Edwin Lester (30 March 1895 – 13 December 1990) was an American

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...

, and producer. He was the longtime general director of the

Los Angeles Civic Light Opera The Los Angeles Civic Light Opera (LACLO) was an American theatre/opera company in Los Angeles, California. Founded under the motto "Light Opera in the Grand Opera manner" in 1938 by impresario Edwin Lester, the organization presented fifty season ...

, which he founded in 1938. He also co-founded the LACLO's affiliate organization, the San Francisco Civic Light Opera, with Homer Curran in 1939. Under his leadership, the LACLO produced or co-produced several of their own shows, a number of which went on to wider success, including '' Song of Norway'' (1944), '' Magdalena'' (1948), '' Kismet'' (1953), ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

'' (1954) and '' Gigi'' (1973). Lester also brought in shows from Broadway to California, often with their original casts.

Biography

Lester was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and worked professionally as a singer during his childhood and then had a brief career as a concert pianist. He moved to California to work for

Sid Grauman Sidney Patrick Grauman (March 17, 1879 – March 5, 1950) was an American entrepreneur and showman who established two of Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood's most recognizable and visited landmarks, the Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Chinese The ...

at the Chinese Theater in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

where he staged spectacle prologues in the late 1920s. In the early 1930s he worked as a talent manager for performers. In 1938 Lester founded the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera under the motto "Light Opera in the Grand Opera manner". The company opened its first season in 1938 with

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

's operetta '' Blossom Time'', presented in English with stars John Charles Thomas and Francia White. The production was both a critical and financial success, and the company went on to have three more sold out productions that season with

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his Musical theatre, musicals and operettas, particularly ''The Student Prince'' (1924), ''The Desert Song'' (1926) and ''The New Moo ...

's ''

The Student Prince ''The Student Prince'' is an operetta in a prologue and four acts with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly. It is based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play ''Old Heidelberg (play), Old Heidelberg''. The piece has a scor ...

'', Romberg's '' The New Moon'', and

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

's ''

Roberta Roberta is a feminine version of the given names Robert and Roberto. It is a Germanic name derived from the stems *hrod meaning "famous", "glorious", "godlike" and *berht meaning "bright", "shining", "light". People with the name *Roberta Achtenbe ...

''.History of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera at broadwayla.org
While including touring productions from NYC in their annual season, the LACLO still continued to mount their own locally produced productions under the artistic leadership of Lester. One major triumph for the company was the 1944 operetta '' Song of Norway'' which Lester commissioned Milton Lazarus, Robert Wright, and George Forrest to create using the music of

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

. The production later went on to have a successful Broadway run. Wright and Forrest created several more original works for the LACLO, most notably the 1953 musical '' Kismet'', which had an even greater success in New York. Perhaps the most successful original work to be produced at the LACLO was the 1954 musical version of ''

'' which Lester orchestrated as a star vehicle for

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in ''South Pacific (musica ...

. After opening in Los Angeles, the production moved to Broadway, winning Martin a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

. The LACLO also exported a number of revivals to Broadway during its history, including a 1945 revival of

Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and co ...

's '' The Red Mill'' which ran for more than a year in New York. Lester retired as general director and producer of the LACLO in 1976. He continued on as a member of the LACLO and SFLOC boards until closing of the companies. The SFLOC closed in 1980 and the LACLO closed in 1987. He died at the age of 95 at his home in Beverly Hills.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lester, Edwin American theatre directors American theatre managers and producers American impresarios 1895 births 1990 deaths