Talent Needed for Production of "Lend Me A Tenor"
The company is holding auditions for "Lend Me A Tenor" Show and looking for performers, please see the details below. About the project: On a very important night for the Cleveland Grand Opera Company in a hotel suite in Cleveland, Tito Mirelli, the world-famous Italian tenor, is set to perform the starring role of Canio in Leoncavalio’s 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 costar; Maggie, Max’s giddy girlfriend; Julia, a flirty head of the opera guild; and a meddling bellhop fighting for Tito’s attention. 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, slamming doors and mistaken identities - and, ultimately, takes on the role of Canio to great effect. Max and Saunders find a way to save the big night in grand, farcical fashion. Additional info: Call backs will be held in the evening on Wednesday, December 20, specific times to be announced. Callbacks will consist of readings from the script, and may require some singing for the two roles noted as musical. Familiarize yourself with the story and the roles prior to your audition. Bring a picture and an acting resume along with the completed audition form. (Please place your audition form on top, then your resume, then your headshot and staple them together on the top left corner.) Please prepare a comedic monologue, or come ready to read a monologue provided. Those auditioning for the roles of Tito and Max should prepare a short acapella musical audition piece in an operatic style. Rehearsals begin February 18, 2024, and will run Monday through Thursday evenings from 6pm-9pm with one Saturday rehearsal during Tech Week. Actors will only be called for rehearsal dates and times that require their presence, until tech week - when all actors will be called all week. Performance dates are: April 12, 13, 14 & 18, 19, 20, 21, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2:00pm. (Actor’s call time is 1.5 hours before showtime.) Please note that actors will be required to stay for strike immediately following the performance on April 21, 2024.
8 roles
Singing role (tenor range). The world’s most renowned opera tenor, and notorious flirt. Larger than life in every way possible. (Note: this role engages in intimate moments which include passionate kissing and canoodling.)
The Cleveland Grand Opera’s general manager, & father to Maggie. A real blowhard who loses his temper at the slightest mishap.
Singing role (tenor range). Saunders’ long-suffering assistant, who is forced to take Tito’s place in the role of Canio. (Note: this role engages in intimate moments which include passionate kissing and canoodling.)
A comic relief character who has an ongoing feud with Saunders. An obnoxious opera fan. The Bellhop keeps showing up at the hotel suite at the wrong moment. This role is very high-energy. Comedic timing and wit is absolutely required.
Tito’s suffering wife, with an “Italian temper”. Leaves Tito early in the play, but ultimately returns to him. Loves Tito despite his philandering.
Saunders’ daughter and Max’s girlfriend. She has a great admiration for Tito. (Note: this role engages in intimate moments which include passionate kissing, canoodling, and disrobing down to undergarments.)
The opera’s ingenue soprano who is fighting her way to the top. A seductive woman, and she knows it. (Note: this role engages in intimate moments which include costuming in lingerie, appearing to wear nothing but a towel, and passionate kissing & canoodling.)
Chairwoman of the Cleveland Opera Guild, who considers herself a “Grande dame”. She wears an over-the-top dress which, Saunders says, makes her look like the Chrysler building.
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