Lemuel Ayers was a New Yorker born in 1915, who studied at Princeton University and the University of Iowa before being chosen at the age of 29 by Leonard Sillman to design sets for the 1939 Broadway revivals of "Journey's End" and "They Knew What They Wanted".
He gained major recognition for his costume designs for the Maurice Evans - Judith Anderson "Macbeth" in 1941, and his subsequent Broadway production designs were seen in numerous productions, including "Angel Street" (1941),"The Pirate" (1942),"Harriet" (1943),"Oklahoma!" (1943),"Song of Norway" (1944),"Bloomer Girl" (1944),"Cyrano de Bergerac" (1946),"St. Louis Woman" (1946),"Inside U.S.A." (1948),"Kiss Me Kate" (1948),and "Out Of This World" (1950),which he co-produced.
Ayers was a master at creating a sense of vast spaciousness within a stage proscenium frame, as seen in his stylized settings for "Oklahoma!" (1943),"Kiss Me Kate" (1948),and his richly beautiful settings for "Out of This World" (1950),"Kismet" (1953).
He sometimes designed costumes for shows, but frequently collaborated with costume designer Miles White. Ayers was brought to the Culver City MGM Studios to design "Meet Me in St. Louis", where he worked with Vincente Minnelli and Jack Martin Smith.
Ayers also designed scenery for the film "Ziegfeld Follies" (1945),directing the musical segment "Love" which was featured in the production. During filming on "Meet Me In St. Louis", Ayers recommended the Alfred Lunt-Lynn Fontanne Broadway play "The Pirate" (1942) to Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland for his next follow-up feature.
Seven years after his demise, Edwin Lester and his Los Angeles/San Francisco Civic Light Opera Association remounted the original Broadway 1953 "Kismet" production for their summer revival season, using the original costumes and scenery. The Lemuel Ayers Estate loaned all of the original set and costume designs, including 1/2" = 1'-0" scenic drop and set paint illustrations and conceptual designs to Edwin Lester's scenic shop.
