“Non-stop laughter” — Variety
By Ken Ludwig
Directed by Jim Helsinger
JULY 9 – AUGUST 3 | MAIN STAGE
The Cleveland Opera Company is buzzing with anticipation as world-renowned tenor Tito Morelli is scheduled to play Otello for a single night. But what’s an opera company to do when the superstar takes the wrong dose of the wrong stuff and can’t go on? How many doors will have to slam in this hilarious, mistaken-identity farce to get someone on stage for Il Stupendo? Add identical costumes, a singing bellhop, and a seductive soprano, and chaos of operatic proportions ensues.
Some mature situations. PG11+
Extras
- Opening night, Friday, July 11. Join the PSF actors and staff for a friendly post-show champagne toast.
- Meet the actors for an informal talkback after the show Thursday, July 31.
- Dinner with Dennis and Deb: specialty dinner themed to the play with behind-the-scenes insights 5:30pm Wednesday, July 16 and Sunday, July 20.
- Lend Me a Tenor and Macbeth will play in repertory with the same cast. Please order early for the best seating options.
Sponsors:
Kathleen Kund Nolan
& Timothy E. Nolan
Co-Sponsor:
Explore
Reviews
The Morning Call
“‘Tenor’ is funny and flawless.”
“A superb cast and deft direction by Jim Helsinger gives the mayhem of Ken Ludwig’s hilarious farce “Lend Me a Tenor” at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival a lightning quick delivery that provides nonstop laughs.”
“The cast … is uniformly outstanding, with impeccable timing in the riotous extravaganza.”
“A slapstick stew of confusion and mistaken identity.”
“Jacob Dresch is hilarious.”
“Suzanne O’Donnell is nonstop fury onstage as Maria.”
Lehigh Valley Press
Jim Helsinger directs a cast of PSF “all-stars,” missing no opportunity to mine the play’s laugh lines.
PSF’s “Lend Me A Tenor” generates laughter of operatic proportions.
The play has eight superb actors.
Wallnau is a master of timing, with his slow burn a thing to behold…. His befuddlement, double takes and exasperation par excellence are laugh-out-loud funny.
It’s another Helsinger comedic tour de farce. Don’t miss it.
Reading Eagle
“Hilarious.”
“Will leave the audience in stiches.”
“From the direction to the casting to the gorgeous set, lighting and costume designs, the show hits every mark.”
“Perfect.”
“The audience shakes with laughter.”
“A wonderful show with a wonderful cast. Perfect entertainment for a summer evening.”
Features & Press Releases
Comic Masterpiece Lend Me A Tenor to Open at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Lisa Higgins, 610.282.WILL [9455], ext. 4 July 3, 2014 Lisa.Higgins@pashakespeare.org Center Valley, PA— The wildly hilarious Tony-Award winning comedy Lend Me a Tenor previews July 9 and 10 and opens on July 11 at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. Running in repertory with Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the production continues through August 3 in […]
LUDWIG ON COMEDY
Comedies thrive on strong, specific ideas that are themselves innately comic. In terms of classical comedy, even “boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back” is rarely enough on its own; but “boy meets girl and then girl meets the boy’s identical twin and thinks that the twin is the boy she already […]
LUDWIG ON SHAKESPEARE
Shakespeare is at the core of every serious actor’s training and experience, and the sooner you start the process the better. Of all the hundreds and hundreds of actors I’ve auditioned for my plays over the years, by far the best and most successful have known their Shakespeare very, very well. The fact is, not […]
LUDWIG ON TENOR
Q: Do the characters and situations in your plays—as farcical as they may be at times—have a basis in real life, specifically in your real life? Ken Ludwig: Absolutely. But I didn’t always know it when I was first writing the plays. Take Lend Me a Tenor. When I first wrote it, I thought it was a kind […]
Artists
CAST
Max, assistant to Saunders:
Jacob Dresch*
Maggie, Max’s girlfriend:
Deanna Gibson*
Saunders, Maggie’s father, general manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company:
Carl N. Wallnau*
Tito Merelli, a world-famous tenor, known also to his fans as Il Stupendo:
Perry Ojeda*
Maria, Tito’s wife:
Suzanne O’Donnell*
Bellhop, a bellhop:
Anthony Lawton*
Diana, a soprano:
Eleanor Handley*
Julia, Chairman of the Opera Guild:
Susan Riley Stevens*
ARTISTIC TEAM
Playwright:
Ken Ludwig
www.kenludwig.com
Director:
Jim Helsinger
Scenic Designer:
Bob Phillips
Lighting Designer:
Thom Weaver
Costume Designer:
Amy Best
Sound Designer:
Matthew Given
Vocal Coach:
J. Bennett Durham
Dialect Coach:
Lynne Innerst
Production Stage Manager:
Stacy Renee Norwood*
Producing Artistic Director:
Patrick Mulcahy
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Stage Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Photos
