Imagine, if you will, sitting in Harlem New York’s famed Apollo Theater. The lights go down and suddenly the legendary Billie Holiday takes the stage. Of course, don’t let the fact that she died in 1959 freak you out. Thanks to the burgeoning art of hologram technology, Holiday is appearing before your very eyes as a digital apparition, electronically conjured from the afterlife in order to wow an entire new generation of audiences. At least, that’s the hope.
Come this November, the Apollo will launch a daytime show starring a holographic Holiday, marking the first time a theatre in the US will stage an ongoing show exclusively starring holographic technology. It’s an initiative that the theatre hopes could become a new tourist attraction and help bridge the gap between yesterday’s artists and today’s technology. “The Apollo has been at the forefront of innovation and experimentation since its opening,” explains Jonelle Procope, CEO of the Apollo, a venue that’s been around for a full century. “It’s such a compelling way to learn more about Billie’s artistry and her relationship with the theatre.”
The Apollo’s Holiday show is just the latest in a string of developments since hologram technology was first introduced at the Coachella festival in 2012. That was when hologram Tupac, in all of his digital glory, took the stage and garnered headlines around the world. Since then Hologram USA, the company behind the Tupac incarnation, have made holograms appear everywhere from the ABC talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live (where Kimmel appeared on stage in a Nashville theatre while being filmed in Los Angeles), to Vienna’s HIV/Aids charity event the Life Ball.
Now the company is moving beyond one-off appearances and transitioning into ongoing, full-length events, whether it’s the aforementioned Holiday show, a recently announced tour featuring a hologram of Whitney Houston, and even a totally holographic comedy club featuring performances from deceased greats like Richard Pryor opening as part of Jamestown, New York’s National Comedy Center next year.
“One of the things I have heard a lot of people say is that this gives them an opportunity to experience something they would never have gotten a chance to see live,” notes Procope, who sees Holiday as the first of many artists the Apollo could feature. “Right now, you can only see her perform on YouTube, which is great. But, this is an experience. You get to come to the Apollo and get a real sense of what seeing Billie Holiday on the stage would have been like. It’s fun, fresh, and immediate, and honours the achievements of the artist in a groundbreaking new way.”
Despite the hype, some questions still linger. While there’s an obvious novelty appeal, are holograms actually enjoyable to watch?
“I really appreciate live music, but I think the spontaneity of it all is what makes a show fun,” says Barbara Beran, a San Diego-based writer and PR who witnessed the holographic Tupac appearance. Of course, the nearest a hologram can get to spontaneity is if the power fails. “The vibe in the crowd was varied. Most of the people there were confused as to what was going on. I personally wasn’t too stoked on it; it was just kind of odd.”
Petros Anastos-Prastacos, a Los Angeles-based music producer, was also at the hologram Tupac show and echoes Beran’s sentiments. “Watching it wasn’t as big of a deal as everyone made it out to be later on,” he points out. “I thought it was just a little trick at the time.”
Procope is not yet divulging how much tickets to the Apollo’s Holiday show will be, as well as other details on length and the exact content of the show. After all, even she concedes that holograms will never be able to replace a live act.
“Live performances are very important to us, and we have more than 100 planned on our stages this year alone,” she says. “This initiative is something different – it’s an exciting and unique experience that will celebrate her legacy and connect a broader audience with her music. It allows audiences to experience aspects of a musician’s artistry they might not have been otherwise be able to.”
