The auditoriumhas aprosceniumstage and aseating capacity of 221; it can be configured for different kinds of shows (dance, plays, choirs, opera, concertsandcontemporary music).
Its regal interior contains nearly thirty-eight hundred seats, a square gold proscenium, and a highly mechanized stage, as well as the largest tab curtain in the world, made of gold damask.
On NYLA's wide and shallow stage, outfitted for the occasion with a front curtain to give the appearance of a proscenium, and set austerely as if against a low horizon (by Akiko Iwasaki, who also designed the costumes), "Bell" unfolds more as a patchwork than as an authoritatively layered or structured presentation.