Eugene Lee, Scenic Designer Passes at 83
Eugene Lee, the revered scenic and production designer for stage, TV and film, passed away on Feb. 7, 2023 at the age of 83. Inventive, innovative, imaginative, and creative, are all words that describe the work of, and the man himself, as a designer.
Lee made his Broadway debut in 1981 as scenic designer for The Little Prince and the Aviator. He went on to do numerous Broadway shows, receiving four Tony nomination and winning three for his scenic designs of Candide, Sweeney Todd, and Wicked. His fourth nomination was for Ragtime. His last Broadway show was Bright Star in 2016, though his work is still on Broadway, and on tour, as Wicked continues to run well into its second decade.
On Broadway, Lee designed the scenery for Bright Star, Amazing Grace, The Velocity of Autumn, The Other Place, Glengarry Glen Ross, A Streetcar Named Desire, You’re Welcome America, The Homecoming, The Pirate Queen, Seussical, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Colin Quinn — An Irish Wake, Ragtime, On the Waterfront, Show Boat, The Hothouse, Agnes of God, The Little Prince and the Aviator, Merrily We Roll Along, Gilda Radner — Live From New York, Sweeney Todd, Some of My Best Friends, The Skin of Our Teeth, Candide, Dude, and Wilson in the Promise Land.
Lee also had a number of Off-Broadway credits and was the Resident Designer at Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, RI for more than 50 years, beginning with his long collaboration with founding Artistic Director Adrian Hall in 1967. Lee’s regional credits included designing at Long Wharf Theatre, The Huntington Theatre, Arena Stage, Hartford Stage, Seattle Rep, the Goodman Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Yale Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the Alley Theatre and the McCarter Theatre Center.
Among Lee’s other theater accolades were three Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Set Design, the Lucille Lortel Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Hewes Design Award, the Elliot Norton Award for Sustained Excellence, the Pell Award, and the DesignxRI Lifetime Achievement Award. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2006. He received the 2022 Robert L. B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design from the TDF.
For more than 40 seasons, Lee was the production designer of Saturday Night Live, having been with the show since it began in 1975 until his death. He also designed the sets for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night With Seth Meyers. Lee had six Emmy awards, having won consecutively for Outstanding Art Direction For Variety or Nonfiction Programming from 2017-2021. He had 18 Emmy nominations over his career. His other television work included Maya & Marty (NBC), On Golden Pond (CBS) and Paul Simon’s televised concerts Graceland: The African Concert and The Concert in Central Park. Lee’s film work credits included Francis Ford Coppola’s Hammett, Danny Huston’s Mr. North, and Louis Malle’s Vanya on 42nd Street and A Master Builder.
Lee was an adjunct professor at Brown University and held BFA degrees from the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago (now at DePaul University) and Carnegie Mellon University, and he had an MFA from School of Drama at Yale University and three honorary Ph.Ds. He is survived by his wife, Brooke, and two sons.
Lee was interviewed several years ago at his home in Rhode Island and noted that in regard to his long time at both SNL and Trinity Rep, “I think I get involved with people and it either doesn’t last a second or it goes on forever.” And as to what work he enjoyed doing most, he said, “I like new plays. They are fun because no one’s ever done them, so, there’s no precedent. But, I like all kinds of things. There’s nothing like Broadway where you can spend lots of money, and I like little simple things that cost nothing. I don’t go looking for anything. You say yes and then you hope it all kind of works out. I don’t see any retirement. If they stop calling me, I guess it’s over. I think if you stop doing things you die. So, I guess I will just keep doing things.” And we were all so lucky that the calls never stopped and Lee kept doing all the incredible designs that he shared with us all throughout his iconic career.
Technical Theatre Legend William M. (Bill) Mensching to be Honored
Purchase College, State University of New York’s Broadway Technical Theatre History Project, will present the Ninth Broadway technical Backstage Legends and Masters Award to theater legend, William M. (Bill) Mensching on Monday, April 24, 2023 at 7 p.m. at The Performing Arts Center on campus, located at 735 Anderson Hill Road in Purchase, NY. This free event is open to everyone and will be streamed live via Zoom Webinar, and recorded for future viewing. Backstage Legends and Masters, founded by Dan Hanessian, is an annual public presentation spotlighting individuals who have been central to the realization of Broadway productions for many years, but are not typically provided recognition through the Tony or Drama Desk awards. Each year, an individual is selected by a panel of distinguished professionals who represent a variety of Broadway production specialties.
Mensching started his Broadway career over five decades ago working at Feller Scenic Studios, located at the time in Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. He joins previous Backstage Legends and Masters honorees Artie Siccardi (2012), Arnold Abramson (2013), Fred Gallo (2014), Gene O’Donovan (2015), Pete Feller, Sr. (2016), Joseph B. Forbes (2017), Alyce Gilbert (2018), and David Rosenberg (2019).
Mensching is the fourth generation of his family to work on Broadway and he has spent much of his life involved in technical theater. As President of ShowMotion, Inc.—one of the foremost commercial scene shops in the industry for over the past 35 years—he has been responsible for a host of productions for Broadway, Las Vegas, tours, industrials/corporate events, and architectural theming for stadiums, hotels, casinos, and high end restaurants. His very impressive portfolio of work includes the groundbreaking 1987 production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe’s Starlight Express with scenic design by John Napier which helped change the rules for theatrical scenery on Broadway and ushered in a new era in computer controlled automation and large scale, three dimensional scenery.
He has worked on such legendary Broadway and touring productions as To Kill a Mockingbird, West Side Story (2020), Company (2020), Beetlejuice, Tina, Lehman Trilogy, Hairspray, Tootsie, Pretty Woman, Kinky Boots, Jersey Boys, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Hello Dolly (2017), Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, A Long Day’s Journey Into Night (2016), School of Rock, Catch Me If You Can, Ground Hog Day, Smokey Joe’s Café, The Producers, among hundreds of other productions over his many years of building productions. In addition to his work with John Napier, Mensching has worked with designers that include Tony Walton, Scott Pask, David Rockwell, Eugene Lee, Robin Wagner, Anna Louizos, Santo Loquasto, Andrew Jackness, Bunny Christie, John Lee Beatty, Michael Yeargan, Beowulf Boritt, Derek McLane, Bob Crowley, Christopher Oram, David Gallo, Alexander Dodge, Klara Zieglerova, Rob Howell, and many, many, more.
“Bill is one of the most accomplished people working in this business,” said Dan Hanessian, associate professor at Purchase, who launched the Broadway Technical Theatre History Project in 2011. “It would not be an exaggeration to say that he has changed how things are done on Broadway. The innovations he has helped drive have influenced not only how scenery is built and controlled, but what is possible from a design perspective.” Hanessian trains up-and-coming technical directors and production managers in the Design/Technology Program of the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Purchase.
The Cody Renard Richard Scholarship Program Awards $100,000 to 2023 Class of Scholars
The Broadway Advocacy Coalition (BAC) and Broadway Stage Manager and Producer Cody Renard Richard announced the 10 recipients of the 2023 class of The Cody Renard Richard Scholarship Program. The program is dedicated to uplifting and supporting the next generation of theatermakers of color working behind the scenes by providing financial support, mentorship and more to BIPOC students studying to be the future leaders of the theater industry.
This year’s recipients include Sam Allen (University of California, Irvine), Héctor Alvarez (California Institute of the Arts), Isaiah Boozer (DePaul University), Kairo Chin (University of California, Santa Cruz), Talia Escobedo (Columbia University), J.D. Hopper (Carnegie Mellon University), Caylah Johnson (DePaul University), Anaya Matthews (The New School), Xotchil Musser (Carnegie Mellon University), and Adam Wassilchalk (Yale College).
Each student will receive a financial grant of $10,000, an increase from last year’s $8,000 grant, mentorship through online seminars focusing on community building, leadership, and social justice, networking opportunities and an all-expenses paid trip to New York City to meet with mentors and experience Broadway and New York’s theater scene in person.
“It’s wild to believe that we are embarking on our third year of the program” says Richard. “Each year I’m reminded of how powerful these young individuals are and how much spaces like these are needed. I’m beyond eager to learn from, share space and help this new cohort along their journey.” Broadway Advocacy Coalition’s Co-Director of Programming Dria Brown notes, “This year we will continue to connect our scholars with theatrical and community leaders of color, cultivate their leadership and advocacy skills and encourage them to be change agents in their own communities and within the industry. It takes a village to make this happen and we are grateful for Cody’s continued commitment to this incredible vision.”
The program is made possible by the generous support of the Seller-Lehrer Family Foundation as well as The Miranda Family Fund, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids, Jujamcyn Theaters, Tiger Baron Foundation, Stacey Mindich, The Theater Leadership Project, Kevin McCollum, Tommy Kail, Junkyard Dogs, Jenny Steingart, and Jill Furman. The Seller Lehrer Family Foundation serves as lead sponsor for the program. This year’s selection committee featured prominent BIPOC theatrical professionals including Richard, Lawrence Bennett, Jhanaë Bonnick, Dria Brown, Yang-Yang Chen, Ann James, Zhailon Levingston, Tina McCartney, Laurie Woolery, and Nzinga Williams. Lani Fu serves as the program manager. For further information from The Cody Renard Richard Scholarship Program go to: crrscholarship.com.
Actors’ Equity Association Begins Name Change and Rebranding Process
Actors’ Equity Association, the national union representing more than 51,000 professional stage managers and actors working in live theatre, recently issued a request for proposal (RFP) to guide stakeholders through a process of determining a potential new name for the union, as well as for implementing a possible name change and rebranding. The goal of a name change is to create an identity for the union inclusive of all its members, which includes not only actors but also stage managers as well as other kinds of performers. The request for proposal is the next step in responding to a resolution passed at Equity’s 2021 Convention entitled In Solidarity, Change the Name of Our Union. The chosen vendor will work with Equity member-leaders and staff in two phases. In the first phase of work, agency will advise the Change The Name Working Group in assessing name-change readiness, conducting market- and stakeholder research, developing new name options and choosing a new name, while managing communications with members and the broader industry about the process. In phase two, should the union decide to move forward with a new name, the agency will assist in developing brand assets related to the new name, including but not limited to a new logo and/or logotype, tagline, visual identity, etc. An award of the work is expected by the end of April with project work expected to begin in May and continue into 2024.
New Executive Director Named for USITT
Laura Lee Everett has been named as the Executive Director of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) after an exhaustive nationwide search. Everett is currently the Chief Programs Officer for OPERA America. She will take over for Interim Executive Director Lea Asbell-Swanger when her tenure begins on Mar. 21, 2023.
Prior to OPERA America, Everett was the managing director at the Maryland Opera Studio at the University of Maryland for 10 years and with the Aspen Opera Theater Center for eight seasons. She spent more than 20 years of her career as a stage and production manager specializing in opera.
“I am thrilled to be joining the team at USITT,” said Everett. “The chance to lead an organization that means so much to the industry is an opportunity that I do not embark on lightly. I believe that the prospects for USITT are unlimited.”
