Lend Me a Tenor is a comedy by Ken Ludwig. The play has been translated into sixteen languages and produced in twenty-five countries. It is a popular choice of regional theatre companies and community theatre groups.
The play earned eight Tony Award nominations, winning one for Best Actor. Set in 1934, the farce revolves around renowned tenor Tito Merelli, known to his fans as "Il Stupendo," who is scheduled to sing the lead in Otello, produced as a gala fundraiser for the Cleveland Opera Company. Unfortunately, even before the star leaves his hotel room, everything begins to unravel.
Chaos ensues when Merelli's wife, who has mistaken an autograph-seeker hidden in his closet for a secret lover, leaves him a "Dear John" letter. The distraught Merelli accidentally is given a double dose of tranquilizers to calm him and passes out. Saunders, the company's General Manager, is determined the show must go on (for his own financial sake), so he asks his assistant Max to impersonate the opera star.
Max puts on the blackface makeup required for the role of Otello, and his disguise succeeds admirably--until Merelli, also in blackface, wakes up and heads for the stage. What follows is a chain-reaction of mistaken identity, plot twists, double entendres, innuendoes, and constant entrances and exits through many doors. The play, originally titled Opera Buffa, had been produced at a summer theater, American Stage Festival.
The English director David Gilmore read it and asked to direct; Andrew Lloyd Webber was the producer. The West End production opened on March 6, 1986 at the Globe Theatre, where it ran for ten months, closing on January 10, 1987. The cast featured Denis Lawson (Max), Jan Francis (Maggie), John Barron (Saunders), Ron Holgate (Tito), Anna Nicholas (Maria), Edward Hibbert (Bellhop), Gwendolyn Humble (Diana), and Josephine Blake (Julia).
Omg...this show is kicking my ass and I couldn't be more pleased! Now...to memorize all the dialogue and staging...THAT'S the true test of whether or not an actor is up to the task of doing a farce... more
Omg...this show is kicking my ass and I couldn't be more pleased! Now...to memorize all the dialogue and staging...THAT'S the true test of whether or not an actor is up to the task of doing a farce. I have a feeling I'm gonna miss this when it closes...and we haven't even been on the set yet and don't open til May 18. Anyone in the NJ/NY area? Its probably the best show for non-theatre lovers as well as fanatics. For info: www.studioplayhouse.org
(I know, I know...shameless self promotion :P)
love love loving it! I love a good farce and Ken Ludwig is certainly an author who knows the genre inside and out. So glad to reunite with this director. And its amazing how the same theater can... more
love love loving it! I love a good farce and Ken Ludwig is certainly an author who knows the genre inside and out. So glad to reunite with this director. And its amazing how the same theater can end up doing one joke of a show and follow it up with a star studded cast to close the season.
First read thru tonight after my matinee of my current show. What a great group of actors. The perfect antidote to make up for the BS I encountered while putting up the last show. My leading lady... more
First read thru tonight after my matinee of my current show. What a great group of actors. The perfect antidote to make up for the BS I encountered while putting up the last show. My leading lady is absolutely adorable, talented, and a doppelganger for Jennifer Aniston. I believe the entire cast is union SO the level of professionalism is much more my speed. No nonsense. Being directed by an old and dear friend whom I've worked with before on Urinetown, Secret Garden, Tick, Tick...Boom!, and a couple of informal readings of new works over the past 5 years. I have never done a farce...and I couldn't be happier to lose my farcical v-card to this cast! Yay.