The three-time Tony Award winning laugh riot Lend Me A Tenor follows the misadventures of Max and the Cleveland Grand Opera company. After preparing a lovely reception for Il Stupendo, the greatest tenor of his generation, for a one-night only performance in Pagliacci Max finds his star on the verge of death, the theater in potential ruins, and worst of all his fiance has a thing for tenors! As Max dons the makeup to stand in for Il Stupendo, hilarity and mischief ensue.
“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
Lend Me A Tenor is an evening of hijinks, mistaken identity, and chance encounters. Following the belated arrival of Il Stupendo, Max does his best to keep the star calm, and makes sure he gets the rest he needs. Unfortunately, after giving Stupendo a double dose of his sleeping pills Max needs to don clown makeup to do the show, but can he sing as well as the greatest tenor of the generation? After the show multiple women want to sleep with Il Stupendo, but when Max finds the body missing, will he save his career? Or his relationship? Lend Me A Tenor was originally produced by the American Stage Festival. It went on to a Broadway run where it won two Tony Awards and has had countless productions since.
Industry Night
- Wed. Feb 04, 7:30pm
Pay-What-You-Can
- Wed. Jan 28, 7:30pm
- Sat. Feb 07, 8:00pm
- Thu. Feb 12, 2:00pm
- Thu. Feb 19, 7:00pm
Discussions
- Script Club @ Portland Public Library
Sat, Jan 17, 1:30-2:30pm - Artistic Perspective
Sun, Feb 01, post show - Curtain Call
Sun, Feb 08, post show
Ken Ludwig has had six productions on Broadway and eight in London’s West End. His 34 plays and musicals are staged around the world and throughout the United States every night of the year.
His first play, Lend Me a Tenor, won two Tony Awards and was called “one of the classic comedies of the 20th century” by The Washington Post. Crazy For You is currently running on London’s West End. It was previously on Broadway for five years, on the West End for three, and won the Tony and Olivier Awards for Best Musical.
In addition, he has won the Edwin Forrest Award for Contributions to the American Theatre, two Laurence Olivier Awards, two Helen Hayes Awards, the Charles MacArthur Award and the Edgar Award for Best Mystery of the Year. His other plays include Moon Over Buffalo, Leading Ladies, Baskerville, Sherwood, Twentieth Century, Dear Jack, Dear Louise, A Fox on the Fairway, A Comedy of Tenors, The Game’s Afoot, Shakespeare in Hollywood and Murder on the Orient Express. They have starred, among others, Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Kristen Bell, Tony Shaloub, Joan Collins and Henry Goodman.
His book How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare, published by Penguin Random House, won the Falstaff Award for Best Shakespeare Book of the Year, and his essays on theatre are published in the Yale Review. He gives the Annual Ken Ludwig Playwriting Scholarship at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, and he served on the Board of Governors for the Folger Shakespeare Library for ten years. His first opera, Tenor Overboard, opened at the Glimmerglass Festival in July 2022. His most recent world premieres were Lend Me A Soprano and Moriarty, and his newest plays and musicals include Pride and Prejudice Part 2: Napoleon at Pemberley and Lady Molly of Scotland Yard.
His plays include commissions from the Agatha Christie Estate, the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Old Globe Theatre, and the Bristol Old Vic. For more information visit www.kenludwig.com.
Max tbd
Maggie tbd
Saunders tbd
Tito Merelli tbd
Maria tbd
Bellhop tbd
Diana tbd
Julia tbd
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* Member, Actor's Equity Association
Director Kevin R. Free ***
Scenic Designer German Cárdenas Alaminos
Costume Designer Jacqueline Firkins **
Lighting Designer Mary Lana Rice
Sound Designer Seth Asa Sengel
Projection Designer tbd
Stage Manager Myles C. Hatch *
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** Member, United Scenic Artists
*** Member, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society