Lend Me A Tenor • March 4-6 & 10-13

Saunders, the general manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, is primed to welcome world famous Tito Merelli, Il Stupendo, the greatest tenor of his generation, to appear for one night only as Otello. The star arrives late and, through a hilarious series of mishaps, is given a double dose of tranquilizers and passes out. His pulse is so low that Saunders and his assistant Max believe he’s dead. In a frantic attempt to salvage the evening, Saunders persuades Max to get into Merelli’s Otello costume and fool the audience into thinking he’s Il Stupendo. Max succeeds admirably, but Merelli comes to and gets into his other costume ready to perform. Now two Otellos are running around in costume and two women are running around in lingerie, each thinking she is with Il Stupendo. A sensation on Broadway and in London’s West End, this madcap, screwball comedy is guaranteed to leave audiences teary-eyed with laughter.

Winner! 3 Tony Awards and 4 Drama Desk Awards
Nominee! 2010 Tony Award, Best Revival of a Play
“An accelerating snowball of laughter, Lend Me A Tenor has the class and charm of a Kaufman and Hart comedy plus all the door-slamming hilarity of a Marx Brothers’ classic like Room Service.” – Jim Helsinger, PA Shakespeare Festival
“Fills the theatre with the sound of laughter.” – The Sunday Express, London
“A remarkable piece of theatre… a masterpiece… Author Ken Ludwig has verve, a sound grasp of plot mechanics and a rare ability to couple high art with low comedy.” – The London Times
“One of two great farces by a living writer.” – The New York Times

Joel Cheshier • MAX Max is the assistant to Mr. Saunders, owner of a Cleveland opera company. He is in charge of babysitting Tito Merelli, a great opera singer who is engaged to perform for the opera this evening. Max must make sure Tito gets to the concert. A bit of a nerd, an opera lover, and a trained opera singer, Max wishes he had more courage and more confidence. He is in love with Maggie.
Emily Cole • MAGGIE Spirited and quirky, Maggie is the daughter of Saunders and a music lover. Besotted with Tito and dreams of a great romantic fling before she settles down, she is, for now, refusing to marry Max.
Deondre Jackson • SAUNDERS Authoritarian, excitable. Head of the Cleveland opera company. Worried that things will go wrong – and doesn’t handle it too well when everything does.
Steve Harrell • TITO MERELLI World class Italian opera singer (think Pavorotti) with an appetite for wine, women, and women. Oh and yes, song. Tito speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Laura Barrow • MARIA Maria is a beautiful, but moody and hot-blooded Italian woman who is married to Tito. Sophia Loren type. Maria is extremely jealous of Tito’s philandering and she is ready to call it quits. Maria speaks in a thick Italian accent.
Matthew Cordell • BELLHOP Italian-speaking, opera-singing, hardworking, all-knowing bellhop who is desperate to get a picture with Tito.
Amy Smith • DIANA (4 female & 5 male) Very ambitious and sexy soprano who wants to use Tito to further her career aspirations. She’s willing to do anything for the favor.
Joanna Benson • JULIA Society matron. President of the Opera Guild. Desperate to hobnob with Tito.

Producer Del Gates
Producer Shawn Dartez
Producer Thomas Brewster
Director Austin Barrow
Assistant Director Laura Doyle
Master Carpenter Paul Choate
Lighting Design Colleen Means
Scenic Painter Darrin Riley
Stage Manager Paul Choate

Director Austin Barrow – “This is a theatre lover’s comedy. Let the door slamming, mistaken identities and quick-changes commence!” said Barrow.
An El Dorado native, Barrow’s involvement at SAAC began during childhood with children’s drama classes. Most recently at SAAC he directed the 2014 spring production of “The 39 Steps” and performed in the two man show “A Steady Rain” in 2015. He has taught theatre courses at the University of Arkansas and Andrew College. Barrow is currently the President/COO of El Dorado Festivals & Events.