Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me a Soprano, a gender-swapped adaptation of Ludwig's 1989 Broadway play Lend Me a Tenor, officially opens at Maryland's Olney Theatre Center February 10. Running through March 10, the production began performances February 7.
Directed by Eleanor Holdridge, the production was previously workshopped as part of Olney Theatre’s Vanguard Arts Fund before its world premiere at Houston’s Alley Theatre.
The production stars Carolann M. Sanita, Tina Stafford, Rachel Felstein, Dylan Arredondo, Maboud Ebrahimzadeh, Tom Patterson, Donna Migliaccio, and Natalya Lynette Rathnam. Graciela Rey and Benjamin Topa serve as swings.
Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me a Soprano is set in 1934, when world-famous Italian soprano Elena Firenzi (Sanita) is in town for a one-night-only concert. The performance is the apex of general manager Lucille Wylie’s (Stafford) career, and she’s given her assistant Jo (Felstein) one job—keep Elena away from men and liquor until the curtain rises. As Elena quarrels with her husband Pasquale (Arredondo), charms Jo’s fiancé Jerry (Ebrahimzadeh), and offers a road out of Cleveland for star tenor Leo (Patterson), Lucille has the opera’s president, Julia (Migliaccio), breathing down her neck and a star-struck bellhop (Rathnam) getting in the way.
Said Olney Theatre Artistic Director Jason Loewith in a previous statement, “Ken Ludwig and Olney Theatre have long been a match made in theatre heaven. When Ken approached us about helping to transform Lend Me A Tenor into a woman-centered story, we were thrilled to provide the artistic R&D space through the Vanguard Arts Fund. And with Eleanor Holdridge—who directed the show’s world premiere at the Alley—at the helm, Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me A Soprano is going to be sheer comedy delight."
The creative team also includes music director Chris Youstra, set designer Andrew Cohen, costume designer Sarah Cubbage, lighting designer Alberto Segarra, sound designer Matt Rowe, fight choreographer Robb Hunter, wig designer Larry Peterson, intimacy choreographer Helen Aberger, and dialect consultant Melissa Flaim.
Ben Walsh is the stage manager, and Tori Niemiec is the assistant costume designer. Opening night will be punctuated by a conversation between Ludwig and Loewith.
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