Tharon Musser, a Tony-winning lighting designer of more than 100 Broadway shows, including such musicals as "A Chorus Line,"
"Dreamgirls," "Mame" and "42nd Street," died April 19 in Newtown, Conn. after a long illness. She was 84.
Her Broadway career began in 1956 with the original production of Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey Into Night."
She was nominated for 10 Tonys for lighting design, winning three -- for "Follies," "A Chorus Line" and "Dreamgirls." "A Chorus Line" was the first Broadway show to utilize a completely computerized lighting console instead of the manually operated "piano boards." Her lighting for "A Chorus Line"was also used in the show's 2006 Broadway revival.
During her career, she worked with Broadway theater figures including directors George Abbott, Harold Prince, and Michael Bennett; playwrights Neil Simon, Edward Albee, and Tom Stoppard; and songwriters Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, and John Kander and Fred Ebb.
She is survived by longtime partner Marilyn Rennagel, also a lighting designer.
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