From Bemidji to Broadway, Michael Lamon co-produces Tony-nominated play

Jun. 10—BEMIDJI — When Michael Lamon was cast as Ozone Man in an Earth Day play at Bemidji's Central Elementary School, he did not have dreams of winning a Tony Award.

But he could be on the stage Sunday, June 11, as co-producer of the Tony-nominated play "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window." It was nominated for Best Revival of a Play and stars Oscar Isaac of "Star Wars" fame and Rachel Brosnahan of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" fame.

The Tony Awards will be televised at 7 p.m. Sunday on CBS from the historic United Palace.

As co-producer, Lamon is essentially an investor in the play. His day job is in risk management for a large New York City bank. But memories of his own musical and theatrical background, which go back to Central School and later with Bemidji High School's Vocalmotive show choir, keep Lamon keenly interested in the arts.

"In my world, I try to manage or hedge risk," Lamon said.

The opportunity to invest in "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window" was one he couldn't pass up. The play follows a progressive couple in the 1960s and their struggles with art, politics and a difficult marriage.

"It has a lot of different themes in it that really still speak to people today," Lamon said. As a co-producer, Lamon invests in the show in faith that it will succeed, and the Tony nomination proves that it has.

Lamon, 38, has fond memories of his hometown. The 2002 Bemidji High School graduate played bass guitar in a rock band called Sergeant Parkinson's Platoon, named after Bemidji Middle School teacher Brad Parkinson. His bandmates included buddies Owen Weaver, Danny Zerott and Dave Gurney. He was in show choir for four years, the first two as a bass player and the last two on stage as a singer and dancer. He acted in "Hello Dolly" as a senior.

"Bemidji is really incredibly fortunate to have a strong community that supports the arts but also has strong leadership in the community that makes arts a priority up there," Lamon said. "Those opportunities don't exist elsewhere. Having a strong music program at the high school and something that I probably took for granted when I was there. But with people like Mr. (Chris) Fettig and Jon Larson, both outstanding musicians and educators, I was super blessed to have had both of them as mentors."

Lamon enrolled at the University of Minnesota for two years, then transferred to Concordia College in Moorhead. He joined the Minnesota National Guard unit based in Bemidji and was deployed to Iraq from 2005 to 2007.

"The way I guess I explained the times we were there in Iraq was that it was like 99% calm and then 1% chaos," Lamon said. "Generally, everything is kind of like business as usual. You're going out doing your patrols, talking with people out in different neighborhoods and being a positive member of the community. But then, every now and again, chaos would ensue."

That chaos included hitting an improvised explosive device near the end of the deployment. Lamon suffered "just some minor burns, concussion, nothing bad in comparison to other folks."

He returned to Concordia and completed his bachelor of music degree in 2009. That's also where he met his wife, Julia, a fellow music student. After the couple married, they moved to Bemidji, where their two children were born. Daughter Liv is now 12 and son Titus is 10.

Michael and Julia also acted in the Loon Opera Company's "The Marriage of Figaro" in 2011 in Bemidji.

The Lamon family left Bemidji in 2013 when Julia was accepted into the Manhattan School of Music's master of music program. Michael was working for the Social Security Administration, so he was able to transfer. He also enrolled at Columbia University to earn a master's degree in public administration and was offered a Presidential Management fellowship that required him to commute to Washington, D.C. for two years.

"After being down there for a couple of years, getting the experience that I wanted, and wanting to balance both my interests and those of my wife, we made the decision to stay in New York," Michael said. "She's an opera singer, and she continues to perfect her craft in New York in a way that probably wouldn't be as feasible or easy in D.C."

He continued to work for the government in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but in 2018 he decided to move to the private sector.

"I thought that would be a way to advance my career a little bit quicker than is feasible with the government," Lamon said. He joined Ernst and Young and became a financial services risk manager. "I loved Ernst and Young but then I got a really great offer from a bank, which is what I work for now."

With his background in music and theater, Lamon was happy to find a way to be involved in Broadway, even though it's only as an investor. He recognized the economic impact of these plays.

"They're not just creating jobs for those who are in the play," Lamon said. "There are also PR firms behind the scenes, there's management companies. Then you talk about the local economy because it's a huge tourist draw, so you also have hotels that depend on folks going down there. A lot of the businesses in Times Square are dependent on Broadway. So it's kind of nice that there was a direct impact for being able to invest or some people would almost say donate to a production to help spur an economy."

On Sunday evening, Lamon will don a tuxedo and walk three blocks from his apartment to the United Palace for the Tony Awards. He'll be excited to find out if "The Sign" earns a statue. Even if it does not win, Michael and his Bemidji friends and family can be proud. And who knows what's next for the kid from Central School?

"For now it's definitely a side thing," he said. "I'm just exploring that investment space. We'll see where it goes. But one thing is for sure, I'll continue to support the arts no matter what."