Jack Lemmon’s Son to Pay Homage With a One Man Show at The Broad Stage

What do “Some Like It Hot,” “The Apartment,” and “Glengarry Glenn Ross” have in common? They all star the very talented Jack Lemmon. He threw himself into every performance with such vigor that he could bring a spark to any role, whether it was cross dressing to throw off the mob, or playing a cowardly insurance salesman who wants nothing more than to keep his job.  While the man passed away in 2001, his legacy lives on in a new theater production at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica.

Creating a one-person show of a man’s entire life is an extremely intimate task.  If the actor does not find an authentic connection with the real person they are trying to embody the entire production can fall flat.  That’s why when Chris Lemmon, son of the famed actor, began to tinker with the idea of adapting his memoir about his father into a stage show, magic sparked.  “I’m digging into a very emotional chest here,” says Lemmon, “and there’s all sorts of stuff going on inside that chest. But… my father wasn’t just my father. My father was truly my very best friend, and I miss him very, very much. This story exists because of that missing of him. And for 90 minutes every night, I get a chance to have him next to me again.”

Chris, who already looks strikingly like his father, seems to bring Jack back to life.  This is with the help of actor director Hershey Felder who recently closed his one-man show “Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin” at the Geffen Playhouse.  Felder is credited as writer and director, but this is symbiotic collaboration of Chris’ emotional journey and Felder’s artistic sense.

Jack Lemmon Returns runs from now until February 1 at The Broad Stage. Tickets can be purchased here.