A pop-up exhibition titled Brick By Brick, Putting It Together: The Broadway Set Miniatures of Henry Lee was unveiled at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in Lincoln Center on 17 September 2021. Showcasing Lee’s intricate, miniature reimaginings of set designs using Lego, it features the iconic musicals of legendary director Hal Prince. Limelight spoke with Henry Lee on the eve of the opening.

Multi-hyphenate actor/singer Henry Lee began reimagining the set designs of Broadway musicals last year, after his own shows were cancelled due to the global pandemic. However, Lee’s models are not just an exercise in surviving lockdown. They represent countless hours of research and the gathering of first-hand anecdotes from performers and creatives who worked on these productions.

Henry Lee with his models in the Lincoln Center Design Room. Image supplied.

The result is a celebration of the work of legendary director Hal Prince and the production designers with whom he collaborated. They include Eugene Lee on Sweeney Todd, Maria Björnson on The Phantom of the Opera, Tazeena Firth and Timothy O’Brien on Evita,...