Queer Places:
Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Pratt Institute, 200 Willoughby Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205
15 Thompson St, Milford, CT 06460
46 Brookfield Ave, Bridgeport, CT 06610
Leo Benedict Meyer (July 10, 1934 – November 9, 2018) was a set designer. The work of Broadway's gay and lesbian artistic community went on display in 2007 when the Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation Gallery presents "StageStruck: The Magic of Theatre Design." The exhibit was conceived to highlight the achievements of gay and lesbian designers who work in conjunction with fellow gay and lesbian playwrights, directors, choreographers and composers. Original sketches, props, set pieces and models — some from private collections — represent the work of over 60 designers, including Leo Meyer.
Leo Benedict Meyer was born in Long Beach, NY to Catherine and John Meyer. A graduate of Carnegie Institute of Technology and continued study at Pratt Institute. He was one of the youngest designers, at age 19, to gain entrance into the United Scenic Artists Local 829 union, and worked extensively in TV, films, Broadway, and radio. Leo's design career led to a number of Broadway, Off Broadway, and touring contracts and the opening of his company, Atlas Scenic Studio, where for 40 years he contracted and supervised the construction of sets for hundreds of major shows for Broadway, ballet, TV and films. His contribution to the theater industry is immense and only equal to his loving heart for the industry. He was an experienced and extremely talented vocalist, director, and actor in many venues throughout the country. Leo's passion for music, especially opera, was inspired by his father.
Leo Meyer and his business partner, Robert Hungerford, owned the workshop of the Atlas Scenic Studio; when you walked into it, you might be standing in the midst of what looks like the palace of a Hapsburg emperor or maybe a 19th-century London hospital. At the Atlas studio, a dozen craftsmen created the sets for Broadway and national touring company productions of plays, musicals, ballets and operas. The studio was the larger of two independent scenic studios in the state. In a converted warehouse that stood in an industrial section of Bridgeport, Atlas Scenic Studio constructed the sets for such Broadway shows as ''Amadeus,'' ''The Elephant Man,'' ''Equus,'' ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,'' ''Death Trap,'' ''Pump Boys and Dinettes'' and ''The Dresser.'' For the studio the process began with a competitive bid on a scenic construction project. Once it won the bid, which was determined by price and a company's reputation, the studio began to build the stage set on the basis of drawings by a scenic artist. This was when the problems began, said Meyer. At the beginning of each project, Meyer and Hungerford, had to consider several factors beyond the artist's sketch. ''From blueprints you have to be able to close your eyes and see the finished product,'' Meyer said. ''And it's important that the set must be built according to the specifications of the theater where it will be assembled.'' For that reason he kept schematic drawings of every major theater in the US and Canada. Before building a set, Meyer had to take into account details such as the dimensions of theater doors through which the scenery must fit before it was ever assembled on stage. Once construction began, the studio artists, carpenters, mechanics, electricians and seamstresses entered the project. Because the scenery for commercial stage productions had to be well built, the staff of 12 were highly skilled craftsmen, according to Hungerford.
Meyer, 84, passed away peacefully on November 9, 2018.
My published books:p>
