Abe Jacob To Receive Ming Cho Lee Lifetime Achievement Award

Sound designer Abe Jacob will be honored with the Ming Cho Lee Award for Lifetime Achievement in Design bestowed by the Henry Hewes Design Awards at the 59th annual ceremony on October 23, in New York. Jacob, known as the "Godfather of Sound," has had a profound impact on the aural experience of Broadway audiences and concertgoers for five decades.

"We are delighted to celebrate the extraordinary career in sound design that Abe Jacob has created," says Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, chairman of The Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee. "Abe is a heroic figure of the past 50 years in live sound reproduction, and we are proud to present him with the 2023 Ming Cho Lee Award for Lifetime Achievement in Design."

Jacob's career spans five decades and his achievements in theatre sound design virtually brought the field into existence. Major Broadway, touring, and worldwide production credits include Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Pippin, Seesaw, Mack and Mabel, The Rocky Horror Show, A Chorus Line, Chicago, The Act, Dancin', Gilda Radner -- Live From New York, Evita, Woman of the Year, Cats, Big Deal, The Gershwins' Fascinating Rhythm and Rain. At New York City Opera, his work there included productions of A Little Night Music, 110 in the Shade, Die Soldaten, Harvey Milk, Sweeny Todd, and more. Jacob was the creative consultant for the Broadway Sound Master Classes and has mentored several generations of talented sound designers, many of whom are Broadway's top theatrical sound designers today. He was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2022.

Ming Cho Lee was the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Henry Hewes Design Awards, and the award was renamed for him at that presentation ceremony. Lee, who designed more than 300 productions across the globe, received a Tony Award in 1983 for K2 and taught for 48 years at the Yale School of Drama. He was also the recipient of a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2013.

Lee was honored with three other Henry Hewes Design Awards: the first for the 1964 production of Electra at Shakespeare in the Park, the second for Ergo in 1968 at the Public Theater, and the last for K2 in 1983, for which he also received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics' Circle Awards. Lee, who passed in 2020, was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 1998 and received the National Medal of Arts in 2002.

The Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee includes theatre critics Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, chair; David Barbour; David Cote; Naveen Kumar; Brittani Samuel; Helen Shaw; and Martha Wade Steketee. The awards are sponsored by the Henry Hewes Foundation for the Theater Arts.