On December 9, 1980, John Lennon was shot to death in front of his apartment building in Manhattan. As shock waves rippled across the nation, many New Yorkers gathered at the murder scene to pay tribute to their slain icon. James McClure's The Day They Shot John Lennon is an intimate portrait of eight people and the personal stories they bring with them together on this fateful day.

The production, which opens Friday, July 16 at the Gene Bua Theatre, unites three generations of actors -- one which was on hand to witness the media frenzy outside The Dakota in 1980, another which spent time with Lennon, and third which was too young to remember the day.

Directed by Emilio Borelli, who spent an all nighter in the early 70s jamming with Lennon, The Day They Shot John Lennon features actors from TV, film and theatre, such as Vasili Bogazianos ("Edge of Night"), Patrick Desmond (star of the original Broadway production of The Front Page, who also lived across the street from The Dakota and missed Lennon's murder by minutes), Steve Gundler, Rachel Kempel, Jerry Lambert, Antonio David Lyons, Jason Marsden, Alexander Polinsky, Debby Seligman and Lea Anne Wolfe.

The play will run through Aug. 22 at the Gene Bua Theatre, 3435 W. Magnolia Blvd. in Burbank. For tickets and information call (818) 754-4453.

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent