Michael K. Lee is a 2008/2009 Ovation Nominee for Lead Actor in a Musical for his performance as Jamie in THE LAST FIVE YEARS at East West Players. He was previously nominated for an Ovation for Lead Actor in a Musical in 1999 for his role in BEIJING SPRING.

If you’d like to add a congratulatory message for Michael (or any other Nominee or Nominated Company), to the Ovation Awards commemorative poster (distributed to all nominees and all attendees at the Ceremony), click here!

As an Ovation Award Nominee, LA Stage asked Michael the following questions:

What was the moment that first inspired you to pursue working in the theatre?

When I was in elementary school, I was a passionate violin player.  Well, maybe not passionate… I didn’t “love” it, but because I practiced diligently I became quite proficient.  There were local theaters companies in the area that utilized live pit orchestras.  My violin teacher at the time encouraged me to be a part of it.  So, that’s how I was introduced to the theater… the pit orchestra of “My Fair Lady.”  Practicing with the orchestra wasn’t particularly new, as I was in a youth orchestra at the time… but when tech week rolled along, and we got to rehearse with the cast on stage… wow.  I was able to see the process of putting the shows together, how much fun everyone was having, the community.  I loved it.  I was so entranced by watching the actors on stage… I missed many, many cues to start playing the music.  That was the point where I said, “I want to be on stage with them.”

Michael K. Lee in THE LAST FIVE YEARS

What do you feel made the production you were nominated for particularly successful, either overall or for you specifically?

Not to be cliché, but it was the right combination of people at the right now.  Most importantly, we had an amazing director, Ovation Award Nominated Jon Lawrence Rivera.  He had a clear vision of the story he wanted to tell but was also completely open to discovering new perspectives with the actors he chose, myself and Jennifer Paz.  Jennifer Paz, also nominated for her work, had met the love of her life… and she used the experience of how she came to this point in her work.  I, myself, had been with my wife for five years (since 2004)… how appropriate for me to be doing a show called “The Last Five Years”?!  Then you have Jason Robert Brown’s brilliant script, music, and lyrics under the direction of Marc Macalintal, our music director (who also is newly married)… and you have a group of people who were able to invest an incredible amount of truth into an incredibly truthful piece of theater.  And isn’t that what great theater does… challenge people to see their own truthful reflections on stage… be it beautiful, ugly, illuminating, revolting?  Jon challenged us to “be”… to let the truth of our lives infiltrate into the truth of the words on the page… and we did our best.

What project or projects are you currently working on?

I am in the process of putting together a short film which I wrote and produced.  It combines my love of musical storytelling and film together.  I wrote the music and songs that will be in the script… the short is a means of trying to raise interest and/or money to fund a full length feature film that I wrote, which has the same themes and characters.

What do you love most about theatre in Los Angeles?

The people.  The theater community in Los Angeles is so loving and supportive.  In addition to my work with East West Players, I have been involved with the S.T.A.G.E. benefits.  Every experience I have had with theater here has been so special.

What’s your dream project?

To start my own theater company in Los Angeles and then inspire other companies to start such that we all create a community which rivals that of Broadway for the development and performance of new musicals.  To have a “Boulevard” of theaters not unlike Broadway to attract tourism from around the world… that would be my dream!

Biography: MICHAEL K. LEE is has starred and performed on the most prestigious stages around the world.  His Broadway credits include:  Miss Saigon, Jesus Christ Superstar, RENT, and Pacific Overtures. Most recently, Michael made a star turn in East West Players’ production of The Last Five Years, of which the Los Angeles Times raved:  “Michael K. Lee reveals his own prodigious gifts - namely, a rousing leading-man presence and a full and flexible voice.” Last year, he starred in the world premiere rock opera entitled Where Elephants Weep in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, which he is now also Associate Producer.  He has starred romantically opposite Lea Salonga in They’re Playing Our Song (in the Philippines) and Laura Michelle Kelley in A Twist of Fate (in Singapore).  In the U.S., he has successfully broken down stereotypes and traditional casting barriers, being cast in roles such as “Tommy” in The Who’s TOMMY (for which he was awarded the Seattle Footlight Award for Best Actor in a Musical); “Judas” in Jesus Christ Superstar; and “Aladdin” in Disney’s Aladdin:  A Musical Spectacular. He has worked directly with Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber.  His production company, Emchaviel Productions, is committed to the development of new work that transcends culture and time. He is a graduate of Stanford University. www.michaelklee.org.

For a full list of Ovation nominees, or for information about the Ovation Awards Ceremony on January 11th, click here!