Lezlie Wade is an award-winning director, writer, lyricist, and actor. She has spent seven seasons at the Stratford Festival as an assistant, associate, and mainstage director.
She worked alongside Des McAnuff on several productions including As You Like It,
Henry V and A Word or Two (a one-man show with Christopher Plummer). Lezlie also worked with Des McAnuff on Jesus Christ Superstar at the Stratford Festival, LaJolla Playhouse, and the Neil Simon Theatre on Broadway.
Lezlie's productions of H.M.S Pinafore and An Ideal Husband at the Stratford Festival were both well-received making her one of the few directors to oversee both musical and classical repertoire. She is scheduled to direct Spamalot.
Other directing work includes Obeah Opera for Luminato and Panamanian Games,
Dream a Little Dream at the London Grand Theatre, Queen Milli of Galt at Theatre Aquarius, and the Twelve Pound Look for the Shaw Festival. Lezlie also directed A Man of No Importance and Elegies for Musical Stage Company.
As a writer, Lezlie is a graduate of the BMI workshop in New York. With collaborator Dan Green, Lezlie has written the book and lyrics for The Remarkable Journey to Tianguo currently optioned by Somerled Arts and slated for a world premiere at a major Canadian theatre company in 2023. Tianguo was short-listed for the Tom Hendry Award for best new Canadian musical, was workshopped at AMTP in Chicago, and was one of two plays chosen for the ASCAP Dreamworks workshop where she received first-hand feedback from Dick Scanlan, Stephen Flaherty, and Stephen Schwartz.
Lezlie has also written a musical adaptation of Hansel & Gretel which was produced by Yellow Door Theatre. Her musical film, Dead Reckoning was selected by the USA film/fest last year and screened as part of the kidfest film festival. Her musical, Red Letter Day was also filmed this past summer and will be screened at the Performing Arts Center in St. Catharines in April, 2022.
