Catching Up With Casting News: LEND ME A TENOR at Community Players

Community Players and director Cris Embree have completed casting for their January production of Ken Ludwig's opera-inspired farce Lend Me a Tenor.

Leading the cast will be Tom Smith as Max, the assistant at the Cleveland Opera Company who is desperately trying to keep star tenor Tito Merelli in shape to perform Verdi's Otello that night. International sensation Merelli, who will be played by Players' veteran Brian Artman, is being pursued by everyone from the bellhop to Max's girlfriend, adding romantic and over-the-top operatic complications to his already crazy life.

Hannah Kerns has been cast as Maggie, the perfect girlfriend except for that crush on Merelli, while Joe Strupek will take on Maggie's dad, Saunders, the opera company GM, who also happens to be Max's boss.

Also in the cast will be Opal Virtue, often the Players' costume designer, who will play Maria, Merelli's feisty wife who is convinced he's cheating on her; Wendi Fleming as Diana, a beautiful soprano with designs on Tito; Reena Artman as Julia, a weathy patron of the opera; and Thom Rakestraw as the wily bellhop.

Lend Me a Tenor is a fast-paced farce with all kinds of action, as everybody tries to get to Merelli, Merelli tries to take a nap, his wife pitches a fit, everybody misunderstands each other, and poor Max just keeps trying to keep it all afloat. Because we're talking Ken Ludwig, you can also expect the mirror game, where two people who are dressed exactly alike face off with comic results.

Community Players' production of Lend Me a Tenor begins with a preview on January 24, 2013, with performances continuing through February 3. For ticket information, click here. To read more about the play, its history and its characters, you can check out this piece.

Auditions for LEND ME A TENOR December 10-11 at Community Players

Community Players and director Cris Embree will hold auditions for their January production of Ken Ludwig's Lend Me a Tenor on December 10 and 11. Tenor is an opera-inspired comedy from farceur Ludwig, who loves to play games with lookalikes, disguises, comic predicaments and sight gags.

In the play, personnel at the Cleveland Grand Opera Company are beyond excited to welcome famed tenor Tito Merelli to their company for a one-night-only performance of Verdi's Otello. Max, a lowly assistant to the opera's general manager, is given the job of making sure nothing goes wrong, but the larger-than-life tenor and his hot-tempered wife are quite a handful. There are added complications from everybody in Cleveland who wants to meet, sing with or get close to Merelli, from opera patrons to hotel staff and Max's girlfriend. As everything goes wrong, Max may have to don an extra Otello costume and sing the role himself. Oops!

Lend Me a Tenor is scheduled for performances from January 25 to February 3 at Community Players Theatre at 201 Robinhood Lane in Bloomington.

Embree will be looking for four men and four women to play the following roles:

MAX, 25-35. Assistant to Saunders who fancies himself a tenor. 
MAGGIE, 25-35. Max's girlfriend and Saunders' daughter. She has a major thing for Merelli.
SAUNDERS, 50s-60s. Maggie's father, General Manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera     Company. 
TITO MERELLI, 40s-50s. A world-famous Italian tenor, known as Il Stupendo to his fans. 
MARIA, 40s-50s. Tito's wife. She's fiery and passionate, and none too pleased with her husband's womanizing ways. 
DIANA, 35-45. A sexy soprano who will do what it takes to get ahead. 
JULIA, 55-65. Chairman of the Opera Guild. A grande dame. 
BELLHOP, 20-35. He, too, is obsessed with Merelli, opera and getting into that hotel room.

Lend Me a Tenor has been on Broadway twice, with a 1989 production starring Victor Garber as Max and Philip Bosco as Saunders, and a 2010 revival with Justin Bartha, currently starring on TV's The New Normal, as Max, Monk's Tony Shalhoub as Saunders and Anthony LaPaglia as Tito Merelli.

The play won Tony Awards in 1989 for Bosco (Best Actor) and Jerry Zaks (Best Director), along with a pile of Drama Desk Awards and Tony nominations.

For more about Community Players' production, you can visit the CP website here.