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There is something inherently magical about the way theater designers bridge the gap between a dark stage and the infinite cosmos using nothing but backdrops, paint, fiber optics, and light. In some cases, the theater seems to open the ceiling to the sky, bringing the infinite world right down to the stage.

In literature and drama, the sky and stars rarely just symbolize the “weather” or “background.” Because they are physically above us and seemingly eternal, they act as a canvas for humanity’s biggest questions, such as our fate, divinity, and the tiny scale of our own lives. Phrases such as “it was written in the stars” or “star-crossed lovers” are just a few of the ways that stars, the constellations and the nighttime sky have made their way into our vernacular.

Here are a few of the sky and star-themed backdrops to use in your performances that require a nighttime view of the solar system. Famous theatrical performances such as Mamma Mia!, Peter Pan, Anastasia, Les Misérables, and Fiddler on the Roof use the backdrop of the sky and stars. Take a look at a few backdrops from our extensive inventory that you can choose for your next performance.

Foreboding Skies

If you need a backdrop of skies that indicate something is dangerous, foreboding or scary, this Thunder and Lightning Backdrop features a night sky with two bolts of lightning.

This Cloud Backdrop could indicate something malicious is on its way to the stage and includes a translucent, light-blue sky with clouds, signifying a storm is coming!

Serene and Clear Skies

Clear skies and clear sailing are symbolic of a clean slate, intellectual and spiritual clarity and the truth.

This Clouds Tab Backdrop shows a blue sky with puffy white clouds.

This Sky and Ocean Backdrop may depict a simple sky, clouds, and ocean, but it can symbolize that issues have been resolved and that everything is clear and understood.

Sunrise & Sunset

Sunrise and sunset almost always symbolize transition, but the direction of that transition changes everything. Sunrise often represents the ultimate symbol of rebirth, hope and re-entry into the world. In contrast, sunsets are inherently melancholic because they mark the death of a day.

This Sunset Backdrop features the sun setting over the ocean with an orange sky.

This Riverbank Sunset Backdrop depicts a gorgeous sunset sky reflecting on a lake. The sky and lake are translucent, while the hills are opaque.

This Sunset Sky Backdrop features a late afternoon sunset over the ocean.

Whether your performance calls for the peaceful solitude of a distant hill, the dramatic symbolism of a snow-capped peak, or the intense imagery of a volcanic eruption, the right backdrop is essential for setting the tone. We encourage you to visit Backdrops By Charles H. Stewart today to view the complete collection of stunning landscapes and theatrical scenery, ensuring you find the perfect setting for your next play, musical, dance recital, or concert.

Looking to create a little drama on your stage in the form of a medieval castle? Backdrops by Charles H. Stewart has you covered from drawbridges to turrets and from throne rooms to dungeons. Are you putting on a production of a fairytale like Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella or the Wizard of Oz? Or, perhaps you’re creating the legendary world of King Arthur and the Knights at the Round Table, as seen in productions of Camelot. No matter what type of kingdom, we have a comprehensive inventory of backdrops suitable for a king.

What Does a Castle Portray to an Audience?

Historically, castles have been a common theme in fairy tales and fantasy storylines across plays and musicals. They symbolize a wide array of emotions and elements to an audience, from the regal power and ultimate authority of a monarch to the fanciful romance of a fairytale where every ending is happy. Castles can also be seen as large and grand, with a note of opulence and power in the towering turrets and unbreakable stone walls. Or they can evoke the fading glory of a kingdom if the castle is crumbling. Castles can portray an air of wealth and time-honored lineage or a gothic foreboding should a scene with a dungeon or alligator-filled moat be needed for a performance.

Enchant your audience or set the stage for a kingdom-sized power struggle with one of our nearly 50 castle-themed backdrops.

Fairytale Castle Exterior

Perfect for your production of Snow White or Cinderella, this Fairyland Palace Backdrop features a Magic Kingdom-like palace with a pink and blue sky.

For a more colorful castle, this Fairyland Palace Backdrop depicts a beautiful palace set amid a colorful landscape where unicorns, butterflies, and fairies can roam. It comes complete with a double rainbow.

For a more traditional stone castle with a drawbridge and turrets, this Castle Wall Backdrop features a Medieval stone castle exterior wall with a large, ornate wood door.

For a little more mystery, this Castle in the Mist Backdrop features a distant castle reflected in a lake and a hazy landscape.

One-of-a-Kind Castles & Palaces

Some productions featuring castles or palaces require a unique look that matches the production’s theme. For instance, Frozen, the Musical, would not be complete without the iconic ice castle where Elsa takes shelter as she runs from herself. Or the famous castle in the Wizard of Oz, where the great and powerful Oz controls the show and is discovered as a fraud.

This Emerald City Backdrop depicts the iconic Land of Oz with the yellow brick road winding through poppy fields up to Emerald City!

This Ice Palace Backdrop is the ideal home for Elsa, as it offers a winter landscape at night, showing a large snow and ice palace.

Unique Castle Destinations: Dungeons & Throne Rooms

This Dungeon Backdrop features a bare stone wall with three iron wood doors. This is the perfect backdrop for a holding cell for a prisoner of the kingdom.

Another unique destination in any castle is the Throne Room, where heroes are treated to an audience with the King or Queen. This Great Hall Backdrop depicts a medieval stone castle with banners and columns. It provides all the pomp and circumstance befitting a regal pair.

From the regal power of the throne room to the dark mystery of the dungeon, the right castle backdrop can instantly transport your audience to a world of medieval drama and high fantasy. Ready to crown your production with the perfect setting? Explore the full array of nearly 50 castle and palace backdrops and find the one truly befitting a king or queen at Backdrops By Charles H. Stewart today.

The Addams Family mansion is as much a character as Gomez or Morticia. It’s a crumbling, Gothic fortress steeped in history and shadow, yet somehow filled with love. This presents a unique challenge for theatrical design: how do you capture that specific blend of the spooky and the sentimental with a flat backdrop?

In this blog post, we’re peeling back the cobwebs to look at some fantastic options for bringing the Addams’ gloriously morbid home to your stage production.

The Addams Family Backstory

While you may see a family and a home all wrapped in a macabre, gothic, and dark-humored aesthetics, the Addams Family cherishes unconventionality, deep affection for one another, and unwavering support that defies traditional societal norms while maintaining a strong, close-knit family unit.

The evolution of the Addams Family story is interesting and long. The story originated as a series of cartoons by Charles Addams in The New Yorker starting in 1938. Originally unnamed, they were designed as a satirical, wealthy, and loving inversion of the typical suburban family, delighting in the macabre, gothic, and grotesque. In the 1960s, the show was a popular live-action television series. In the 1990s, it was a popular live-action film featuring Raúl Julia and Anjelica Huston. The Addams Family musical opened on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on April 8, 2010, and successfully ran for 722 performances and 34 previews, closing on December 31, 2011. The musical comedy offers music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa. Presently, the family can be found on popular Netflix series such as Wednesday.

The theatrical production follows the main characters in the Addams clan, including Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsley, Uncle Fester, and Grandma. They live in a spooky and moody mansion with a disembodied hand (Thing) and a butler (Lurch). They are blissfully unaware of how scary and different they seem to the rest of the living world.

The story follows the family’s 18-year-old daughter, Wednesday, who is ready to lead a life of her own. She has fallen in love with Lucas Beineke, a sweet, smart boy from a normal, respectable Ohio family. She has invited his family to dinner, which leads to one fateful, hilarious night, where secrets are disclosed, relationships are tested, and the Addams family must face up to the one horrible thing they’ve managed to avoid for generations: change.

The Addams Family Home

To create the Addams Family home on your stage, consider some of these options for both the exterior or interior scenes.

This Haunted House Backdrop features a spooky house exterior at night, with dim moonlight, gnarled tree silhouettes, and a wrought-iron fence.

This Mansion at Night Backdrop depicts the exterior of a mansion, with nighttime tones that enhance its macabre appearance.

For the formal, “not of this century,” aesthetics of the Addams’ Family home, this Victorian Interior Backdrop features a living room interior with a center fireplace, bookshelves and windows left and right.

Spooky Skies, Woods & Graves

As an alternative to the family home for scenes throughout the production, these options that include moonlit skies, mysterious woods and graveyards would be ideal.

This Graveyard Backdrop features rows of headstones under overgrown, dangling-branched trees.

For a nighttime view of a graveyard, this Graveyard Backdrop offers a creepy view where the moon is translucent, but the hills, gravestones and trees are opaque.

This Moonlight Serenade Backdrop offers a view of the night sky, with stars, the moon, and cloud cover.

This Spider Forest Backdrop features a creepy forest with a large spider web and gnarled trees.

From the grand, decaying opulence of the family mansion to the chilling beauty of the moonlit graveyard, the backdrops you choose will define the world of The Addams Family for your audience. A successful design perfectly balances the spooky and the sweet, setting the stage for every hilarious disaster and heartfelt confession. Ready to find the perfect setting for Gomez, Morticia, and the entire ghoulish clan? Explore the nearly thirty unique backdrops available for your Addams Family production at Backdrops by Charles H Stewart today and bring your gloriously morbid vision to life.

Music is a universal language that appeals to people of all ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, cultural communities, political ideologies and across national boundaries. It should come as no shock, then, that many plays, musicals and theater productions have musical themes. Dance recitals, school events and photoshoots often use music as a unifying power for the communities they serve.

Backdrops By Charles H. Stewart offers nearly thirty unique backdrops using music as the theme, such as notes, musical instruments, dancers, and sheet music, to set the stage for your next performance. Let’s explore a few options to take your production to the next level.

Set the Scene with a Musical Vibe

Whether your organization is hosting a dance recital, comedy night, theatrical performance or an awards night, a musical backdrop can set the tone for your event.

Musical Notes

Music inspires us all, whether we are celebrating a milestone event or mourning the passing of a loved one. Musical notes symbolize this inspiration.

This Record Warp III Backdrop features wavy musical notes, floating records, and yellow stars throughout.

This Musical Space Backdrop shows tumbling CDs and musical notes set against a colorful space background.

Instruments

This Classical Novelty Backdrop features many recognizable orchestral instruments, including strings, brass, and percussion. In the background, musical notes appear.

This Piano Border Novelty Backdrop features piano keys around the border with two trumpets spotlighted in the center.

Dancers

This Just Dance Backdrop depicts silhouettes of dancers with spotlights.

This Rock Concert Backdrop features the silhouette of a rock band and crowd against a smoky purple background.

Music is widely recognized as a universal language, effortlessly connecting people across ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, cultural communities, political ideologies, and national boundaries. This unifying power makes musical themes a natural fit for plays, musicals, dance recitals, and other theater productions. Backdrops By Charles H. Stewart supports this connection by offering nearly 30 unique backdrops featuring musical notes, instruments, dancers, and sheet music to set the stage and elevate any musical-themed event or performance.

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, step right up! Dim the lights, queue the popcorn, and prepare to be transported to a world of wonder in our Big Top center ring! Today, we are looking at circus backdrops that can transport your audiences to the spectacular world of high wire acts, acrobatics, death-defying spectacles, animals and more!

Whether your theater group, dance troupe, or school is hosting a circus-themed musical or play, a dance exhibition with a circus theme or a celebration such as a carnival, birthday party or photoshoot, Backdrops By Charles H. Stewart can provide the perfect backdrop setting for your special event. Let’s explore the many circus-themed backdrops available.

The Greatest Show On Earth

Once known as the tagline of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the “Greatest Show on Earth” moniker has become synonymous with circus entertainment around the world. From swinging trapeze artists to feats of wonder, the circus has touched many of us in our childhoods. Here are just a few of the more than twenty backdrops available here at Backdrops By Charles H. Stewart.

Acrobatics

Twists, turns and death-defying leaps are features on these backdrops ideal for a dance recital, circus-themed birthday party or school special event.

This Circus Tab Backdrop features circus performers performing acrobatic stunts in silhouette.

This Cirque Tab Backdrop depicts colorful, abstract contortionists performing for the crowd.

The Big Top

An image often conjured when envisioning the circus is a large red-and-white-striped tent, lined with lighting and ribbons to attract the attention of passersby.

This Circus Interior Backdrop features an interior view of a tent like this, with the three center rings and special guests in the background.

This colorful Circus Backdrop showcases clowns and other performers showing off their skills under the Big Top.

This exterior view, titled Circus Tent Exterior Backdrop, is an ideal welcome to the circus. It features a red and yellow striped circus tent showing different circus act posters such as bears, elephants, tigers and, of course, clowns and acrobats.

This unique Circus Wagon Split Backdrop features a circus on the go, with a colorful wagon for lions, tigers, and bears as it travels from town to town. It displays a large sign reading Greatest Show On Earth as it rolls to the next performance city.

Backdrops By Charles H. Stewart offers a wide range of circus-themed backdrops for events such as dance recitals, theatrical productions, and carnivals. We’ve showcased just a glimpse of the “Greatest Show On Earth” collection, featuring dynamic acrobatic silhouettes, classic Big Top interiors and exteriors, and the charming Circus Wagon Split design. To explore the full range of over twenty available backdrops and find the perfect setting to bring your circus-themed vision to life, visit the Backdrops By Charles H. Stewart website today!

Thoughts of Las Vegas conjure images of neon lights, all-night casinos, and round-the-clock entertainment. The famous entertainment and hotel strip is filled with over-the-top excess and indulgence, earning it the nickname “Sin City.” Many a play and musical has been set in Las Vegas or a Vegas-type city, where the glittering lights juxtapose the seedy underbelly of what fame can be.

Guys & Dolls, Casino Girl, Lucky Stiff, Honeymoon in Vegas, and Gambler are just a few of the productions that use gambling or Las Vegas as the setting. Let’s explore the many backdrops of this category offered at Backdrops By Charles H. Stewart.

The Vegas Strip

The place most commonly associated with Las Vegas is the “strip,” a famous 4-mile stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, just south of downtown Las Vegas. It is known globally as a hub for luxury resorts, casinos, entertainment, dining, and nightlife, featuring iconic landmarks such as the Bellagio Fountains and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, as well as themed hotels recreating world cities.

This Las Vegas Casino Backdrop features some of these famous and fabulous Las Vegas hotel casinos.

This backdrop, the Las Vegas Casino Backdrop, features typical gambling items such as casino chips, a roulette wheel, and playing cards.

This Las Vegas Backdrop is another option featuring all of the famous Las Vegas casinos on the strip, including the iconic Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Venetian, Bellagio, and Golden Nugget signs.

This Las Vegas Backdrop depicts a night scene featuring various casino hotels, including the Luxor and Caesars.

Casinos & Stages

Casinos and entertainment venues are essential to Las Vegas’s identity, which is known globally as a hub for luxury resorts, gambling, and round-the-clock entertainment. Backdrops featuring casinos and live entertainment stages are the epitome of the city’s nightlife and iconic attractions.

Live entertainment of showgirls or famous performers/singers would make for an ideal backdrop. This Showgirls Backdrop is currently on sale for $500.00 and features beautiful showgirls who grace the stage in their dramatic costumes.

For performances seeking a simpler backdrop that showcases the stage, this Cabaret Drapes Backdrop features elegant red drapes with light orbs.

This String of Gold Backdrop features strings of gold coins for that shimmering effect with a black background and would be ideal to set the stage for a dance recital, play or musical.

From the glittering spectacle of the famous Strip to the intimate setting of a stage or casino floor, a Las Vegas backdrop is the epitome of excitement and glamour, perfect for a wide variety of theatrical productions. By selecting a dazzling, high-quality backdrop from Backdrops By Charles H. Stewart, you can instantly transport your audience into the vibrant, non-stop world of “Sin City” and capture the essence of its unique entertainment culture for your next show. Be sure to explore the full collection today and find the perfect glittering scene for your production.

When most people think of a farm, they think of an iconic, rustic red building surrounded by animals such as cattle, pigs, chickens and of course, a barnyard dog. The thought evokes a powerful image and a sense of nostalgia for American agricultural heritage. The American farm and barn are found in many plays and musicals throughout American history.

Let’s explore the imagery of barn and farm settings for your next rustic production, whether it is a scene from The Wizard of Oz, as Dorothy is swept away by a twisting tornado or Footloose, where small-town teens learn how to dance from a big city kid. Or perhaps your school is preparing for a production of other plays and musicals with scenes that depict agrarian life, such as Our Town, Oklahoma or The Music Man.

Barn Backdrops to Set the Stage

Farms historically symbolize a simpler time, when settlers planted crops, raised their children in nature and were self-sufficient with cattle and an agrarian lifestyle. Farms and barns also harken back to a time of resilience, independence, hard work and leaving a legacy by living off the land.

Performances such as The Music Man, Oklahoma, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Footloose explore these themes, and our backdrops help create an atmosphere that draws audiences in and keeps them engaged throughout the production. Here are a few of our barn/farm backdrops to help your theater group set the stage for a fantastic performance.

Barn Exteriors

For theatrical performances that aim to showcase the exterior of a farm environment or its actual structures, these options, along with many others, can be rented from Backdrops By Charles H. Stewart.

This Red Barn Theater Backdrop features the exterior of a “Red Barn Theater,” with an extensive theater schedule, a wishing well, and an open door leading into the theater. The red color is iconic and evokes the historic nature of barns and farms.

This Farm Backdrop features a traditional farm landscape, with a farmhouse and barn, a wooden post fence, and an overgrown cornfield under bright blue skies. It is ideal for The Wiz, The Wizard of Oz, Oklahoma, and Honk!

Another option for an exterior farm scene is this Farm Backdrop, featuring a traditional white farmhouse, an adjacent barn, and cornfields with a large tree.

Interior Barn Scenes

For productions with scenes within the interior of a barn or farmhouse, here are a few options for your backdrops.

This Shed Interior Tab Backdrop shows a crowded barn interior with a hay loft, farm equipment and a wagon.

Another Shed Interior Tab Backdrop features a barn interior with a hay loft, a wood pile and a wooden wagon.

This Barn Interior Backdrop features a rustic wood barn interior showing a loft with hay.

This Barn Interior Backdrop features a rustic wood barn interior with a loft and many pieces of farm equipment.

From iconic red barn exteriors to rustic wood interiors, a barn or farm backdrop provides a versatile and meaningful setting for a wide range of theatrical productions, from beloved classics like Oklahoma and The Wizard of Oz to modern favorites like Footloose. By choosing an authentic, high-quality backdrop from Backdrops By Charles H. Stewart, your theater group can effortlessly set the stage, draw in your audience, and bring the rich symbolism of American agrarian life to your next performance. Explore the full collection today to find the perfect rustic scene for your production.

Crystal-clear water, soft sand, rocky shorelines, white puffy clouds and miles of water as far as the eye can see. Beaches, seashores, and waterfront scenes are a common theme in theater productions. How are you planning to transform your stage into a beachfront oasis? Backdrops By Charles H. Stewart offers over 30 options for seaside staging.

Productions such as Pirates of the Caribbean, The Little Mermaid, Carousel, Mamma Mia and Pirates of Penzance all have one thing in common: scenes that depict the ocean, beaches or waterfront living. Let’s explore the many options of beach stage settings from rocky shorelines to tropical paradises.

The Beach at Sunset

There’s nothing quite so romantic as the beach at sunset, as you watch the glow change colors and then disappear. Backdrops by Charles H. Stewart offers several options for scenes transitioning from day to night.

This Tropical Sunset Tab Backdrop lets audiences feel like they are right there, watching the sunset over the ocean in this lush setting.

This Island Sunset Backdrop offers another option for setting the stage with a beautiful sunset over a sandy, tropical beach.

This Tropical Sunset Backdrop offers a slightly different sunset hue, with palm trees silhouetted against an orange-and-yellow sky.

Rocky Coast Beaches

Not all beaches are the same. Some feature soft, white sand, while others have ragged, rocky coasts. Here are a few that depict the rocky shore for your beach setting.

This Rocky Coast Backdrop features several rocky cliffs and free-standing rock formations in the ocean, surrounded by blue water and wisps of clouds in the sky.

This Rocky Coast Backdrop features a translucent seacoast and sky, set against a rocky landscape. There is a 3′ black border across the top as shown.

Sand and Sun: Beach Fun

For theatrical performances that center on beach fun, we offer several options for depicting beach blankets, umbrellas, and beach toys.

This crowded and colorful Atlantic City Boardwalk Beach Backdrop shows the busy boardwalk as well as the Steel Pier, sandy beach, ocean waves, and beach tents.

This serene Tropical Beach Tab Backdrop gives a panoramic view of a sandy beach with palm trees and umbrellas.

This beautiful Bali Hai Backdrop features a tropical beach with a distant island rising from the water.

To view all of our beach backdrops featuring sunsets, beautiful stretches of sand, rocky outposts and crystal clear waters, visit our backdrop listing by category and search for beaches.

Praised for its bold and somewhat sexy choreography, Chicago the Musical is both a celebration of the Jazz Age glitz and glamour and a scathing rebuke of how superficial the pursuit of fame can be. From vaudeville theaters to jazz clubs and from the gritty streets of Chicago to the cold courtroom scenes, Chicago offers a look inside Broadway’s longest-running American musical.

Let’s take a look at both the glamour and grit behind this beloved musical and how your theater can set the stage to bring your audience right inside every incredible choreographed moment.

The Story of Chicago

The musical Chicago is set in the 1920s and follows aspiring chorus girl Roxie Hart, who murders her lover after he threatens to leave her. She hires the slick lawyer Billy Flynn to make her a celebrity through sensational headlines, which puts her in direct competition with established vaudeville star Velma Kelly, who is in jail for murdering her husband and sister. It is there that Roxie meets Velma, and their competition for the limelight begins. By the end of the storyline, both women find that their celebrity status is fickle, as audiences quickly move on to the next sensationalized scandal.

Setting Your Theater for Chicago

The scenes that chronicle the story of Roxie and Velma shift from jazz clubs of the 1920s to courtrooms, jails, the streets of Chicago and vaudeville theaters. Here are just a few of the many backdrops available at Charles H. Stewart to showcase your performance of Chicago.

The Streets of Chicago

There are many options for setting the stage for the streets of Chicago, including graffiti-sprayed walls, underpasses and skyline images that will help your audience be transported to the Prohibition Era in Chicago, Illinois.

This Under the Bridge Backdrop features the underside of an elevated highway or elevated train, such as the Chicago “L.” It also shows the steel supports under the bridge, depicting the cold and sometimes dirty side of city living.

This Cityscape Backdrop features a black-and-white view of city buildings.

This City Street Backdrop shows a street-level view of storefronts, brownstones, coffee shops, restaurants and apartments.

This Night Skyline Backdrop features a beautiful evening skyline with city lights reflecting off the waters of Lake Michigan.

Jazz Club & Bars

Since Chicago is set during the height of the Jazz Age and a time of prohibition, jazz clubs and bars play a role in setting the stage for the production.

This jazz backdrop, titled Jazz Music Backdrop, is currently for sale. It presents a black-and-white depiction of some of the greatest jazz musicians and singers ever to grace the stage.

This Pub Interior Backdrop features a wood-panel interior, a wooden-beam ceiling, and the bar on the left.

Theaters

For scenes where the main characters show off their choreography chops, this theater backdrop is great at bringing the audience into the 1920s theater environment.

This Center Stage Backdrop features floor lights, spotlights, and front-stage curtains.

Courtroom Scenes

For scenes where the two leading ladies head to court for their crimes, this Courtroom Interior Cut Backdrop is ideal, featuring a wood-panel interior with a central cutaway and two large Corinthian columns.

To view all of our backdrop options for Chicago, visit our show suggestion page or use our search feature to look up specific backdrops for your performance.

Proudly renting theatrical backdrops to the United States and Canada for over 100 years.