AN APPRECIATION : Edwin Lester: A Benevolent Ruler of Musical Theater

The age of chivalry in the arts may well have ended Thursday with the death of Edwin Lester. Not only was Lester, 95, the founder of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera and the undisputed prince of musical theater in this city, but he was a man universally respected for the classy way in which he conducted his business and his life.

Like the organization he ran for almost 40 years--a phenomenally successful commercial musical venture--Edwin Lester was always slightly larger than life, more grand opera than operetta, but with a sense of humor that tempered the grandiloquence and a keenness of mind that stayed with him until the very last days.

He brought musical theater to Los Angeles in the mid-1930s and remained its reigning monarch until his self-appointed retirement in the late ‘70s--an empirical, benevolent ruler who ran his domain with the ironclad ethics and impeccable manners that earned him respect, even from those--perhaps especially from those--who did not necessarily share his musical tastes.

“He lived his theater, the Civic Light Opera was his mistress,” said singer Patricia Morison, who had auditioned for him as a young woman. “Musical theater was fun when he did it. He employed people in this town. He gave young people breaks. He could be old-fashioned and opinionated but also very loyal.”

Loyalty was a hallmark. A gentleman of the old school, Lester got as good as he gave. He was surrounded most of his life by stalwart associates, such as Eleanor Pinkham and his longtime secretary, Joan Gilmore, who were as devoted to him as they were to his causes. But Lester, who could be surprisingly high-handed in his unquestioned self-assurance, paradoxically never let success spoil him. He was a hands-on producer who personally answered all his mail and had absolute regard for his subscribers.

Musical tastes were another matter. His were often questioned and did not change with the changing times. He made no secret of preferring operettas and “book musicals with happy endings.” He believed the test of time to be the only true measure of successful musical writing and was no fan of the new style of musicals ushered in by Stephen Sondheim.

That didn’t stop him from respecting what others saw in Sondheim and bringing “Company” (1971) and “Pacific Overtures” (1976) to the CLO.

When “Cabaret”--considered racy for his audience--had come to CLO in the late ‘60s, Lester had acknowledged it was not his kind of show but that he respected it, adding that he would have made some changes had it been up to him. What changes? Well, instead of those buxom German dancers, he would have substituted svelte and beautiful women--precisely what “Cabaret” was not about.

After he had ceded the reins, LACLO was never the same. But Lester either never let its decline bother him or never admitted that it did. As far as he was concerned, the Edwin Lester Civic Light Opera began and ended with Edwin Lester. What he couldn’t help or couldn’t change he would not allow to affect him. He never uttered a word of criticism or leveled a single complaint.

Only once, when the LACLO was going through a particularly bad patch at the hands of his successors did he venture the opinion that he had perhaps retired a little too soon.

As he grew older, and especially after his retirement, he became more and more relaxed, engaging and delightful. We maintained a lively correspondence and had dinner from time to time. Mostly, my husband and I were his guests. Only once were we able to lure him to our home. He clearly preferred it the other way. Playing host had become his occupation of choice and he did that too in style.

While he was still at LACLO, he once shipped a box of chocolate-covered pretzels to our home for Christmas. Not wanting to seem to curry favor, he signed the card with an X. But it wasn’t hard to track down the gift-giver and, playing along with the mystery, I responded with a thank-you note signed with a Y. This became our private joke and annual conspiracy.

Every year thereafter a box of chocolate-covered pretzels arrived promptly at our door for the holidays. They were, he said, his favorite. Christmas won’t be the same without them.