Latest / The 5G Podcast with Fexingo: Wireless Networks, Carriers, and Mobile Infrastructure / How 5G Is Quietly Transforming Live Theater Performances
Transcript
- Lucas: So last night I was at a Broadway show — the new revival of 'Sunday in the Park with George' at the Hudson Theatre — and about ten minutes in, I realized the entire set was being rendered in augmented reality through a pair of glasses I'd been handed at the door. Luna: Wait — you're saying the physical stage was basically bare, and the whole visual experience was coming through AR? Lucas: Exactly. There was a basic frame structure, some props, but the impressionist landscape — the park, the light, the water — that was all digital, overlaid in real time. And it worked flawlessly. No lag, no glitch. That doesn't happen by accident. That happens because that theater is running a private 5G network. Luna: Okay, you have to back up. Since when do theaters have their own cellular networks? Lucas: Since about 2023, really, but it's been quietly accelerating. The Hudson Theatre installed a dedicated CBRS band — that's Citizens Broadband Radio Service — 5G network in early 2025. CBRS is essentially a slice of the radio spectrum that the FCC opened up for private use. So the theater runs its own small cell network, completely separate from the public carriers. It's purpose-built for the show. Luna: And that's what powered the AR glasses? Lucas: That, plus about 200 other wireless devices. The sound system is fully wireless — every speaker, every mic, every monitor runs over that private 5G network. The lighting cues, the rigging sensors, the stage manager's tablet. Even some of the props have embedded sensors that trigger visual effects. All of it coordinated through a single network with latency under 10 milliseconds. Luna: Ten milliseconds. That's faster than the human reflex to sound. So the orchestra could be playing live, the singer's mic hits that latency, and the audience hears it in perfect sync with the visual — no lip-sync delay. Lucas: Exactly. One of the big headaches in theater has always been wireless audio latency. With traditional Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, you're looking at 30 to 50 milliseconds minimum. That might not sound like much, but in a live performance, it's enough to throw off a singer's timing or make a sound effect feel disconnected from the action. Private 5G cuts that to below 10. Luna: And what about the AR itself? I've seen AR in theme parks and museums, but those are fixed installations. A theater production changes every night — actors vary their blocking, audience members move. How does the network adapt? Lucas: That's where network slicing comes in. The CBRS network can dynamically allocate bandwidth based on priority. The AR video stream gets the highest slice — guaranteed throughput. The sound system gets another slice. The backstage logistics get a lower-priority slice. If 200 people are in the audience all wearing AR glasses, the network can handle that because it's not sharing spectrum with thousands of other devices on a public tower. It's a closed ecosystem. Luna: So the economics — is this cheaper than traditional wired setups? Because historically, theater tech involves miles of cable under the stage. Lucas: That's the surprising part. The production manager for 'Sunday in the Park' told me that the private 5G network cost about $150,000 to install — including the small cells, the core network equipment, and the spectrum licensing. That sounds like a lot, but compare it to the cost of rewiring a Broadway theater for a new show. That can easily run $500,000 to $1 million, and it takes weeks. With the 5G network, they set it up in three days and they can reconfigure it for the next show with a software update. Luna: Three days versus weeks. That changes the math for touring productions too, doesn't it? Lucas: Absolutely. Touring shows have to load in and out of theaters in a matter of days. If you can bring your own private 5G network in a few flight cases, you eliminate the single biggest variable: the venue's existing infrastructure. Some theaters have great wiring, some have nothing. A private network means you don't care. You just turn it on. Luna: But there's a creative question here. If the set is entirely digital, doesn't that change the nature of live performance? Part of what makes theater magical is the physicality — the real props, the real sets. Do we lose something? Lucas: It's a real debate. I talked to the director, and she said the goal isn't to replace physical sets but to augment them. In this production, they still have a real park bench, real trees, real costumes. The AR adds the sky, the water, the distant buildings — things that would be impossible to build physically on a Broadway stage. It's about expanding the palette, not removing the craft. Luna: I can see that. And I think audiences are already used to hybrid experiences — we watch movies with CGI, we play video games with AR. Theater is just catching up. Lucas: Exactly. And the technology isn't limited to big-budget Broadway. Regional theaters are starting to experiment. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival ran a pilot last year using a private 5G network for their outdoor amphitheater — they had issues with weather interference, but they proved the concept. Luna: What about the AR glasses themselves? Are they comfortable for a two-hour show? Lucas: The ones at the Hudson were surprisingly light — about 80 grams, which is less than a pair of sunglasses. They look like normal glasses, just slightly thicker frames. The battery lasted the entire show, and they had a proximity sensor so if you looked down at your program, the AR paused automatically. It felt natural, not gimmicky. Luna: I'm curious about the backstage logistics. You mentioned sensor-laden props. What does that look like in practice? Lucas: So in one scene, the character George — that's the painter Seurat — picks up a paintbrush, and as he does, the brush triggers a sensor that sends a signal over the 5G network. That signal tells the AR system to project a splash of color onto the canvas he's painting. The timing has to be precise — if the AR lags even half a second, the illusion breaks. With the private network, it's instantaneous. Luna: That's incredible. And the stagehands — how are they using the network? Lucas: They wear smartwatches connected to the network that receive cues textually and vibrationally. In a traditional theater, stagehands rely on headsets or visual signals — a light flash, a hand gesture. With the smartwatches, they get a silent, discreet cue exactly when they need to move a set piece. It reduces errors and noise backstage. Luna: So the whole production becomes a choreographed digital ecosystem. I wonder how long until every Broadway theater has one of these networks. Lucas: The Shuberts — that's the biggest Broadway landlord — have already installed CBRS networks in three of their theaters, with plans to do all seventeen by 2028. They see it as a competitive advantage. And the West End in London is watching closely. The Royal Opera House is testing a similar setup for their ballet productions. Luna: And what about the audience side? Could I watch a show from home, like a live stream, over 5G? Lucas: Several theaters are actually experimenting with that. The National Theatre in London has been live-streaming performances for years, but with 5G, they're testing multi-camera setups that let viewers choose their own angle. You could watch the show from the orchestra pit, or from the balcony, or even from the actor's perspective using a body-worn camera. That's still in pilot, but the bandwidth requirements are huge — and 5G is what makes it feasible. Luna: Before we wrap, I want to touch on something you mentioned earlier — the cost savings. $150,000 for the network versus up to a million for rewiring. That's a compelling business case. But what about ongoing costs? The spectrum licensing, maintenance, upgrades? Lucas: The CBRS spectrum license costs about $1,500 per year per theater. Maintenance is minimal — mostly software updates. And the equipment is standard 5G gear, so as the technology evolves, they can upgrade components without replacing the whole network. The total cost of ownership over five years is roughly $200,000, compared to maybe $800,000 for a traditional wired system that might need to be completely replaced for the next show. Luna: That's a no-brainer for producers. I'm surprised more theaters haven't made the switch already. Lucas: The barrier is expertise. Most theater tech directors know lighting and sound, but they don't know RF engineering. So they need partners — companies like Boingo or Crown Castle that specialize in private networks. But as more case studies emerge, I think we'll see rapid adoption. Luna: And speaking of adoption — you mentioned regional theaters. Are there any examples of smaller venues using this technology? Lucas: Yes, the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago installed a small-scale private 5G network last year for their studio space. They use it for a mix of live-streamed performances and in-person shows with interactive elements. Their budget was under $50,000 because they used a smaller number of cells. It's proof that this isn't just for Broadway. Luna: I love that. So the technology is democratizing access to high-end production tools. That feels like the real story here. Lucas: It is. And it ties back to something we talk about a lot on this show — 5G isn't just about faster phones. It's about creating dedicated, reliable networks for specific industries. Theater is just one example, but it's a beautiful one because it's an art form that hasn't changed its technical backbone in decades. Luna: Speaking of the show — you know, a handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's literally what funds making episodes like this. No ads, no sponsors, just people who find the tech conversations useful. Lucas: Yeah, it's a small group, but it keeps the whole thing running. And that means we can spend time digging into niche angles like this one — private 5G networks in theaters — without worrying about advertiser approval. Luna: Exactly. So if today's conversation gave you something usable, that's the model. Back to the topic — where do you see this going in the next five years? Lucas: I think we'll see a standard theater tech stack emerge: a private 5G core, a set of AR glasses, a wireless sound system, and a backstage coordination platform. It'll become as normal as having a lighting board. And eventually, the audience will expect it — just like they expect surround sound in a movie theater. Luna: That's a bold prediction. But after seeing 'Sunday in the Park' last night, I'm inclined to agree. Lucas: It's a new kind of magic. And it's running on 5G.