When you learn that she once worked on the American talk show ‘Ellen’ you might think that Lauren Flaherty–currently preparing for her role as the vengeful silent movie star Lena Lamont in Singin’ in the Rain–has led a pretty glamorous life. But wait. It gets better.
Backstage with Glinda
A much-loved face on the local theater scene, Lauren has played Princess Jasmine in Encore’s! Aladdin, and Glinda in The Wizard of Oz. But “local” isn’t the first word you’d associate with Lauren, who has lived all over the globe, and seems far from settling down.
“I was born in the US, moved to Belgium with my family when I was eight,” she says, adding that the most important lesson she learned from those three years abroad was the importance of greeting new people with an open heart. “After finishing college and launching a career in TV production, I followed my husband–who works for the US State Department–to postings in Dubai and Jordan, where two of my three children were born.”
An expert in speech communication, Lauren apparently has a history of talking her way into plum roles behind the scenes as well.
“When I was in my early 20s, I was cast as a host for a television show called American Woman,” she recalls. “A chance meeting with the President of NBC Enterprises led me to realize I didn’t want to be the TV ‘talent’. I wanted to be the producer. I took a chance and cold-called that same executive, and he recommended me for a job–this, in an organization that fields 20,000 resumes from young people trying to get into television every month!”
Lauren’s entree into television on the NBC page program
With then Tonight Show Host, Leno!
After stints in the studios where the Ellen DeGeneris show, the Tonight Show, and other programs were filmed, Lauren climbed the ladder, working as a researcher, an associate producer and finally, a full-fledged producer.
Now in Jerusalem, Lauren is on family leave from her television career, but nothing can put a cap on her creativity. She founded a parents’ theater group at the Anglican International School her children attend–where she serves, naturally, as President of the PTA–and of course, is practicing her lines for Singin’ in the Rain.
Photo by: Yona Tal Kaplan-Wildmann
“For a silent movie star, Lena Lamont’s got a helluva lot to say,” she quips, adding that she loves everything associated with the show, from the costumes, to the songs, to the 1920’s era Hollywood choreography.
“Singin’ in the Rain is full of fabulous dancers, and show-stopping production numbers,” she says. “As a producer, I can feel it: this one’s gonna be great!”