Ming Cho Lee Honored By Hewes Awards

Legendary designer and teacher Ming Cho Lee will be honored with the first Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed by the Henry Hewes Design Awards at the 54th annual luncheon ceremony in New York on October 22.

"Ming Cho Lee has been one of the most creative and inspirational set designers in the theater world for more than 50 years," said Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, chairman of the Henry Hewes Design Awards. "It is an honor to bestow upon him the first Lifetime Achievement Award from the Henry Hewes Design Awards."

Lee has been honored with three Henry Hewes Design Awards. The first was in 1965 for his designs of Electra in the 1964 Shakespeare in the Park production directed by Gerald Freedman. He was also honored for the 1968 production of Ergo by Jakov Lind at The Public Theater and for the 1983 production of K2 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway.

"I worked very closely with Henry for many years and I am delighted to receive this Lifetime Achievement Award in his name," said Mr. Lee.

About Ming Cho Lee:

Ming Cho Lee is one of the foremost theater designers of the past 50 years. He taught full-time at the Yale School of Drama for 48 years and served as chair or co-chair of the design department for 34 years. He is the recipient of the National Medal of the Arts. In addition to his three Henry Hewes Design Awards, he has won two Tony Awards, an Outer Critics Circle award, Drama Desk Awards, and the TCG Practitioner Award. He holds five honorary degrees, and is a member of the Theater Hall of Fame.

Lee has designed more than 300 shows worldwide, including Broadway and Off-Broadway, and dance and opera productions. His designs have been shown in retrospectives at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and Yale School of Architecture. In 2014, TCG published "Ming Cho Lee: A Life in Design" featuring his work.

Founded in 1964, these annual awards honor designers for work in venues on Broadway, off Broadway and off-off Broadway, recognizing not only the traditional categories of Scenic Design, Costume Design and Lighting Design, but also "Notable Effects," which encompass sound, music, video, projections, puppetry, and other creative elements. All nominated designs must have originated in United States productions. The Hewes Awards Committee annually considers more than 200 productions when making its nominations.

The Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee includes theater critics Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, chair; David Barbour; David Cote; Glenda Frank; Helen Shaw; Michael Sommers; and Martha Wade Steketee. The awards are sponsored by the Henry Hewes Foundation for the Theater Arts.