Production Resource Group (PRG) may not be a familiar name to the average theatergoer, but PRG is responsible for the practical execution of artists’ visions to make theater magic all across Broadway. PRG is where technology meets design; the company provides equipment and/or services for 23 of the 26 productions currently on the Main Stem at the time of publication.
From light and audio rentals to video and projection mechanisms, from scenic automation capabilities to operational software, PRG is the company that provides artists with the physical means to realize their vision.
PRG first began as two separate companies: Harris Production Services, founded by Jere Harris in 1984, and Scenic Technologies, established by Fred Gallo in 1985. According to PRG’s vice president of Broadway, Alex Donnelly, when “The Phantom of the Opera” transferred from London to Broadway in 1988, the dominant scenic shop of the time (Feller Scenic Studios) wasn’t able to take on the production. “Fred and Jere sensed there was going to be an opportunity for another scenic shop trying to go after these big Broadway shows,” said Donnelly. Harris and Gallo teamed up to birth PRG “with that combination specifically focused on scenery and automation,” Donnelly continued. “A lot of places can do scenery, but usually it is a theater-specific company that will do automation and integrated scenery.”
The company has continued to grow, incorporating more and more technologies into its arsenal of what it can offer clients. What started out as scenery and automation has graduated to include lighting, audio, video and live broadcast. As Donnelly said, PRG provides “anything to do with technical theater.”
