How plays, musicals that come through Memphis leave personal, permanent marks at the Orpheum (the Commercial Appeal)

March 7, 2025

Hamilton mural orpheum theatre group

When Andrew Iverson was a kid, he started building props. The props started out small, mainly for his elementary school plays, made with little pieces of paper for small productions.

By junior high and high school, Iverson worked at a regional theater for a summer in Idaho.

Now, touring with Hamilton, Iverson is the assistant props director. He is responsible for stage left while another props director handles the other side of the stage.

Loading, unloading and maintaining the props for the shows is how Iverson spends most of his time traveling across the country with the production. But he is also responsible for a theater tradition throughout the country.

Iverson paints the murals that cover the backstage areas of theaters.

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Murals from previous shows that have been performed at the Orpheum Theatre are seen in a backstage hallway at the theatre in Downtown Memphis, on Tuesday, February 4, 2025. Credit of Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal.
Murals from previous shows that have been performed at the Orpheum Theatre are seen in a backstage hallway at the theatre in Downtown Memphis, on Tuesday, February 4, 2025. Credit of Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal.