In Memoriam: Franne Lee Costume and scenic designer Franne Lee died on August 27 in Atlantis, Florida, following a short illness. She was 81. Born Frances Elaine Newman in New York, in 1941, Lee studied art at the University of California, Berkeley, and spent a summer at City College New York, with the intention of becoming a painter. While studying for her MFA in painting at the University of Wisconsin, she was recruited to create sets for the theatre department. She fell in love with the theatre and switched to set and costume design. She married Ralph Sandler, a professor of English in 1961, moving with him to Philadelphia. Following her divorce from Sandler, she moved to New York, finding work as a costume designer. She met the scenic designer Eugene Lee, working with him on a famous production of Alice in Wonderland, directed by André Gregory. She and Eugene Lee became a team professionally and personally, although, despite taking his name, their marital status remains unclear. The Lees became known for their bold and uncompromising theatre work. Twice, they totally renovated the Broadway Theatre, for the flop musical Dude (1972) and the hit revival of Leonard Bernstein's Candide (1974), helping to rescue that piece from the scrap heap of musical theatre history. (On Dude, they were scenic designers in collaboration with Roger Morgan. For Candide, they codesigned the scenery and costumes.) Arguably, their most famous collaboration was on Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, which featured scenery by Eugene and costumes by Franne. There are many stories about Sweeney Todd: Reportedly, Franne convinced a skittish Harold Prince (the production's director) that a musical including cannibalism as a key plot element could be made to work. The Lees also partnered -- scenery by Eugene, costumes by Franne -- on a revival of The Skin of Our Teeth (1975) and the short-lived Broadway comedy Some of My Best Friends (1977). During the second half of the 1970s, the Lees served as production designers on the NBC series Saturday Night Live; Franne, also the costume designer, created iconic looks for such characters as the Blues Brothers, Coneheads, and Killer Bees. After separating from Eugene Lee, Franne continued to work, mostly as a costume designer. Her Broadway credits included Love for Love (1974), Gilda Radner -- Live From New York (1977), the short-lived musicals The Mooney Shapiro Songbook (1981) and Rock 'n' Roll: The First 5,000 Years (1982), and a 1993 revival of Camelot starring Robert Goulet. Off Broadway, Lee's credits included the Richard Foreman performance piece Three Acts of Recognition (1982); a Public Theater revival of The Winter's Tale (1989); an early version of the Cy Coleman musical The Life (1990); William Finn's musical Falsettoland (1990); Eating Raoul (1992), a musical based on the cult film comedy; a little-known musical version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1993); Body Shop (1993); and Him, featuring Christopher Walken as a version of Elvis Presley. Lee's film and television work included The House of Mirth (1981); Dead Ringer (1982), a comedy starring Meat Loaf; John Sayles' Baby It's You (1983); Emo Phillips Live (1987); The Local Stigmatic (1990), starring Al Pacino; and Sam the Man (2001), starring Fisher Stevens and Anabella Sciorra. Lee won two Tony Awards for Candide and one for Sweeney Todd. She also took two Drama Desk Awards for Candide. She subsequently lived in Nashville, where she started Plowhaus, a gallery and artists' co-op, before moving on to Wisconsin and, later, Lake Worth Beach, Florida. In addition to showing her paintings in gallery shows, she continued to work as a costume designer for productions at Belmont University; University of Wisconsin, Waukesha; Palm Beach Dramaworks; Maltz-Jupiter Theatre; Garden Theatre (in Winter Garden, Florida); Richmond (Indiana) Shakespeare Festival; and Lake Worth Playhouse. She also belonged to The Artesian, an artists' co-op in Lake Worth. Lee was predeceased by Eugene Lee, who died earlier this year. Survivors include her daughter Stacy Sandler, sons Geoffrey Sandler and Willie Lee, her brother Bill Newman, six grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter. 
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