Theatrical Design
Tom Lee’s early career in theater design included working for composer Irving Berlin, ballet impresario Lincoln Kirstein, and the Ziegfeld Follies. This work inspired his department window displays—stage sets designed to intrigue the passerby. Theater also shaped his later work as an interior designer. “Designing a hotel is like producing a play,” he told the New York Times. “You have to bring together all the separate elements and work them into one cohesive artistic expression that can still function efficiently on a day-to-day basis.”
Louisiana Purchase, 1940
Louisiana Purchase, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and choreography by George Ballanchine, was set in New Orleans and satirized the state’s corrupt governor Huey Long. Its punning title referred both to the nation’s westward expansion and Long’s government-for-sale approach. The show opened on Broadway at the Imperial Theater on May 28, 1940, and ran for 444 performances.
Juke Box, 1941
Produced by impresario Lincoln Kirstein’s American Ballet Caravan, the forerunner of the New York City Ballet, Juke Box was choreographed by William Dollar with music by Alec Wilder. The first performance was at the Little Theatre of Hunter College in New York on May 27, 1941. It was also presented at the Teatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro on July 4, 1941.
Ziegfeld Follies, 1942
In 1907 the Broadway producer Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. established the Ziegfeld Follies, a series of musical reviews featuring opulently costumed chorus dancers that was presented intermittently until 1957. Tom designed this set for the 1942 edition of the review.
The Duchess Misbehaves, 1946
Tom designed the scenery for The Duchess Misbehaves, a Broadway musical that lasted for only four days. The show was based on the lives of the Duchess of Alba and the painter Francisco Goya.