Fisher Dachs Associates, Theatre Planning and Design

05/19/2026

Fisher Dachs Associates is absolutely thrilled to celebrate the official announcement that our visionary founder, Jules Fisher, is receiving the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre! This monumental honor marks a crowning moment in a legendary Broadway career that has been as impactful as it has been prolific—serving as both a master lighting designer and an innovative producer.

Few artists in history can claim to have worked on theatrical productions with both Noel Coward and Stephen Sondheim; Busby Berkeley, Jerome Robbins, and Bob Fosse; Arthur Laurents, Mike Nichols, Ulu Grossbard, Arthur Penn, and James Lapine; and even Richard Rodgers and his grandson, Adam Guettel.

For more than six decades, Jules has been a visionary force in the entertainment industry. With a record-breaking nine Tony Awards for Best Lighting Design—earned through three solo honors and an additional six in collaboration with his long-time lighting design partner, Peggy Eisenhauer—his artistry has truly defined the visual language of some of the most iconic productions in Broadway history from Spoon River Anthology and Hair, to his famous collaborations with Bob Fosse and George C. Wolfe. 

Equally transformative is Jules's impact on the physical architecture of the theatre itself. When he originally founded Jules Fisher Associates (now Fisher Dachs Associates), he helped pioneer the entire modern field of specialized theatre planning and consulting. "We are all immensely proud to celebrate Jules's extraordinary career and this well-deserved recognition," said his colleagues at FDA. "He didn't just teach us how to plan a stage; he taught us how to see a theatre as an integrated whole.” His mentorship has shaped generations of designers, and his legacy is felt every time a curtain rises in any of the venues he helped create. 

This award also marks a historic milestone for another beautiful reason: Jules joins his wife, the legendary director and choreographer Graciela Daniele—who received the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 2021—as one of the rare couples to both be bestowed with this prestigious honor. 

Please join all of us in congratulating Jules!

05/19/2026

Fisher Dachs Associates is absolutely thrilled to celebrate the announcement that our founder, Jules Fisher, is receiving the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. This honor marks a crowning moment in a Broadway career that has been as impactful as it has been prolific; as both a lighting designer and producer.

Few artists can claim to have worked on shows with both Noel Coward and Stephen Sondheim; Busby Berkeley, Jerome Robbins and Bob Fosse; Arthur Laurents, Mike Nichols, Ulu Grossbard, Arthur Penn, and James Lapine; even Richard Rodgers and his grandson, Adam Guettel.

For more than six decades Jules has been a visionary force in the entertainment industry. With a record-breaking nine Tony Awards for Best Lighting Design—earned through three solo honors and an additional six in collaboration with his long-time lighting design partner, Peggy Eisenhauer—his artistry has defined the visual language of some of the most iconic productions in Broadway history.

From lighting Spoon River Anthology in 1963 to the decade-defining musical Hair, to his five collaborations with Bob Fosse (including Pippin, Chicago, Big Deal, Liza with a ‘Z’, and Dancin’), to the 13 plays and musicals directed by George C. Wolfe (including Angels in America and Caroline or Change), and all the many productions in between, Jules's work has set the standard for excellence on the stage. In addition, he produced the shows Lenny, Dancin’, The Rink, Big Deal, and Dangerous Games.

Beyond Broadway, his innovations have illuminated rock-and-roll tours for legends like the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Parliament Funkadelic, and Whitney Houston—and brought over half a dozen movie musicals to life.

Equally transformative is Jules's impact on the physical architecture of the theatre itself. When he founded Jules Fisher Associates (now Fisher Dachs Associates), he helped pioneer the entire field of specialized theatre planning and consulting. "We are all immensely proud to celebrate Jules's extraordinary career and this well-deserved recognition," said his colleagues at FDA. "He didn't just teach us how to plan a stage; he taught us how to see a theatre as an integrated whole.” His mentorship has shaped generations of designers and planners, and his legacy is felt every time a curtain rises in any of the venues he helped create.

This award also marks a historic milestone for another reason: Jules joins his wife, the legendary director and choreographer Graciela Daniele—who received the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 2021—as one of the rare couples to both be bestowed with this prestigious honor.

Please join the entire team at Fisher Dachs Associates in congratulating Jules on this monumental achievement.

05/15/2026

Architecture meets nature at the new Samuel H. Scripps Theater Center! 🌿🎭

We are thrilled to share the completion of this 451-seat open-air venue for Hudson Valley Shakespeare. FDA is honored to have served as the theater consultant on this landmark project, helping to elevate the theatrical experience while maintaining the company’s deep connection to the elements.

Check out 's inaugural season in their new home starting this summer! ☀️

OutdoorTheater ArchitectureLovers

05/01/2026

The team headed to Garrison, NY, for a site visit of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival’s new permanent home. It was inspiring to walk the grounds and see the progress of this beautiful new venue as they prepare for their grand opening this summer.

We visited the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) to get a firsthand look at Kotobuki’s fully automated telescopic seating unit. Seeing this kind of precision engineering in action is invaluable as we continue to explore flexible and efficient seating solutions for our clients.

Continuing our commitment to technical excellence, we met with James Fayette of Robbins Dance & Performing Arts Floors at the Joyce Theater's New York Center for Creativity and Dance. Testing these performance surfaces ensures we remain at the forefront of specialized flooring requirements for the dance and performing arts community.

To cap off a great week of field research and technical meetings, the FDA team gathered at the historic Old Town Bar in NYC for a dinner happy hour. It was the perfect way to recharge and celebrate our collective progress.

04/17/2026

April 10, 2026 — RIT Performing Arts Center celebrated its grand opening—the first major theater to open in the Rochester region in decades.

Born from the vision of President Emeritus David Munson, this state-of-the-art facility provides a world-class stage for our students—most of whom are balancing rigorous STEM majors like mechanical engineering and game design with a passion for music, dance, and theater.

What’s inside:
- 747-seat Main Hall: An intimate, two-balcony space.
- Educational Spaces: On-site set shops, costume shops, and rehearsal rooms.
- Leading Accessibility: Advanced technology specifically designed for deaf and hard-of-hearing performers and audience members.

Visit RIT on April 25 during Imagine RIT for a special behind-the-scenes look!

The RIT Performing Arts Center opens with a ribbon cutting. The venue has 747 seats, two balconies, and will be an asset to students and community groups.

03/23/2026

The FDA team was out in full force at ! We always look forward to this conference as a chance to connect with industry friends, explore the latest technical advancements, and bring fresh, innovative ideas back to our clients. A huge shoutout to Cathleen Bachman, Joshua Winiarski, Laura Clark Wagner, Jeff McCrum, LEED AP BD+C, Scott Madaski, Michael Wyant, Aaron Bowersox, and Peter Rosenbaum for representing the firm this year. "

01/30/2026

2026 kicked off with a "flurry" of activity for FDA (and we're not talking about the snow).

540 delegates from 53 countries around the world descended on New York City to gather in community at the ISPA | International Society for the Performing Arts congress. A global dialogue centered around Resilience, many of us in attendance walked away with messages of hope, action, and continued collaboration.

A pitstop to one of our most recently completed projects, the Studio Museum in Harlem, was a humbling reminder (especially this winter) that people gravitate to spaces that make them feel warm, bright, and close. The aptly named lobby space, the Stoop, truly captures the essence of the New York City stoops that have gathered New Yorkers as long as memory serves.

While the architecture of the physical world grounds us, a Virtual Reality immersion like the ones our sister company Agile Lens: Immersive Design demoed for us definitely elevates our thinking about how people experience and gather in digital spaces. We took a trip to the offices of DBOX in New York City, played with some of the latest VR headsets, plugged into the Four Seasons Hyperreal Estate visualization, soared high above a Mexican coastal beach resort for Royal Caribbean, took to a virtual stage to rehearse Titus Andronicus, and one of the last pre-recordings of A Christmas Carol VR.

Capping off the month, employees, old and new, of FDA / Fisher Marantz Stone / Third Eye, all gathered at our office in Chelsea for our annual Year-in-Review presentations. The big takeaway? 2025 was actually an incredible year for all the studios. We learned about each others' projects (international and domestic), the nuances and creative challenges, as well as celebrated all the technical accomplishments. We ended the day with a cocktail hour and dinner at Tarallucci e Vino, and cheered on this year's promoted staffers.

Also significant to our firms this past year was the loss of Paul Marantz. Last night, along with FMS and many others, we memorialized and celebrated Paul's life, accomplishments, and contributions to our industry and the world at large. He illuminated our world in both grand and subtle ways, forever altering how we see, feel, and remember.

Of course, one of the easiest ways to remember is simply to mark and honor the passage of time. So we hope you'll join us in wishing a very Happy Birthday to those in our work family born in January! Happy Birthday Alexa, Laura, and Bob!

09/11/2025

Tonight (September 11th) as we prepare to look up in New York City for the beams of light that represent the Twin Towers, we can't help but reflect and draw on the parallels of our own recent loss of acclaimed lighting designer Paul Marantz. This will be the first Tribute in Light our FMS and FDA teams will experience without Paul. Today, on a deeply personal level, we share in the feeling of loss along with many others in New York today.

The Tribute in Light is a powerful and poignant installation that illuminates the New York City skyline each year in solemn remembrance of the tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001. Two brilliant beams of light, emulating the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, will pierce the night sky, serving as a beacon of hope and memory.

This commemorative piece is presented annually from dusk on September 11th until dawn on September 12th. The installation is situated on the roof of the Battery Parking Garage, located south of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, near the original site of the World Trade Center. On a clear night, the majestic beams can be seen from a radius of up to 60 miles.

Paul Marantz was brought on as the lighting consultant, and helped transform this powerful concept into a breathtaking reality. He was instrumental in the technical realization of the installation, figuring out how to achieve the two distinct, parallel beams of light. With his deep understanding of light and its emotional impact, powerful and ethereal, Tribute in Light is now a globally recognized symbol of remembrance and resilience.

The installation first debuted on March 11, 2002, marking the six-month anniversary of the tragedy. Due to its profound impact, it has become an annual tradition. It stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of a city that rose from tragedy, a luminous memorial to the lives lost, and a powerful reminder of the importance of collective memory and unity.

09/11/2025

Tonight (September 11th) as we prepare to look up in New York City for the beams of light that represent the Twin Towers, we can't help but reflect and draw on the parallels of our own recent loss of acclaimed lighting designer Paul Marantz. This will be the first Tribute in Light our Fisher Marantz Stone and FDA teams will experience without Paul. Today, on a deeply personal level, we share in the feeling of loss along with many others in New York today.

This year, on September 11th, as we prepare to look up in New York City for the beams of light that represent the Twin Towers, we can't help but reflect and draw on the parallels of our own recent loss of acclaimed lighting designer Paul Marantz. This will be the first Tribute in Light our

09/05/2025

San Diego, get ready to experience something truly spectacular!
The Joan Jacobs Music Center has officially raised its curtains at Liberty Station, and it is absolutely stunning!

This incredible $76 million project has completely transformed a former 1940 Navy facility into a world-class performing arts destination, now the proud home of the La Jolla Music Society.

This isn't just a venue; it's a vibrant cultural campus that promises to enrich the community with unforgettable musical and artistic experiences.

Project team: obrARCHITECTURE inc., Threshold Acoustics LLC, and Fisher Dachs Associates

LA Times Article: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2025-09-02/the-joan-liberty-station-san-diego-naval-training-center-cygnet-theatre

Liberty Station’s long-neglected naval training center will be reborn as the Joan and serve as the new home of Cygnet Theatre, which will stage Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Follies’ as its first production.