Seeking Cast for "Lend Me A Tenor" Play
Audition announcement for Ken Ludwig's play "Lend Me A Tenor," a classic farce. Please see the details below. About the project: Lend Me A Tenor is set in Cleveland, Ohio, 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. Additional info: Callbacks – Monday, February 6th at 6:30pm. Performance Dates: Fridays & Saturdays March 31st - April 15th, 2023 7:30 PM If you are interested, please apply.
8 roles
Main protagonist, assistant to Saunders, and boyfriend to Maggie. A literal pushover turned star; Max is a secretly an aspiring opera singer. Although a nervous, clumsy, flailing man, he FINALLY gets his chance when Tito is knocked out cold. Max then imitates Tito, his costume, his Italian accent, and his love for women. Max sings the tenor lines in Verdi’s duet in Don Carlo. He also sings Vesti la Giubba from Pagliacci at the end of the play.
Saunders’ daughter and Max’s girlfriend. Maggie is a pretty, quirky girl who has a fan girl infatuation with Tito Merelli. Clumsy, flirty, and a little vapid, Maggie wishes to have a fling and some adventure before settling down. A typical upstanding lady in the 1930s, innocent but passionate. Must be comfortable in underclothes and intimate choreography with Max and Tito.
A hot-tempered man and the manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, Saunders is also Maggie’s father and Max’s boss. He is quick to extremes of emotion from bullying Max to crying on the floor to thrashing Tito around. Think of Max Bialystock from The Producers or Jonah Jameson from Spiderman.
He is a life-loving, over-indulgent world-class Italian tenor with a passion for food, wine, women, and especially opera. And women. And women. He is Italian and sings the Verdi’s Don Carlo duet with Max in Act 1. A tenor with a mid-range as well and an Italian accent.
A moody, hot-blooded, hot-tempered Italian who is a little bit like Sophia Loren. She is a jealous, territorial animal. Loud, she does have an Italian accent. Also think of Carlotta from The Phantom of the Opera.
Mr. No-Name is Mr. Wiseguy, also known as the eyes, the ears, and the mouth of the hotel. He is determined to meet his idol, Tito Merelli, and will stop at nothing to get it. He sings baritone to mid-range, specifically, Figaro’s Al Factotum in The Barber of Seville. This is a GREAT physical comedy role and will have some fun with the audience.
The lead soprano of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, Diana is seductive, playful, flirty, and doesn’t take no for an answer. She tries to seduce those who can help her move up in the world, including Tito Merelli. Must be comfortable wearing lingerie and intimacy with Max and Tito.
Chairman on the Opera Guild, Julia is an extravagant woman who likes to stick her nose in Saunders’s business. A mother like figure to Maggie, she is a sweet woman, but completely clueless.
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