, the drama – I’m occasionally enlisted to bring that visual sensibility to theatrical endeavors not necessarily found on stages.
Tournament of Champions For the 25th anniversary of this international squash tournament, the organization tasked me with creating key art to reflect NYC and the Broadway energy pulsing near the tourney’s venue, Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall. I’ve drawn players leaping over and around and through NYC landmarks. The top four finishers of the last TOC are featured there in action as well as in caricature portrait on large banners hung in GCT’s Grand Hall. My title treatment was also featured frequently on signage and merch.
Photos taken at Grand Central Terminal.
IMG Models In 2011, I was contacted by this premiere international modeling agency about creating a double page spread for publication in V Magazine featuring many of their top female models. Ultimately unpublished, the final illustration featured 24 of their top models in an imagined dinner scene at East Village hot spot Indochine.
At left is the final full image. At right is an early concept featuring 50 of IMG’s luminaries backstage in a vaudeville theater.
Mycotoo is a global entertainment development company specializing in theme park design, immersive experiences and best-in-class events worldwide. As they celebrated their ten year anniversary, I worked with them to create commemorative images for in-house company gifts and milestone merch. We featured several of their many projects around the world as well as the core team.
Among the big projects I was asked to feature were Bollywood Parks and Motiongate experience in Dubai, HBO’s immersive events for Westworld and Game of Thrones, Paisley Park in Minneapolis, and the company’s original venue.
A BroadWAY with Words As you’ll see throughout my work, hand-lettered titles and text have been integral to many of my designs. This series takes this a bit further and leans heavily on Broadway lyrics as the core of each illustration.
In this ongoing series, I’ve illustrated the words of Jerry Herman, Frank Loesser, Howard Ashman, Lynn Ahrens, and Anaïs Mitchell (above). Below, the words are all Stephen Sondheim.
From Shakespeare in the Park to Broadway, the Bard has…
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Delacorte Theatre, 2017 (Phylicia Rashad, Danny Burstein, Kristine Nielsen); Twelfth Night/Richard III, Belasco Theatre, 2016 (Mark Rylance, Samuel Barnett, Stephen Fry)
Two takes on King Lear: Delacorte Theatre, 2014 (John Lithgow); Cort Theatre, 2019 (Glenda Jackson)
The Tempest, Delacorte Theatre, 2015 (Sam Waterston); Romeo and Juliet, Richard Rodgers Theatre, 2013 (Orlando Bloom, Condola Rashad)
Two takes on Macbeth: Ethel Barrymore Theatre, 2013 (Alan Cumming); Vivian Beaumont Theatre, 2013 (Ethan Hawke, Anne-Marie Duff)
Inspired by Shakespeare: Douglas Carter Beane’s Fairycakes, using the fairy folk of Midsummer’s Night as a jumping off point for a whimsical, star-crossed romp; Taylor Mac’s Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, a “philosophical vaudeville” exploring who is left to clean up the mess left by powerful people.
The world of entertainment is plastered with endless posters. So, whether for print or for the online alternative, Squigs has designed a multitude.
Theatre World Awards My ongoing collaboration with the TWAs has been a joy. The oldest continuously-held theater awards in New York City, recipients are recognized for significant Broadway and off-Broadway debuts. The annual ceremony is always so full of heart.
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Squigs has treasured a multifaceted collaboration with BC/EFA for many years, including two years wherein they worked together on poster art for three major fundraising events each year.
Cathedral Catholic High School. Squigs’ longtime friend Katie Wilson teaches theatre arts at this San Diego area institution and has enlisted poster art for many student productions.
The Sunshine Boys. Theatrical publicity powerhouse AKA commissioned an illustration of the stars of this West End production before the final photographic concept would be realized. (Layout and design AKA/UK.)
Be More Chill. As part of the Broadway show’s promotions, Squigs was among the artists brought on to create limited edition posters based on characters in the show. This is The Squip, played by Jason Tam.
Sometimes an artist feels like things lined up pretty well in meeting their own expectations. Here are a few examples of pieces I think I came close to getting right.
Hadestown. Moulin Rouge.
A Strange Loop. Once On This Island.
A few illustrations with large ensemble casts: You Can’t Take It with You. The Front Page. The Iceman Cometh.
The Visit. A Man of No Importance.
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. The Hang.
Network. Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill. M Butterfly.
Peter and the Starcatcher. One Man, Two Guv’nors.
SpongeBob SquarePants. Cats. Disaster!
At the beginning of a play, a theater stage manager will make the call “house to half” calling for the lights in the auditorium to dim in anticipation of the start of the show.
As the world was still in global pandemic lockdown, I tried to explore why I was specifically in mourning over the loss of gathering communally to share stories. In theaters, yes, but also those moments of connecting in so many other ways. In many ways, our hearts dimmed for a significant amount of time. But on the other side of that dimming, it’s also a sign that something special is soon to come.
Logos and titles and labels…
Squigs cut his caricature teeth in the trenches of live quick-sketch event entertainment in Southern California. He doesn’t gig much any more, but the chops come in handy when celebrating events spontaneously or if real-time ink-slinging is right for an assignment. Here are a couple examples.
The streaming fundraising marathon to save NYC institution drew luminaries by the score. In a segment from Jim Caruso’s Cast Party and Broadway at Birdland, Squigs joined in on the fun by sketching on the fabulous talents showing their stuff, as he occasionally does at Birdland to benefit charity.
Bobby Spencer’s holiday joyful holiday anthem was a perfect showcase for Squigs’ quick doodling, timing various visual elements to specific lyrics, leading to a whimsical festive celebratory scene.
