Lisa Bell, actress and singer from Winnipeg, Canada, debuted the music video to the theme song “STAND” from the new movie musical of the same name. The movie, directed by Robert Adetuyi (Stomp the Yard, Bring It On) and Juno and Kobzar-Award-winning writers Danny Schur and Rick Chafe, also stars Marshall Williams (Glee), Laura Slade Wiggins (Shameless), and Gregg Henry (Scandal).
This movie musical, which has been nominated for Best Score (composer Danny Schur) at the Burbank International Film Festival, “transports us to Winnipeg, 1919 in the grips of violent anti-immigrant riots and a general strike that altered the course of history. STAND! follows Ukrainian immigrant Stefan, smitten with his Jewish suffragette neighbor, Rebecca, but family and anti-immigrant veterans oppose the would-be Romeo and Juliet. When a movement develops to better the lives of immigrants, Stefan, Rebecca and a city of immigrants take on the halls of power in an inspirational, but high stakes, final stand. STAND! uses history as a metaphor for a current world of nativism and discrimination. It leaves us with a renewed understanding of what it means to be a citizen in a diverse democracy, with an inspiring message (delivered in song): ‘Hearts can change….and the change starts in mine.'”
Bell, known for placing in the Top Twenty of Canadian Idol, plays Emma Jones, a refugee who comes from racial strife in Oklahoma. Though she has had starring roles in Hairspray and Crowns on Canada’s musical theater stages, as well as starred in the TV series Falcon Beach, this is her first time starring in a feature film.
You can watch her sing this powerful theme song in the music video below:
You can also hear it on LA radio stations or download it here!
STAND! will be debuting in Toronto at the Royal Theater September 9-11. In the meantime, you can find more information here as well as follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube!