Dan Moses Schreier's Floyd Collins Sound Design Requires Over 100 Speakers for Cave-Like Echoes

Dan Moses Schreier can boast nearly 60 Broadway credits as either a composer and sound designer. His latest is the Broadway bow of the Adam Guettel-Tina Landau musical Floyd Collins, which recently picked up six 2025 Tony nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical.

One of those six is for Schreier's crystal-clear sound design, which transports audiences to a small and lonely cave, a feat considering Lincoln Center's vast Vivian Beaumont Theater. The supremely moving production casts 2025 Tony nominee Jeremy Jordan—in his most powerful stage performance to date—as the ill-fated cave explorer, who created a sensation in 1925 when he became trapped in a Kentucky cave.

Schreier, it should be noted, also designed the sound for Floyd Collins' original Off-Broadway production in 1996. The day Tony nominations were revealed, the designer shared, "I first worked on Floyd Collins in 1996 when the show premiered Off-Broadway. What a gift to be able to revisit the show as a more experienced artist and be able to bring a new level of work and insight to the productions. It’s an incredible honor for the work to be recognized by the Tony committee after all these years."

Floyd Collins marks Schreier's sixth Tony nomination, following recognition of his sound design for the revival of The Iceman Cometh (2018), James Lapine's Act One (2014), the revival of A Little Night Music (2010), Sondheim on Sondheim (2010), and the revival of Gypsy (2008).

The Detroit, Michigan native, who has resided in New York City since 1976, also received commissions to compose scores for Broadway's The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino (2011), the world premiere of August Wilson’s Radio Golf (2007), Julius Caesar starring Denzel Washington (2005), The Glass Menagerie starring Jessica Lange (2005), Dance of Death starring Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren (2001), and The Tempest starring Patrick Stewart (1995). For The Public's Delacorte Theater in Central Park, he has composed scores for Troilus and Cressida (2016), King Lear starring John Lithgow (2014), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2007).

Schreier is currently collaborating on a new musical with Brian Selznick, based on Selznick's book The Houdini Box, for the La Jolla Playhouse.

In the interview below for the Playbill series How Did I Get Here—spotlighting not only actors, but directors, designers, musicians, and others who work on and off the stage to create the magic that is live theatre—Schreier shares the challenge of designing the sound for a musical set mostly underground, and how technology greatly affected his approach for the musical nearly 30 years after its Off-Broadway premiere.

Where did you train/study?
Dan Moses Schreier: I was born in Detroit and spent my freshman year at the University of Michigan. At the end of my freshman year, I was offered a year-long job in New York. I then continued my studies at Columbia University and New York University.

Was there a teacher who was particularly impactful/helpful? What made this instructor stand out?
In the year I took off from my studies, I worked as assistant to the composer Stanley Silverman, helping with various projects that introduced me to the New York theatre world. It was a true apprenticeship. The last project I assisted on was Joe Papp’s production of Threepenny Opera at Lincoln Center—in the same theatre where we are now doing Floyd Collins!

Can you detail the duties of a sound designer before and after a production opens?
I’m not sure most audience members know that when designers start work on a Broadway show, the theatre is completely empty—a true “black box.” So the first part of my job is designing the sound system appropriate for the theatre and the project. That means deciding how many speakers are needed, where do they go; which microphones are appropriate on which instruments; and if the production needs a “soundscape,” what do I need to create that atmosphere.

Next, I oversee the installation of all aspects of the sound system in the theatre. This entails collaborating with the set, lighting, and costume designers to make sure the sound design works with other design elements to tell our story.

Before previews begin, we hold “tech rehearsals,” when I work on enhancing the actors’ sound, balancing all instruments in the orchestra, and creating the soundscape that shapes the atmosphere that helps tell the story of the play or musical.

After the show opens, my work is finished, and it is the crew that executes and maintains the sound design of the production.

What were some of the challenges of designing the sound for Floyd Collins, especially since so much of the musical takes place underground?
Caves are three-dimensional spaces, so my challenge was how to create three-dimensional space in the theatre. This is particularly important in the opening section of the show where the character Floyd enters the cave for the first time. Adam has composed a wonderful sequence called “The Call,” which includes a number of moments when Floyd uses the echoes in the cave to sing with himself. I installed more than 100 speakers in the theatre to create the interior space of the cave. In that “space,” I’m able to move echoes all over the theatre. The fun part of this sequence is I am always using Jeremy Jordan’s (Floyd’s) voice live in real time to create these cave effects, in tempo with the music.

You also designed the original 1996 production. How much has technology changed since that time? Has there been any particular "game changer"?
Ha! In that time between the two productions, the world has crossed the digital divide. In the original, the cave canon effects were done with analogue external reverb units feeding one another. In the current version, all the canon and cave effects are created with computer software.

The other major difference between the two productions is the size of the stage and theatre. Floyd Collins was originally produced in a 250-seat theatre on a postage stamp-sized stage. This production is in a 1,000-seat theatre, one of the largest and deepest stages on Broadway. This posed a number of different challenges from the original production.

Is there much of a difference in approach to designing the sound for a musical versus a play? Do you have a preference?
It’s really apples and machinery. They are completely different animals. I love working on both.

George Rose, Linda Ronstadt, Rex Smith, and Kevin Kline in The Pirates of Penzance

What do you consider your big break?
After graduating, my first sound job in the theatre was as a sound mixer for The Pirates of Penzance at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, starring Linda Ronstadt and Kevin Kline. This led to my first sound design job at the Public Theater for a play written and directed by Richard Foreman and the Ontological/Hysteric Theater.

You've also designed a lot of Sondheim shows. Is there any memory of working with the late composer that stands out for you?
I had the great honor of working with Steve on 10 productions of his musicals. While working on those productions, he never once gave me a note about hearing the music. It was always notes about hearing the words.

What advice would you give your younger self or anyone starting out?
Be an omnivore and take in everything. Keep your eyes, ears, and mind wide open.

What is your proudest achievement as a designer?
Being able to live a creative life.