When Taieri Musical staged Jesus Christ Superstar at Dunedin’s Regent Theatre, the team faced the challenge of delivering consistent sound across one of New Zealand’s largest and most ornate venues. The 1,600-seat theatre’s baroque-revival architecture and deep balconies create acoustic and visual constraints, requiring a system that could balance clarity and coverage without obstructing the venue’s historic sightlines.
To meet these challenges, Strawberry supplied a JBL Professional sound system with system engineering led by Dave Bennet. The main left and right arrays featured three JBL VTX B18 subwoofers with four JBL VTX A8 loudspeakers per side, ground-stacked beneath the proscenium to maintain clear sightlines. Additional hangs of four VTX A8 loudspeakers per side provided coverage for the circle, while a center cluster of eight VT4886 loudspeakers were dedicated to vocals.
Six JBL AC25 loudspeakers delivered dialogue coverage under the balcony, suspended discreetly from the circle’s front lighting rail, and JBL SRX712 loudspeakers were used for additional coverage and stage foldback. The system ran on Crown I-Tech 4×3500 amplifiers with JBL Performance Manager software providing centralized control and tuning.
“In a theatre like the Regent the challenge is covering all the seats while staying out of the sightlines,” Bennet said. “You can’t just hang giant speaker arrays in front of the stage and those beautiful views. Instead, we used a mix of flown and ground-stacked arrays, discreet under-balcony fills and a few spot fills for the tricky areas.”
Sound designer and mixer Tom Acklin of Crossfade refined the mix throughout the production, balancing the rock band’s intensity with clear vocal reproduction. “Sound design for a rock musical like Jesus Christ Superstar comes with many challenges and trade-offs, but the JBL range makes it elegant,” Acklin said. “The VTX A8 handling the band content is the heart of the system. It ticks many boxes for me as a sound designer, full-range frequency response down to 60Hz, compact size to avoid those sightline issues and a wide 110-degree dispersion that’s perfect for this venue.”
The distributed JBL system achieved even coverage throughout the Regent Theatre, ensuring audiences across all seating areas experienced the same clarity and impact. “It’s all about making sure the story reaches everyone, no matter where they’re sitting,” Acklin said.
According to Bennet, the production demonstrated how well the JBL VTX A Series adapts to the acoustic and logistical challenges of live theater. “The key takeaway is that the A8s are at home in this kind of deployment,” he said. “From their wide coverage to their impressive low-end output even in small numbers, they’re an excellent choice for a musical show that needs big energy in a compact package.”
By integrating a flexible system of JBL VTX, SRX, and A Series loudspeakers with Crown amplifiers, the Regent Theatre achieved a dynamic, intelligible sound environment suited for both rock musicals and theatrical productions.
