The Secrets behind Benjamin Scheuer’s Tailored Performance in The Lion

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By Shannon Stockwell

Benjamin Scheuer in his blue suit.
Photo by Matthew Murphy. 
For the entranced audience in The Strand Theater, Benjamin Scheuer makes The Lion seem simple—just seven guitars and a cornflower-blue suit. But there’s more to that suit than meets the eye. It’s actually tailored specifically for Ben to sit and play guitar. The sleeves are attached in two slightly different ways, so that holding the instrument feels natural. The left leg is looser so that it can move around, while the right leg is designed for supporting the guitar. “That actually comes from military and hunting tailoring,” Scheuer said in a talk with Broadway at Google. “The British tailors get it right.”

Clothing hasn’t always been so important to Scheuer. His love for sharp suits came from his battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Scheuer said that, while he was receiving chemotherapy, “clothing took on this really powerful meaning for me [because] one of the only things that I could do on any given day that I had any control over at all was [getting] dressed.” At the doctor’s office, he explained, the green gowns patients had to wear felt dehumanizing. “Clothing became control. It became armor. And that still sticks with me today.”

Benjamin Scheuer in The Lion. Photo by Nilaya Sabnis. 
In addition to his performances through May 1, Scheuer is holding an open workshop on Thursday, April 28 for select singer-songwriters in the Bay Area. To observe, join us at A.C.T.’s administrative offices (30 Grant Avenue, 9th Floor, San Francisco) at 1:45 p.m. The class will start promptly at 2 p.m. Space is limited, so please RSVP to ksavage@act-sf.org to reserve your spot! For more information, check out the Facebook event. 

The Lion is playing at A.C.T.’s Strand Theater through May 1. Don’t miss this incredible one-man musical! Buy tickets here.

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