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Overview
Synopsis
On a very important night for the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, Tito Mirelli, the world-famous Italian tenor, is set to perform the starring role in Pagliacci. Henry Saunders -- General Manager of the company -- is beyond stressed about everything turning out right, and insists that his assistant, Max -- a nervous, young fellow and secret tenor extraordinaire -- watch over Tito’s every move to ensure smooth sailing. After a huge fight with his fiery, Italian wife Maria, Tito receives a double dose of tranquilizers through a series of mishaps. Throw in Diana, an ambitious, female co-star; Maggie, Max’s giddy girlfriend; Julia, a flirty head of the opera guild; and a meddling bellhop fighting for Tito’s attention, and together, you have a recipe for comedic disaster. Max navigates the company through one catastrophe after the next -- an angry wife, a presumed death, crazy costumes, secret sex romps, and loads and loads of slamming doors and mistaken identities -- and, ultimately, takes on the role of Pagliacci to great effect. Together, Max and Saunders find a way to save the Opera Company’s big night in grand, farcical fashion.
Show Information
Context
Ken Ludwig’s hilarious, slapstick farce Lend Me a Tenor first appeared at the American Stage Festival in New Hampshire in 1985. The following year, it debuted in London (receiving one Olivier nomination for Best Play) before making its way to Broadway several years later in 1989. It ran for 476 performances at the Royale Theatre. Nominated for seven Tony awards including Best Play, Lend Me a Tenor won for Best Direction (veteran Broadway director Jerry Zaks) and for Leading Actor in a Play
to read the context for Lend Me a Tenor and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
Act One
The farcical Lend Me a Tenor is set entirely in a suite of hotel rooms: a sitting room and a bedroom. There are half a dozen doors in the set leading to and from these two rooms. As the play opens on this scene, the audience hears the soaring voice of a glorious tenor singing from Verdi’s Rigoletto. Max, the overworked and underappreciated assistant to Henry Saunders, the high-strung General Manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, enters to find Maggie - Saunders’ daughter -
to read the plot for Lend Me a Tenor and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
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Lead |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
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Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
Farce is a comedic style that emphasizes exaggerated situations, improbable coincidences, mistaken identities, and rapid pacing. It often includes physical humor such as slamming doors, frantic chases, or characters hiding in plain sight. Farce is designed to generate nonstop laughter, often prioritizing chaos and absurdity over realistic storytelling.
Slapstick is a type of physical comedy that relies on exaggerated actions, pratfalls, and humorous accidents to provoke laughter. It often includes broad movements, funny sound effects, and comic violence, such as someone slipping on a banana peel or being hit with a harmless object. The style originated in commedia dell’arte and became popular in vaudeville, silent film, and stage comedy.
A male vocal range above baritone, commonly featured in opera and musical theatre for romantic or heroic lead characters.
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