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The Broadway YOUR Way Soiree!
A Musical Tribute to a Made-Up Composer

An improvised musical biography with John Ballinger, Mike McShane and Brian Lohmann

The Broadway YOUR Way Soiree, is a tribute to a great American composer who never existed. Two deep-cut fans of A Made-Up American Musical Catalog (played by Lohmann and McShane) improvise the songbook of a fictitious composer with anecdotes, scenes and songs all created on the spot. 

The music is entirely improvised and arranged spontaneously by multi-instrumentalist John Ballinger. John also lobs curveballs at our hosts (a random owl hoot, a thunderstorm, a ring tone) that they have to somehow incorporate into the evening.

Audience suggestions like a job, a knick-knack, from grandma’s house, as well as improv stand-bys, such as song titles and music genres, will keep everybody involved in creating the show.

This celebration of creativity and show biz is loony and unpredictable – it’s improvised – but these veterans entertain while taking the audience on a wild ride through a night of seat-of-your-pants songwriting. 

More about the artists: 

Mike McShane was in the original cast of Whose Line is it Anyway UK, and was in the films Office Space, Richie Rich and Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. He was a series regular in the sitcom, Brotherly Love,"  and was memorable as "FDR" in Seinfeld. Stage credits include Broadway with Harvey Fierstein and Matthew Broderick and West End shows in London, including Little Shop of Horrors and Assassins. 

Singer songwriter, Brian Lohmann, has performed at the Laguna Playhouse in “Two’s a Crowd,” and “Tickled Pink,” with Rita Rudner. Other theatre credits include The Old Globe San Diego, A.C.T., Off-Broadway and The Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Film work includes, “Jack,” and “He Was a Quiet Man.” He sang in the Bay Area for decades as “Johnny Lonely,” an act that grew out of his work with the seminal comedy troupe, Faultline, which also featured Mike McShane. He recorded and toured with John Wesley Harding and was a part of the vocal jazz sextet, Acapella Gold, who recorded with Tee Carson and hosted the Feather River Jazz Festival, (ala Lambert Hendricks and Ross at Newport.) His songs were featured in the indie film, Thanks, with Rita Rudner and Edi Patterson.

John Ballinger was the guitarist on the "Dancing With the Stars" national tour, toured with Rufus Wainwright, and composed and performed with O-Lan Jones and Overtone Industries. He has also worked with Van Dyke Parks. Ann Wilson, Grace Jones, Billy Zane, Pato Baton, Tracy Bonham and composed songs for the films Life Support,by Larry Clarke. He played multiple instruments on the soundtrack for Flag Day, a film by Sean Penn. He is currently the composer and musical director for the comedy podcast, Live From The Lounge, with Keythe Farley.

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Grant funding was made possible by the lodging establishments and the City of Laguna Beach.