Edwin Lester (30 March 1895, New York City - 13 December 1990,
Beverly Hills, California) was an
American theatre director,
impresario, and
producer. He was the longtime general director of the
Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, which he founded in 1938. He also co-founded the LACLO's affiliate organization, the San Francisco Civic Light Opera, with
Homer Curran in 1939. Under his leadership, the LACLO produced or co-produced several of their own shows, a number of which went on to wider success, including
Song of Norway (1944),
Magdalena (1948),
Kismet (1953),
Peter Pan (1954) and
Gigi (1973). Lester also brought in shows from Broadway to California, often with their original casts.