Overview
The Sioux Empire Community Theatre brings Ken Ludwig’s comedy farce Lend Me A Tenor to the stage. This hilarious salute to the 1930’s comedy will run at the Sioux Falls Orpheum Theater February 20 – March 1, 2020. The production is generously sponsored by First National Bank and Lloyd Companies.
Produced by the Sioux Empire Community Theatre (SECT), the company that brought Mamma Mia! and Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie to the Orpheum stage, Lend Me A Tenor is set in the 1930’s. Saunders, the General Manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, is primed to welcome the world famous Tito Merelli, Il Stupendo, the greatest tenor of his generation, to appear for one night only as Pagliacci. 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 that he is dead. In a frantic attempt to salvage the evening, Saunders persuades Max to get into Merelli’s Pagliacci 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 Pagliaccis 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 you teary-eyed with laughter.
The cast features Tyler Raehsler as Max, Mo Hurley as Maggie, Erin Sharp as Saunders, Mike Richards as Tito, Tamra Huffman as Maria, Christian Heiberger as the Bellhop, Marisa Moser as Diana, and Alicia J. Van Der Bill as Julia.
The creative team includes Erin Mulvany, Director; Randy Ruud, Assistant Director/Stage Manager; Assistant Stage Manager, Chelsea Kappenman; Music Director, Eric E. Parrish; Rehearsal Pianist, Jane Ruud; Costume Designer, Kendra Dexter; and Prop Master, Kim Jacobson. Sound and Light Design are provided in partnership with the Washington Pavilion. Scenic Design is based on Lary B. Etten’s original set design for the Sioux Empire Community Theatre’s 2002 production of Lend Me A Tenor. John Harris serves as Head Carpenter and Jesse Jensen is the Production Manager.
Ticket Information: $30 for adults, $15 for students
Go online to www.siouxfallstheatre.com, call 605-380-4800, or stop by the Washington Pavilion box office.