Art has often carried an unspoken authority to surpass logical argument and land directly in the human conscience. Statistics and policy can inform, but a story can linger. "A melody, a line of dialogue, a character's unravelling, these all become internalized truths," says Lance Lewman, a songwriter, actor, voice artist, producer, and now a playwright with two ambitious musicals underway. Studies corroborate his perspective, as many indicate that live performances are catalysts for stronger emotional and physiological responses. "Something changes. Not always loudly, yet with consequence," he adds.
Lewman has built a lifetime inside that space of transformation, creating work that orbits around one belief: creative expression can alter how people think, and in doing so, alter what they tolerate. "It's exciting when creative entertainment transforms the way you think. You walk out different than the person who came in," he explains.
A decade in New York theater and a prolific television, film, and voiceover career, coupled with his leadership as SAG-AFTRA Washington-Mid Atlantic President, has given Lewman a comprehensive industry vantage point. He has seen how easily performances can entertain without leaving a mark, and how powerful it becomes when it does. "It has happened to me only a couple of times in my life, but I want to create more of those experiences for others," Lewman says.
His ambition manifests in his work that engages with systems, histories, and personal realities, with a precise attention to detail, while still honoring the emotional pull of musical theatre.
Lewman's first major musical project, Brilliance, traces the life of Francis Farmer, a Hollywood actress, exploring her forced institutionalization in the 1940s and the ensuing fragility of personal rights within the mental health system. While rooted in the world of stardom, the play holds a personal significance to Lewman. He highlights the story of his nephew, whose life was derailed by untreated mental illness. That lived experience became the impetus for broader research into the mistreatment of marginalized persons.
"There's not enough help for them out there, especially the ones left on the streets to their own devices. There's no plan. That pain point is a big part of Brilliance. It's a wake-up call, telling us that we can do better," Lewman shares. By dramatizing a system that once allowed families to institutionalize women against their will, the musical invites audiences to examine how much has truly changed, and how much has simply shifted form. Today, nearly 67% of unhoused people in the US live with a mental illness, further reinforcing his perspective.
A second musical, Queen of Happiness, carries a different tone while sustaining the same commitment to social reflection. Centered on Florence Mills, a Black performer of the 1920s whose influence reached global audiences, Lewman highlights that the work seeks to restore recognition to a figure whose legacy faded from public awareness. "At the time of her passing in 1927, more than 150,000 people gathered in New York to pay their respects, one of the largest public viewings in the city's history. Her story, once widely celebrated, now lives largely outside mainstream cultural memory," Lewman explains.
Today, he seeks to shine light on her story through a lens rooted in responsibility and compassion, shaping a narrative that honors the joy Mills brought to audiences and the barriers she navigated. Lewman notes that a particular song in the musical, "The Way It Should Be," captures that duality and gives voice to a vision of dignity and equality that resonates across decades.
According to Lewman, the contrast between Brilliance and Queen of Happiness is intentional. In his words, one carries a darker emotional weight, while the other radiates warmth and optimism, and together, they form a spectrum that mirrors the complexity of lived experience. Audiences, then, are invited to reflect and engage from different emotional vantage points.
Lewman's creative path has evolved across mediums. Early work with his wife, Kristan King, involved music production, many of which, he notes, later became foundational elements in Brilliance. He recalls how the musical itself took decades to refine, moving through drafts and multiple productions, including staged readings in New York for audiences. "I realized it's a long process, one that demands commitment to the craft and patience," he says. "But I'm willing to follow all that."
Recent years have expanded his writing into premium ghostwriting. He frames that as a discipline that aligns naturally with songwriting, drawing from the same instinct to construct meaning from nothing and give it form. "Taking something that doesn't exist and really having an impact with it, that's what I enjoy," he says.
The consistent thread across every project he creates lies in the elevation of voices that carry weight, whether reflected through history or social urgency. Through his art, from musical production or voice-over narratives, Lewman maintains that stories become vessels for perspectives whose impact cascades beyond the stage and the screen.
"I've been in the entertainment industry my entire life," he says. "I don't know of any better medium to make these statements that can make a difference in the world. Art, to me, is the changemaker."
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