Romeo & Bernadette - Jon Berger - The Miller Machine

3 min read

Jon Berger’s setup for the 2020 Off Broadway Premier of Romeo & Bernadette: A Musical Tale of Verona and Brooklyn at A.R.T./New York Theatres in New York City.

"Orchestrator Steve Orich (from Jersey Boys) wrote a fun drum book intended for all acoustic drums and percussion. Initially the Sound department was concerned about controlling the volume in our very small black box theater so we opted to have me play on Roland V-Drums. Steve, however, insisted we keep all the percussion effects on acoustic instruments including using an acoustic crash for any light cymbal rolls, and an acoustic snare drum for playing with brushes. I was happy to try this combination but voiced my concerns about the over head microphones amplifying the ambient V-Drum stick on pad 'ticking' sound. Fortunately, the band is set to the side of the stage and behind thick curtains. As we teched the show we soon found that my concerns would not be an issue at all.

I suggested we have a Roland SPD-SX Sampling Pad at the ready to load any or all the percussion sounds in case there were any imbalance issues. So far we are not needing to use it. The balance between these two opposing mediums seems to be blending very well in the house.

I am using a Roland V-Drum TD-50 drum kit. I did all the V-Drum programming myself by simply editing and combining internal factory kits and available internal cymbal sounds.

Because of limited time to learn the show and program I opted to find and use one kit for the entire show. The score combines small snippets of Medieval music, some Big Band Swing, 2-Beat, Classical, a bit of 60's Rock, and R&B.

It is a limited one month run with a determined push by our wonderful producers at AMAS Musical Theater to hopefully move us to an open ended run at a larger New York City Off-Broadway house.

The musical concerns the famed Romeo, who finds himself in 1960 Brooklyn, chasing a girl he believes is his beloved Juliet. The girl is not Juliet but rather a foul-mouthed daughter of a crime family in this spoof of Shakespeare’s timeless tale.

Book and lyrics by Mark Saltzman, with music adapted from classic Italian melodies.

Direction and Choreography by Justin Ross Cohen. Lighting Design by Ken Billington. Musical Direction by Aaron Gandy. Orchestrations and Arrangements by Steve Orich."

Snare:

Ludwig 1970's 5"x14" Supraphonic Snare Drum

Percussion:

Remo Valencia Bongos with Mondo Heads
Gretsch 1945 Orchestra Bells
TreeWorks Tre35 Classic Chimes with Damper Bar
Steve Weiss Bell Tree
Meinl Signature Luis Conte Shaker
Pearl Clave Block Low
LP ES-2 Salsa Cha Cha Bell
LP Cyclops Tambourine with Brass Jingles
Miller Machine for Finger Cymbal
Ron Vaughn Ascend Wood Block Medium
Toca Castanet Machine
Chinese 10" Taiko Drum
Grover Pro Miller Machine
Grover Pro 6” Bronze Triangle
Zildjian Finger Cymbal

Cymbal:

Paiste 18" Masters Extra Thin Crash

Hardware:

DW 2000 Series Bass Drum Pedal
DW 6000 Series Snare Drum Stand
DW 9000 Series Cymbal Stands (2)
Stix Tube Stick Holder

Sticks/Mallets:

Vater V-CEM40MH Concert Medium Hard Mallets
Vater Fusion Hickory Drum Sticks
Vater VWTR Wire Tap Retractable Brushes
Malletech OR45R Bell Mallets
Miller Machine Triangle Beater
Steve Weiss Small Triangle Beater

Electronics:

Roland TD-50 V-Drums
Apple IPad 7 with forScore Sheet Music Software
Apple Pencil
K&M 19791 Universal iPad/Tablet Holder
Etymotic ER4PT In-Ear Monitors with Custom Fit Ear Buds

Jon is a proud endorser of Drum Workshop Drums and Hardware, Paiste Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, Vater Percussion, Etymotic Research, and Drumtacs.

Romeo & Bernadette - Off Broadway - Jon Berger
January 2020

Jon Berger’s setup for the 2020 Off-Broadway Premier of Romeo & Bernadette: A Musical Tale of Verona and Brooklyn at A.R.T./New York Theatres in New York City.

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