A new stage production celebrating Australian television legend Don Lane is about to begin a new tour of New South Wales, blending nostalgia, live performance and personal storytelling led by his son, P.J. Lane.
Titled ‘I Love Your Faces – The Don Lane Story’ in honour of the entertainer’s classic sign-off, the two-hour show traces Lane’s journey from performing in New York to his place as one of Australia’s biggest television stars. For PJ Lane, who is a chip off the block of his legendary father and a supremely talented athlete and entertainer, the concept has been years in the making.
“The concept has been kind of brewing in my head for about 15 years,” the younger Lane told Starts at 60 recently.
After a brief series of preview shows about a year ago, the production sold out brief runs in Sydney and Melbourne ahead of this new regional tour.
“We did two Sydney shows, then went down to Melbourne at the Palms at Crown Casino, and the reception was excellent. And now we’re touring regionally and the show just keeps growing,” Lane said.
Don Lane was born Morton Donald Isaacson in the United States but became a household name as host of The Don Lane Show, which ran on Channel 9 from 1975 to 1983. The twice-weekly, live-to-air variety program ran for nearly nine years and featured celebrity interviews, musical performances, comedy and spectacle.
“The Don Lane show was, and still is today, the highest rating variety show on Australian television,” Lane said.
“For eight-and-a-half-years, it was our national Tonight Show, it went on twice a week, and it was live to air.”
During its run, the Don Lane Show featured a 16-piece orchestra, showgirls and dancers, and was backed by Kerry Packer. It was produced by Peter Faiman, who later directed Crocodile Dundee and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games opening ceremony. Lane said the program “broke down barriers” by delivering live A-list interviews and large-scale production values.
He believes its impact still resonates with audiences who watched it with their families.
“It hits an emotional chord with a lot of people,” he said.
The stage production of ‘I Love Your Faces’ is divided into three sections. The first explores Lane’s early life and his path from performing in Las Vegas to being invited to Australia to host a local version of The Tonight Show.
“The story overall is a kid from New York who goes on to become the biggest star on Australian television,” P.J. Lane said.
The second act recreates the atmosphere of the original television studio.
“You’re in the Don Lane Show now, the audience there is part of the studio audience, and we’re recreating that energy for everyone there in the crowd,” Lane said.
The final section shifts to a more personal reflection, where “he’s no longer Don Lane, he’s my dad,” PJ said.
While the stage show revisits famous moments and pays tribute to other towering figures of Australian entertainment – including Graham Kennedy and Bert Newton – Lane emphasised it is not an impersonation.
“We’re not imitating him. I never actually impersonate him.”
Archival footage is woven throughout the performance to recreate the era without staging it as traditional musical theatre.
Among the anecdotes revisited is the night Kerry Packer asked the show to continue well past its scheduled finish time while waiting for iconic Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr. to arrive from a concert.
“Kerry Packer asked them to keep the show running for over an hour and a half after its planned finish time because Sammy Davis Jr. was coming from his concert in a police car and they had to keep the show running in order to get him in the studio,” Lane said.
Another highlight is the Village People episode, one of Lane’s personal favourites.
The production also shares stories from Don Lane’s later career shift into sports broadcasting.
“He got more fan mail from doing the NFL on the ABC than he did in his entire time on the Don Lane show,” P.J. Lane said.
The younger Lane recounts being taken to the Super Bowl at age 10 despite not having a ticket.
“He snuck me in pretending that I was a child star and a soap opera actor in Australia,” Lane recalled, adding that he was given a name tag reading “celebrity guest Coogee Beach.”
Tickets to see I Love Your Faces on stage are available now. Below are the tour dates:
The show runs for approximately two hours with an interval. “It’s enough time to go on a bit of an emotional journey,” Lane said.
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