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Eshleman, Lee (1963-2007)
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2007 May 28 p. 1, 8
Birth date: 1963 May 28
text of obituary:
Eshleman, half of Ted & Lee duo, gave audiences inspiration and plenty of fun
By Jim Bishop
For Mennonite Weedkly Review
HARRISONBURG, Va. — The props were in place, lighting and sound were ready, and a final run-through had taken place earlier in the day for "Live at Jacob's Ladder," a musical written by and starring Ted Swartz and Lee Eshleman with composer Ken Medema.
But, the performances of the new Ted & Lee production scheduled for May 18-19 at Eastern Mennonite High School didn't go on.
Late in the afternoon of May 17, Eshleman, 43, lost a long struggle with depression and took his life at his Harrisonburg home.
Surviving are his wife, Reagan, and children Nicolas, 12, Sarah, 10, and Gabe, 5, along with countless friends and fans of Ted & Lee from around the world.
"It feels like there's a piece of me missing," Swartz said. "When two appear on the public stage, it diffuses responsibility. There's a shared attention. Something magical happened in those settings. I think how fortunate we were to have had each other."
The nearly 20-year-run of the theatrical team of Ted & Lee began inauspiciously at Spruce Lake Retreat in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Swartz, then a student in his early 30s at Eastern Mennonite University, had prepared a series of comedy sketches for a youth leaders gathering at the Franconia Mennonite Conference-sponsored camp. He wrote material for two people, and at the last minute his partner backed out.
Joseph L. Lapp, then EMU's president, introduced Swartz to Eshleman, a 1986 EMU art graduate who worked part time in the school's print shop and did graphic design work for the university.
Eshleman agreed to accompany Swartz to Spruce Lake, where their performances met with enthusiastic response.
"You guys must have worked together for a long time," was a recurring comment afterward. A friendship formed in the fall of 1987 evolved into a dramatic partnership, Ted & Lee Theaterworks.
The duo began performing comedy sketches that expanded to a full-length production, "The Armadillo Tour."
Their repertoire broadened to center on works based on biblical characters and events, including "Fish-Eyes," a dramatic portrayal of two of Christ's disciples, Peter and Andrew, and "Creation Chronicles," a fresh look at the Book of Genesis and other parts of the Old Testament. They teamed up with actress Ingrid DeSanctis for a Christmas show called "DoveTale," presented hundreds of times over the last 10 years.
"Lee taught me to be funny, but beyond that he was so tender and kind, like a brother," said DeSanctis of Orlando, Fla., where she promotes the arts in a Latino community and is an adjunct professor at the University of Central Florida. "When Lee walked into a room, so much light followed. I was privileged to work on stage with him."
Te & Lee performed regularly at retreats and conferences for many