

Lend Me A Tenor: The Musical
Ken Ludwig
Awards & Recognition
Winner! 3 Tony® Awards and 4 Drama Desk Awards Nominee! 2010 Tony® Award, Best Revival of a Play
Winner of 3 Tony Awards and 4 Drama Desk Awards, 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 singer Tito Merelli, known as Il Stupendo, the greatest tenor of his generation, to appear for one night only as the star of the opera.
Tito arrives late, and through a hilarious series of mishaps, he 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 - and in a frantic attempt to salvage the evening, Saunders persuades Max to get into Merelli's costume and fool the audience into thinking he's Il Stupendo.
Max succeeds and lives up to his idol, but Merelli regains consciousness and gets into the identical costume, ready to perform.
Now two opera singers are running around in the same 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.
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"A remarkable piece of theatre… a masterpiece… Author Ken Ludwig has verve, a sound grasp of plot mechanics and a rare ability to couple high art with low comedy."
— The Times of London
"One of two great farces by a living writer."
— The New York Times
"Ken Ludwig's 1989 Tony-winning comedy is one of only two classic farces by a living playwright, the other being Michael Frayn's frenetic Noises Off."
— New York Daily News
"The most inventive, original farce in a long time!"
— Punch
"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
| Character |
|---|
| Maggie Max's girlfriend |
| Saunders Maggie's father, General Manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company |
| Tito Merelli a world-famous tenor, known also to his fans as Il Stupendo |
| Maria Tito's wife |
| Bellhop a bellhop |
| Diana a soprano |
| Julia Chairman of the Opera Guild |
| Max assistant to Saunders |
Meet The Playwright: Ken Ludwig
Ken Ludwig's Lend Me a Tenor is a comedy play written by Ken Ludwig and published by Samuel French .
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