It’s 1934, and the clever and combustible Lucille Wylie, Manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, is ready to welcome world-class soprano Elena Firenzi for her one-night-only starring role in Carmen. Alas, Elena arrives late, her impassioned husband Pasquale has a fit of jealousy, and it remains to be seen whether Mrs. Wylie’s mousy but determined assistant Jo can save the day. Based on Ken Ludwig’s Tony Award-winning Lend Me A Tenor, this madcap screwball comedy features ladies in the leading roles and is guaranteed to leave audiences teary-eyed with laughter.
An elegant suite in a first-rate hotel in Cleveland, Ohio. September, 1934.
MRS. WYLIE
General Manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company. Reserved but frantic.
JO
Mrs. Wylie’s assistant. Engaged to Jerry. Longs to be on stage in an opera one day.
JERRY
Mrs. Wylie’s son. He is the fiancé to Jo. A lawyer who adores opera.
ELENA FIRENZI
World famous opera soprano. Italian. Gorgeous, magnificent, dressed elaborately. A force of nature.
PASQUALE
Elena’s husband. Impressive. Also dressed elaborately. Gets jealous very easily.
BELLHOP
Traditional bellhop. Big Elena and opera fan and makes that very clear.
LEO
Tenor in opera. Sopranos call him “The Flying Dutchman.”
JULIA
Chair of the Opera Guild. Society type. Nosey.
Ken Ludwig was born on March 15, 1950. He may well be the most performed playwright of his generation. He has had six productions on Broadway and eight in London’s West End. His 34 plays and musicals are staged throughout the United States and around the world every night of the year. They have been produced in over 20 languages in more than 30 countries, and many have become standards of the American repertoire. His first play, Lend Me a Tenor, was produced on Broadway and in London by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It won two Tony Awards and was called “one of the classic comedies of the 20th century” by The Washington Post. Crazy For You was on Broadway for five years, on the West End for three, and won the Tony and Olivier Awards for Best Musical. Since its European premiere at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2022, Ludwig’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express has had hundreds of international productions, including here at Civic in 2022.
Lend Me a Tenor was Ken Ludwig’s first Broadway play, and opened in 1989 to rave reviews. The action centers around a shy assistant and an opera superstar – and lots of confusion and mistaken identities. Lend Me a Soprano focuses on the same story – with one key difference: the leads are now ladies. So why the swap? In an interview with AP News, Ken Ludwig says, “I have a responsibility, I think, and the joy of saying, ‘All this comic talent out there, male and female, why not make this now, at this moment in my life, into a play about three very strong, competitive, interesting, tough women?'” This gender-bent version is another addition to Lend Me a Tenor’s long and illustrious history, which includes 17 awards and nominations, world-wide productions, and a successful Broadway revival in 2010.
Lend Me A Soprano was first produced by The Alley Theatre (Rob Melrose, Artistic Director; Dean R. Gladden, Managing Director) in Houston, TX on September 21, 2022. The performance was directed by Eleanor Holdridge with sets by Klara Zieglerova, costumes by Helen Huang, lighting design by Jorge Arroyo, sound design by Jane Shaw, and stage managed by Rachel Dooley-Harris.
Photos by Scott Martinez and Ryan Wasson