Lend Me a Tenor
by Ken Ludwig
Directed by Kari Blaylock
September 2-25, 2016
Performances
Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., Sundays at 3:00 p.m.
Online reservations at blueslippertenor@bpt.me
Starring in order of appearance:
Dale Ruhd Kelly Hillman Gary Fish Erin Nelson
Justin Weisgerber January Mahon Becky Cummings Kari Doll
Winner! 3 Tony Awards and 4 Drama Desk Awards
Nominee! 2010 Tony Award, Best Revival of a Play
Lend Me A Tenor is set in September 1934. Saunders, the general manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, is primed to welcome world famous, Tito Morelli, Il Stupendo, the greatest tenor of his generation, to appear for one night only as Otello. The star arrives late and, through a hilarious series of mishaps, is given a double dose of tranquilizers and passes out. His pulse is so low that Saunders and his assistant Max believe he’s dead. In a frantic attempt to salvage the evening, Saunders persuades Max to get into Morelli’s Otello costume and fool the audience into thinking he’s Il Stupendo. Max succeeds admirably, but Morelli comes to and gets into his other costume ready to perform. Now two Otellos are running around in costume and two women are running around in lingerie, each thinking she is with Il Stupendo. A sensation on Broadway and in London’s West End, this madcap, screwball comedy is guaranteed to leave audiences teary-eyed with laughter. It was directed on Broadway by Jerry Zaks, and in London by David Gilmore.
“A furiously paced comedy with more than a touch of the Marx brothers… A marvelous combination of wonderful farcical moments and funny lines.” – Time Out New York
“Fills the theatre with the sound of laughter.” – The Sunday Express, London
“Free flowing honest-to-goodness unforced farce.” – New York Magazine
“It’s hilarious… The funniest show on Broadway.” – WNEW
“A roller coaster of fun for everybody in the building… a solid, constantly accelerating snowball of a comedy!” – Phoenix News Times
“Non stop laughter.” – Variety “Uproarious! Hysterical!” – USA Today
“A rib tickling comedy.” – The New York Post “Screamingly funny!” – CBS Radio