AbouT

As a working professional pianist / keyboardist, Lisa plays anything from New Orleans Trad Jazz to Thelonious Monk to Kurt Weill to the Rolling Stones. Making her living as a Music Director - particularly in comedy improv - she also creates original works for the theater. She has created original songs, rock operas, jazz compositions, film scores, animation shorts and numerous theatrical works Member ASCAP, Musicians Union & Dramatists Guild.

BIO

LISA McQUEEN has been Music Director /Pianist with Chicago’s SECOND CITY and ANNOYANCE THEATRE for many years. She toured with THE SECOND CITY NATIONAL TOURING CO. and was MD for sit-down runs at Atlanta’s ALLIANCE THEATRE, DENVER CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS, Rochester’s GEVA THEATRE, LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE, Barbados’ HOLDER’S FESTIVAL, UP COMEDY CLUB and BOOM CHICAGO in Amsterdam. She was MD for the East Coast Leg of “WHOSE LIVE IS IT ANYWAY” 2023 Tour. She was MD / Keyboardist / African Percussionist for the Off-Bway Production of Wildmen! (with George Wendt) at WEST SIDE ARTS THEATER. She served as MD at CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE THEATER for the productions of Hamlet, the Musical; The People v. Friar Lawrence (with Keegan-Michael Key); and she was Piano / Conductor for How Can You Run With a Shell on Your Back? Other SECOND CITY productions include Rod Blagojevich: Superstar!; Rush Limbaugh, The Musical; Girls Night Out; What the Tour Guide Didn’t Tell You; Chicago Improv All Stars; Fast Loud, Funny, Legendary Laughs and She, the People.

As a Composer, Lisa has written original music for ANNOYANCE THEATRE full length musicals (including Shark Tank, The Musical; Forty Whacks - A Lizzie Borden Musical; The Dead Boy Scout Musical; The Raven and The Messenger; and Tippi: Portrait of a Virgin - An Afterschool Special Gone Bad; among others.) She also contributed songs to many sketch shows including satires about George W. Bush and Donald Trump. She wrote the original film score to the independent film: Scrooge & Marley as well as composing original theme music for an independent TV show and various animations shorts.

A local musician in Chicago, Lisa plays jazz, blues and pop / R&B songs at Chicago jazz clubs such as Winter’s, Pops for Champagne, Signature Room, Queenie’s at United Center and Andy’s Jazz Club, and New Orleans jazz clubs, Fritzel’s, Preservation Hall and the Bourbon O Bar. As a recording artist, she has original music included on a Grammy considered album for the JEANNIE TANNER QUARTET and her playing has been featured on many Hallmark movies, VH1 shows, NFL game day shows, and Dolly Parton’s series: Heartstrings, among others. Lisa is also Leader & Keyboardist for THE ROLLING CLONES, a band dedicated to the music of the greatest rock band in all of history.