Allen Lee Hughes
NationalityAmerican
EducationJohn Gleason[1]
Alma materCatholic University (BFA)
New York University Tisch School of the Arts (MFA)
Notable work
Awards

Allen Lee Hughes is an American lighting designer for theater, dance, and opera. He has a long association with Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.,[lower-alpha 2] where the fellowship and internship program is named in his honor.[4] Hughes is a four time Tony Award nominee.[5]

Biography

Hughes earned his BA at Catholic University of America and his MFA from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts Department of Design for Stage and Film, where he later joined the faculty and still teaches.[6][7]

Beginning in 1983 Hughes has designed 12 shows on Broadway including the original production of Clybourne Park, the 2012 revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and the original production of Once on This Island, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award.[5] In her New York Times review, Roberta Smith noted that Hughes's "lighting adds effective suggestions of foliage or architecture, turning the painted blue sky to gold or red, or draining its color entirely"[8] His most recent Broadway design of A Soldier's Play was also nominated for a Tony Award and shortlisted for Live Design's 2020 Design Achievement Awards.[9] He also has done numerous designs Off-Broadway, at Regional theaters, and with numerous dance companies, including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and National Ballet of Canada.[10]

In 1990 the founding director of Arena Stage, Zelda Fichandler, created the Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship and Intership program to promote diversity with the theater industry. Since its founding, more than 700 people have been mentored, including Obie Award winning director Lileana Blain-Cruz.[7]

Hughes has designed multiple lighting gobos for Rosco.[11]

Hughes has been nominated for four Tony Awards (K2, Strange Interlude, Once on This Island, A Soldier's Play)[5] and ten Helen Hayes Awards, winning twice.[4] For K2, he was also nominated for the Drama Desk Award[5] and won the Outer Critics Circle[12][lower-alpha 3] and Maharam Design Awards.[10][lower-alpha 1] Other wins include the 2015 National Black Theatre Festival's Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Design Award,[13] 2003 USITT Distinguished Achievement Award in Lighting Design,[14] and the 1997 Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration.[15] On October 14, 2020, the American Theatre Wing's Henry Hewes Design Awards honored Hughes with the Ming Cho Lee Lifetime Achievement Award. The chair of awards committee, Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, remarked, "It is especially gratifying to honor Allen Lee Hughes, whose nearly five decades of work in lighting design demonstrates the power of light and shadow to strengthen the dramaturgical core of every production on which he works."[13] He is the third recipient of the award, following Ming Cho Lee and Jane Greenwood.[16]

Notes

  1. 1 2 In 1999, the American Theatre Wing renamed the award after Henry Hewes.[2]
  2. ↑ Where he has designed at least one show every season since 1979.[3]
  3. ↑ Joint winner with Ming Cho Lee as Best Set and Lighting Design.

References

  1. ↑ "In Memoriam: John Gleason". Live Design. Archived from the original on 2020-12-20. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  2. ↑ "2017 Hewes Design Awards Honorees Announced". American Theatre Wing. Archived from the original on 2018-02-01. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  3. ↑ I AM THEATRE: Allen Lee Hughes (Online Video Series). IAmTheatre. Theatre Communications Group. 2011-11-03. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  4. 1 2 "Fellows and Interns". Arena Stage. Archived from the original on 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Allen Lee Hughes". Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on 2020-12-20. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  6. ↑ "Allen Lee Hughes, Associate Arts Professor". tisch.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  7. 1 2 Pierce, Jerald Raymond (2019-11-19). "Role Call: People To Know". American Theatre. Theatre Communications Group. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  8. ↑ Smith, Roberta (1990-10-10). "Behind the Painted World of 'Once On This Island'". New York Times. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  9. ↑ Perkins, Meghan (2020-12-24). "From 1981 to 2020: Allen Lee Hughes' Tony-nominated Lighting for A Soldier's Play". LiveDesign. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  10. 1 2 "Recipient: Allen Lee Hughes". americantheatrewing.org. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  11. ↑ "Enter The Rosco Gobo Design Contest". www.rosco.com. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  12. ↑ "1982-1983 Awards". outercritics.org. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  13. 1 2 Meyer, Dan (2020-09-14). "Allen Lee Hughes Receives Henry Hewes Design Awards' 2020 Ming Cho Lee Lifetime Achievement Honor". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  14. ↑ "Distinguished Achievement Awards". www.usitt.org. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  15. ↑ "Previous Recipients". merrittawards.com. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  16. ↑ "Allen Lee Hughes to Receive Ming Cho Lee Award". American Theatre. Theatre Communications Group. 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
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