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At the end of the play, things are sorted out. Maria returns to the hotel and makes up with the bewildered Tito, while Max manages to step into the bathroom long enough to change out of his
Othello costume and wig, and emerge as himself. Tito and Maria leave together, while Saunders accompanies Diana
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A few seconds later, Tito
Merelli returns to the hotel suite, also dressed as Othello, in a costume, wig, and blackface makeup. Frantic and on the run from the police, Tito is even more confused when other characters in the play show up to congratulate him on his "magnificent performance" as Othello.
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Tito finally arrives at the hotel suite, accompanied by his hot-tempered
Italian wife, Maria, who is jealous because Tito flirts with other women. When she finds Maggie hiding in the bedroom closet, trying to get Tito's autograph, Maria angrily assumes that Maggie is Tito's secret lover. Maria writes
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The musical version, with book and lyrics by Peter Sham and Music by Brad
Carroll opened at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth, on September 24 and ran until October 6, 2010, after which it transferred to the Gielgud Theatre on London's West End on June 15, 2011 and closed on August 6, 2011, despite mostly
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Much later (Scene II), Max is unable to wake Tito from his nap. Max finds an empty medicine bottle and Maria's "Dear John" letter, which is written in such a way ("By the time you read this, I will be gone.") that Max mistakenly thinks Tito has committed suicide. When
Saunders arrives, Max tearfully
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As Scene I of the play opens, Henry
Saunders, general manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, is anxiously awaiting the arrival of Tito Merelli, a world-famous Italian opera tenor, known as "Il Stupendo" to his many fans. Merelli is coming to Cleveland to sing the lead role in a performance of
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However, Saunders comes up with a plan. Since no one else knows that Tito is dead, Max will step into the
Othello role and pretend to be Tito. Wearing Tito's costume and makeup, Max will star in the opera performance. The audience will never know that it is not Tito Merelli, and they can announce
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When Tito returns to the bedroom, he finds Maria's note. Horrified that his wife has left him, Tito goes into a fit of passion and tries to "kill himself" with various non-lethal objects (e.g. trying to stab himself with a wine bottle). Max manages to calm Tito down, and takes the singer into the
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For the rest of the play, Max and Tito—who are identical in their
Othello costumes and makeup—are repeatedly mistaken for each other, as they alternately run in and out of the hotel suite. Max is mistaken for Tito, and Tito is mistaken for Max by Saunders. Also, Tito and Max both find themselves
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Saunders tells Max to quickly change out of his
Othello costume and makeup, while he goes downstairs to handle the police. Max returns to the bedroom, but is shocked and horrified to find Tito is missing from the bed. Still wearing his Othello costume, Max leaves the hotel suite and runs to find
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Saunders' harried assistant, Max, is also in the hotel suite. Saunders has charged Max with seeing to
Merelli's needs, and with getting Merelli to the opera house in time for the performance. Also there is Maggie Saunders, Henry's daughter and Max's sometime girlfriend. Maggie is a fan of Tito
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As the second act opens, Saunders and Max return to the hotel suite. Max's performance as Othello was a huge success, and no one suspected that he was not Tito. Then Saunders gets a phone call, telling him that the police are downstairs in the lobby. They are looking for "a lunatic dressed as
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In the sitting room, Max gives Tito a tranquilizer-laced drink, trying to calm him down before the performance. (Unbeknownst to either of them, Tito accidentally takes a double-dose of tranquilizers.) When he learns that Max is an aspiring opera singer, Tito kindly gives Max a singing lesson,
35:
490:'s New American Playwright Project, in Cedar City, Utah, followed by rewrites and a production as part of USF's Summer 2007 repertory season, which received rave reviews. The musical opened in London's West End in June 2011, directed by Ian Talbot and choreographed by
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being romantically pursued by Maggie Saunders, and by Diana, the Cleveland Opera's sexy and ambitious soprano. Eventually, Diana seduces Tito in the bedroom, while Maggie simultaneously seduces Max (who she thinks is Tito) in the living room.
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with a sofa and chairs at right and a bedroom at left. A center "stage wall" divides the two rooms, with a door leading from one room to the other. (Throughout the play, the audience can see what's happening in both rooms at the same time.)
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to a downstairs reception. Maggie realizes that not only was Max the "Tito" that she made love to, he was also the "Tito" who sang so passionately in tonight's opera performance. As the play closes, Max and Maggie share a kiss.
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rave reviews but two months of poor ticket sales. It is important to note that the musical was the first to replace the use of Otello with the opera Pagliacci, which effectively removes the play's questionable elements.
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Saunders is furious. The opera performance will have to be cancelled, and the audience will demand their money back. It will be a disaster for the Cleveland opera, and for Saunders himself.
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Othello, who thinks he's Tito Merelli." During Max's performance, the "lunatic" tried to force his way into the opera house, hit a policeman who tried to stop him, and ran away.
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Tito's death tomorrow morning. Max reluctantly agrees to the plan. He goes into the bathroom to change, and later returns, dressed as Othello, in a costume, wig, and
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called it "one of the most brilliant and inspired new comedies this year." The English director David Gilmore read it and asked to direct;
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teaching him to "loosen up" and sing with more confidence. Tito and Max sing a duet together ("Dio, che nell'alma infondere" from Verdi's
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makeup. As the curtain falls on Act One, Saunders and Max leave for the performance, just as Tito wakes up in the bedroom.
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has been translated into sixteen languages and produced in twenty-five countries. The title is a
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and official revisions of the play since 2019, presumably due to the use of blackface in
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on March 13, 2010 in preview and officially opened on April 4, 2010. Directed by
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1005:. This plot summary describes the play as it was performed before revisions.
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In 2022, Ludwig adapted a gender-swapped version of the play entitled
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In 2019 the official licensed performance script was revised by
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This article is about the play. For the musical adaption, see
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was presented in May 2006 as a staged reading as part of the
1230:"Merc cancels fall production of comedic 'Lend Me a Tenor'"
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Review: Performances of ‘Comedy of Tenors’ and ‘Bandstand’
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Internet Broadway Database, accessed September 20, 2012
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bedroom, where Tito lies down on the bed for a rest.
1203:"Alley Theatre Official Website - Lend Me a Soprano"
190:Tito a "Dear John" letter, and leaves the hotel.
134:on "Lend me a tenner" (i.e., a ten-dollar bill).
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391:(Tito Merelli), Jay Klaitz (Frank the Bellhop),
379:A Broadway revival began performances at the
399:(Maria), Mary Catherine Garrison (Maggie),
1259:"2010 Drama League Nominations Announced!"
1101:kenludwig.com, accessed September 20, 2012
309:production opened on March 6, 1986 at the
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1176:: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
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403:(Diana), and husband and wife couple
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376:(Maggie) and Jeff Brooks (Bellhop).
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142:The play takes place in 1934, in a
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208:tells him that Tito is dead.
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747:Outstanding Featured Actress
336:After sixteen previews, the
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523:
505:
503:
498:
496:
481:
470:
460:
454:
448:
443:Tito Merelli
442:
436:
430:
424:
413:
409:Brooke Adams
378:
370:Jane Connell
352:(Saunders),
350:Philip Bosco
335:
323:Denis Lawson
304:
295:
291:
289:
280:
276:
272:
268:
264:
213:
210:
206:
202:
195:
192:
188:
184:
177:
170:
160:sitting room
156:two-room set
141:
127:
120:Philip Bosco
94:
93:
92:
15:
1162:January 20,
991:changed to
907:Jan Maxwell
866:Jan Maxwell
852:Ken Ludwig
764:Jerry Zaks
689:Tony Walton
635:Ken Ludwig
478:Adaptations
471:The Bellhop
397:Jan Maxwell
358:Ron Holgate
331:John Barron
327:Jan Francis
321:(Bellhop),
315:Ron Holgate
296:Derry News,
292:Opera Buffa
286:Productions
144:hotel suite
110:(1986) and
1359:1986 plays
1353:Categories
1027:Derry News
1013:References
969:Nominated
958:Nominated
947:Nominated
934:Nominated
921:Nominated
911:Nominated
898:Nominated
885:Nominated
870:Nominated
855:Nominated
843:Tony Award
808:Nominated
795:Nominated
791:Paul Gallo
719:Jerry Zaks
708:Nominated
693:Nominated
678:Nominated
663:Nominated
644:Best Actor
638:Nominated
626:Tony Award
591:Nominated
587:Ken Ludwig
526:Ken Ludwig
419:Characters
342:Jerry Zaks
329:(Maggie),
270:Saunders.
197:Don Carlos
124:Jerry Zaks
116:Tony Award
104:Ken Ludwig
45:Ken Ludwig
42:Written by
1099:Cast List
994:Pagliacci
828:Category
631:Best Play
611:Category
562:Category
537:Pagliacci
372:(Julia),
368:(Diana),
364:(Maria),
217:blackface
148:Cleveland
1290:Playbill
1172:cite web
1115:Archived
831:Nominee
614:Nominee
565:Nominee
520:Revision
360:(Tito),
338:Broadway
307:West End
138:Synopsis
112:Broadway
108:West End
62:West End
1344:website
1319:at the
1039:FAQ on
834:Result
617:Result
568:Result
395:(Max),
356:(Max),
325:(Max),
84:Setting
71:English
1268:May 1,
1077:, p. 5
1073:
1003:Otello
989:Otello
825:Award
608:Award
559:Award
531:Otello
261:Act II
179:Otello
158:has a
154:. The
100:comedy
79:Comedy
1156:(PDF)
1149:(PDF)
976:Notes
839:2010
822:Year
622:1989
605:Year
573:1986
556:Year
461:Julia
455:Diana
449:Maria
167:Act I
98:is a
76:Genre
1298:2018
1270:2023
1215:2022
1178:link
1164:2007
1071:ISBN
780:Won
767:Won
754:Won
741:Won
723:Won
653:Won
305:The
152:Ohio
997:in
512:in
431:Max
200:).
176:'s
146:in
132:pun
102:by
1355::
1287:.
1261:.
1205:.
1174:}}
1170:{{
540:.
494:.
482:A
467:."
150:,
1300:.
1272:.
1246:.
1232:.
1217:.
1180:)
1166:.
22:.
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