LEND ME A TENOR The Musical Moves to Solvang

The uproarious farce, Lend Me A Tenor The Musical, plays in the Solvang Festival Theater July 6 - 23. The riotous tale of mistaken identities and unexpected romance explodes with delight in this brand new musical comedy by Peter Sham and PCPA's Brad Carroll, based on the play by Ken Ludwig.

The creative team includes Director Brad Carroll, Choreographer Katie Wackowski, Music Director Paul Marszalkowski, Scenic Designer Jason Bolen, Costume Designer Eddy L. Barrows, Lighting Designer Tim Thistleton, Sound Designer Elisabeth Weidener, and Production Stage Manager Ellen Beltramo*.

The cast features Matt Koenig as Bernie Guter, Erik Stein* as Henry Saunders, Kitty Balay* as Opera Guild Lady, Karin Hendricks as Diana Divane, George Walker as Tito Merelli, Bree Murphy* as Maria Merelli along with Leo Cortez and Katie Wackowski, and guest artist Joe Ogren as Max Garber.

It's the biggest night in the history of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company. World-famous tenor, Tito Merelli, is to perform Pagliacci at the 50th Anniversary season opener. However, Tito is nowhere to be found, and Executive Director Henry Saunders and his assistant, Max Garber, are in a panic. When Tito finally arrives, he is ill and at odds with his wife, Maria, over his preoccupation with women. Maria writes a note and walks out of his life. Soon, Tito, after mistakenly ingesting tranquilizers and Chianti, finds Maria's note and threatens to kill himself. He passes out and, when Max tries to rouse him, he appears to be lifeless. A horrified Max and Henry now realize they have only one hope, Max must stand in for the "dead" singer and deliver the performance of his life.

Lend Me A Tenor The Musical was first performed at the Utah Shakespearean Festival in 2007. It moved to London with a two-week out of town tryout at the Theatre Royal in 2010. It opened on London's West End at the Gielgud Theatre in 2011 and was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award. The show has had numerous subsequent performances throughout Europe. PCPA's production is the West Coast premiere.

Brad Carroll and Peter Sham were in residence at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in 2006 when they were commissioned to write a musical. On a whim, they contacted Ken Ludwig to ask for the rights to musicalize his play Lend Me A Tenor. Carroll said, "While initially it seemed like a random long-shot of an idea, it actually made perfect sense, Ludwig's play was one of - if not the - most popular comedies in the country having played in most every regional theatre in the country over the course of two decades." Ludwig granted the rights and Utah Shakes, after seeing a partial script and one workshop, committed it to their following season. Five years later it premiered in London's West End.

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