Joe C. Klug Designs

Biography

Upcoming Projects:

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"Mama Mia"

      Oregon Cabaret Theatre 

      Ashland Oregon June 2019

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"Li'l Abner"

    Orlando Repertory Theatre

     Orlando Florida July 2019

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"Xanadu"

      Arizona Broadway Theatre

      Phoenix Arizona  September 2019

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"RagTime"

      Garden Theatre

      Orlando Florida  August 2019

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"Grease"

      Sierra Repertory Theatre

      Sonora  October  2019

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"Last Night in Ballyhoo"

      Arizona Repertory Theatre

      Tucson Arizona  November 2019

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"The Light in the Piazza"

      Arizona Repertory Theatre

      Tucson Arizona  April 2019

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"Matilda"

      Garden Theatre

      Orlando Florida  April 2020

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2010 - present

2010 - present

Reviews

"While I know that this is a show routinely performed on huge stages, Joe Klug’s incredibly intelligent set design and director/choreographer Valerie Rachelle’s superb staging make Oregon Cabaret Theatre’s petite stage look like the perfect home for the Greek taverna that Donna and Sophie call home. The colors and feel of the set immediately evoke the Greek vibe, and small painted details throughout make the world absolutely come alive. The only thing missing is a gentle Mediterranean breeze."   

Theatre in Oregon ("Mamma Mia")

"t’s a dazzling production, from its creatively and beautifully designed set to its incredible choreography — especially in “Voulez You” — and fun costuming, highlighted by some delightfully outlandish outfits for the three “dads” in a finale that struts, prances in a whip-up-the-audience frenzy. The blend is delicious. Rachelle and her team have created a show that, along with its raw emotional power, is also sexy, seductive, silly and fun. And, for anyone who loves ‘80s era golden oldies, the music is magic."

-Harold News ("Mamma Mia")

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"The show is very much a shared experience, and the Garden feels cozy during it. The giant flamingos flanking the stage instantly make you feel like you know where you are. If that sounds tacky, well, it's supposed to be, but scenic designer Joe Klug and his crew have put together an impressive set under the loving direction of Rob Winn Anderson "

-Broadwayworld ("The Legend of Georgia McBride")

"Joe Klug’s set cleverly pays homage to showbiz — and you feel Momma’s frustration pulse with the Vaudeville-style lights during the climactic “Rose’s Turn.” "

-Orlando Sentinel ("Gypsy")

"The set itself is lovely, designed by Joe Klug (who does wonders on this show without a fly system) as is the lighting by Alyx Jacobs." 

-Mostly Musical Theatre ("Gypsy")

"Joe C. Klug’s scenic design and Michael Powers’ lighting means the St. Luke’s stage has never looked better. It may be a trite statement, but it’s true: Each show I have seen at St. Luke’s is better than the last. “Peter and the Starcatcher” delightfully continues that upward trend."

-Orlando sentinel ("Peter and the Starcatcher")

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" Joe Klug’s scenic design marvelously evokes Notre Dame’s famed rose windows — and the whole theater helps set the mood. Stars sparkle in the ceiling, statues of saints gaze from the balcony and wall sconces flicker like firelight."

-Orlando Sentinel ("The Hunchback of Notre Dame")

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"Lit with theatrical splendor by Andrew H. Meyers, Joe C. Klug’s exquisite proscenium set design, complete with sumptuous draperies, backdrops and Vaudevillian placards, provides a fluid environment for this musical and is the icing on this gorgeous cake."

-Chicago Theatre Review ("Gypsy")

“Into the Woods” marks a new level of technical proficiency at the Garden.

Scenic designer Joe Klug’s book-laden set makes outstanding use of the Garden’s space and brilliantly mixes fairy tale with reality."

-Orlando Sentinel ("Into the Woods")

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"Hence Klug’s psychedelic scenic design, which joins Erin Paige’s sound design and Belley’s lighting design in paying homage to trippy days from the late 1960s that now seem markedly innocent.  That design puts a different, more positive spin on Junie B.’s gargantuan ego: She isn’t a tyrannical brat who wants to trump the world, but an enthusiastic kid who badly wants to share her story with the world, while erasing all separation between herself and everyone else."

-Journal Sentinal ("Junie B. Jones is not a Crook")

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"Joe C. Klug's scenic design renders an immersive visual reality to the mind of the main character. We’re looking at a larger-than life notebook spilled out all over stage. My 5-year-old daughter loved seeing people walk in and out of doors that were essentially large sheets of loose leaf paper. The sketch, scribble and wide-ruled notebook paper motif provides a rich backdrop for the story."

 -Shepard Express ("Junie B. Jones is not a Crook")

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"This Lavish production has what you'd want to see on Broadway, on a regional Santa Rosa Stage with superb scenery designed by Joe C. Klug."

-Marinscope ("A Little Night Music")

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"This youthful worldliness plays out on Joe Klug's set design, a fantastical place where the "uncooperative chair" reminisces another Lily-- Lily Tomlin's gigantic chair for her childlike alter ego Edith Ann, where the chair overwhelms the little mouse to great effect. Klug's shadowbox backdrop both backlit and filled with all things Lilly--books, pencils and of course, purses-- brightens the set with colorful warmth through Jesse Klug's lighting design. In Lilly's world, neon lights glow from behind gigantic polka dots and strobe to music.

  -Broadwayworld ("Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse")

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"Compliments must also be paid to Joe Klug’s inventive scenic design, which coats the full expanse of Greenhouse Theater’s performance space in chalk-based designs and theorems."

  -Chicago Theatre Review ("The Life of Galileo")

"The Life of Galileo is a powerful, thought-provoking story and this production is enhanced by Joe Klug’s creative scene design. The set is a simple workroom surrounded by blackboards, on which are projected the time and place of each scene—Padua 1609, Florence 1610, Rome 1616—as well as images and diagrams."

  - Third Coast Review ("The Life of Galileo" )

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"To begin the cabaret, DeMone's Pickle enters from the back tables and walks through the audience while relating Smith's sudden death in a car accident. After walking on stage, he then recalls an after hours show in a buffet flat, beautifully recreated by Scenic Designer Joe C. Klug"

 -Broadwayworld ("Devil's Music)

"Scenic designer Joe C. Klug has done up the Stackner stage as part bordello, part speakeasy and part nightclub, capturing the illicit and underground feel of a place that's both alluring and off-limits."

   -Journal Sentinel ("Devil's Music")

"The set is a collage blending different honky-tonks in Tennessee and a blizzard of country paraphernalia make the quaint Stackner Cabaret look positively tacky."

   -Showbiz Chicago ("The Doyle and Debbie Show")

"The Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s intimate cabaret theater is ideal for the close-up confessions made by the performers (and it helps tremendously in understanding the song lyrics). The set designer has done his homework, too. The stage is plastered with past show posters, beer signs (including some in neon lights), deer antlers and other country memorabilia."

   -TotalTheater.com ("The Doyle and Debbie Show")

"Joe Klug’s set of spare, gray plank walls comes with echoes of Holocaust barracks and more, and a highly effective use of projections (by John Boesche), works a truly horrific effect." 

   -Chicago Sun-Times ("Our Class")

" The play takes place on an empty stage enclosed on three sides by battered walls, creating a claustrophobic space that still allows for freedom of movement for the frequent ensemble scenes. The set by Joe C. Klug sets the proper bleak visual tone, complemented by John Boesche’s well-selected projections."

   -Chicagoland Theatre Review ("Our Class")

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