LOLLA-Palazzo!

Y&R Production Designer David Hoffman Offers A Behind-The-Scenes Look At What Went Into Creating The Eye-Popping Newman Tuscany Villa

- Devin Owens

Soap Opera Digest: When were you first told about building these new sets?

David Hoffman: Since the writers and producers knew that this was going to be a big event, they reached out to me about seven weeks before we were going to shoot our first scenes. This was a real luxury for us, as our normal production schedule only allows three weeks at most to research, conceive, design and build a new swing set like this.

Digest: Were you at all daunted by the scope of this project?

Hoffman: My team and I are always up for a challenge, and this project would certainly qualify as a big one. That being said, I think all of our reactions were at first, “Can’t we go on location somewhere to do this?” Not only were we being asked to create a luxurious multiroom Italian palazzo from scratch, filled with European antiques, but also a wedding for two of Genoa City’s most prominent figures. There would be no cutting of corners to be had here! Ultimately, we put our initial jitters behind us and embraced the mantra, “If we can’t go to Tuscany, we will just have to bring Tuscany here!”

Digest: How many palazzo sets are there?

Hoffman: The main set consists of the palazzo study with an adjoining exterior terrace and courtyard that overlook the Italian countryside. Originally, we were to only have a single bedroom, but as the guestlist for the wedding grew, we ended up with a total of five bedrooms. Then at the last minute, we were asked to create a storage room for a pivotal confrontation to take place in.

Digest: What did your research entail?