Growing up in Norristown, Pa., Jules Fisher was fascinated with science and magic — the former for the results he saw science achieve and the latter because it delighted people with its mysteries.
Fisher used tenets of both in his decades-long career as a lighting designer to thrilling success in productions for the theatre, film, ballet, opera, television and concert tours. A 1960 School of Drama(opens in new window) alumnus of Carnegie Institute of Technology, Fisher received an honorary doctorate from Carnegie Mellon University in 2013.
His contributions through the years have set the standard for theatrical lighting, and Fisher often creates technology to achieve specific artistic effects. In effect, he’s crafting magic for audiences everywhere.
On June 7 at the 79th Annual Tony Awards, Fisher will receive a special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, acknowledging more than 20 Tony nominations and nine Tony Awards for his work in lighting design, a record in the category.
Pennsylvania beginnings
A job in summer theatre for teenage Fisher at the Valley Forge Music Fair led to his interest in lighting.
“I looked up at the lights, and I thought, ‘I could do that,’” he said. “I tried to learn all I could about lighting that summer and many years beyond.”
After six months at Penn State University, Fisher was encouraged to investigate Carnegie Tech’s drama program. Back then and still today, he said, Carnegie Mellon “is the best school for undergraduates who want to study theatre and make a place for themselves in the real world.”
Carnegie Mellon connections
After graduation, Fisher began his professional career. His reputation quickly grew. In 1973, he won his first Tony Award for Best Lighting Design for the original Broadway production of “Pippin.” Fellow Carnegie Mellon alumnus Stephen Schwartz, coincidentally, was the composer and lyricist.
A 16-year-old girl sat fascinated in the Broadway audience of that show with her mother. That girl, Peggy Eisenhauer, followed in Fisher’s footsteps to CMU and after her 1983 graduation from the School of Drama, followed him to New York City. She served as his assistant for 10 years before becoming his business partner. Now, 41 years later, they have shared the hard work, the recognition and, yes, the awards.
“I told Peggy, you’ll make my work look better, and she did,” Fisher said. “In fact, she made all the shows we did better.”
On Broadway
Most recently, the pair collaborated on the 2025 Broadway revival of “Gypsy.” As they look back on their body of work, both said there’s little they would change.
“I’ve been all over the world touring for shows, productions and even a royal wedding,” Eisenhauer said. “I’ve really never thought about doing anything else, and we’ve had a terrific experience together.”
Fisher said that, aside from changing a “few light cues here and there,” he wouldn’t change a thing. He did reflect on a career he may have chosen if he hadn’t pursued lighting design: working in the movie industry in the 1920s because “they invented everything. That would have been special.”
In thinking of his own special lighting creations that bring him pride, Fisher doesn’t hesitate to list his top three: “Angels in America,” “Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk” and “Hair,” which he lighted in New York, Paris and London.
A rewarding journey
Fisher has never forgotten his time at Carnegie Mellon, and he is ensuring that new generations of lighting design students will continue to follow their dreams in the industry. In 2019, he established the Jules Fisher Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Lighting Design, from which two graduate students already have received benefits.
“Jules is a poet, an artist, a scientist and a historian,” said Mary Ellen Poole(opens in new window), dean of the College of Fine Arts at CMU. “He is a philanthropist with a big heart, too, helping more students who share his love of lighting design gain access to an excellent education.”
Although he is honored to receive such accolades and the Tony Lifetime Achievement Award, Fisher said recognition was never his goal when he first gazed up at those lights in Valley Forge.
“I wasn’t doing it for the rewards. Never thought of it,” Fisher said. “I loved the journey.”
“Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The institution was originally established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical School. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology and began granting four-year degrees.”
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