MICHAEL
LOUIS
JOHNSON
Entertainer
I sing, I play trumpet, I write songs. I do some acting. Over the last four decades I’ve written some plays, made some movies and music videos. I’ve travelled the world playing music in small clubs, theatres and giant festivals. Currently I perform solo or with my jazz quintet, Red Rhythm, my brass band, Rambunctious, or our gang of Balkan Klezmer Party Punks, Lemon Bucket Orkestra. But mostly I’m known for tending bar at a tiny joint in Toronto called the Communist’s Daughter. I also have a reputation as a bit of an instigator.
half crazy cabaret tour
November 20, Ottawa
November 27, Toronto
December 4, Wolfe Island, (Kingston)
“….that deep connection to his music carries through in the smoky character of his voice, suited perfectly for his jazz melodies, …. a truly memorable evening,….I left as both a fan and a friend”
Galen Simmons - Northern Arts Perspective
click here for tickets
A director and mentor of mine once told me, “an actor has to act” and he was right.
So I’ve created a monthly event where actors can perform in front of an audience. Here’s how it works: message me to book a spot:
Prepare a monologue or work up a scene with others, show up and present it.
Playwrights, screenwriters, you got a scene you want to hear out loud? Contact me and we’ll find a cast to read it for you, see if your jokes land or the strings you want tug at the heart.
Death of a salesman
Reviews
“Powerful and heartbreaking”
Lauren Gienow - Broadway World
“Every note, achey and tender.”
Daphne Gordon - Stratfordtoday.ca
“….hits most of the right notes in its indictment of the American dream – though the best ones are blared from the bell of Johnson’s weathered trumpet, the bluesy melody an albatross in the Lomans’ creaking kitchen.”
Aisling Murphy - Globe and Mail
“….He delivers one of the best Land Acknowledgements I’ve heard in the theatre and one of the most compelling admonitions for audience member to silence all devices..”
Christopher Hoile - Stage Door
