Judy Blazer and More Set for LEND ME A TENOR, Kicking Off Bay Street Theatre's 2013 Season, Today

Bay Street Theatre begins the 2013 Mainstage Season with Lend Me a Tenor (May 28 - June 23). This hilarious Ken Ludwig comedy, under the direction of Don Stephenson, includes Judy Blazer, Scott Cote, Betsy DiLellio, Donna English, Nancy Johnston, Noah Plomgren, Steve Rosen and Roland Rusinek as its hilarious cast. Ticket prices are $59.50 and $69.50 with discounts for seniors, students, veterans and first responders as well. For more information call the Box Office at 631-725-9500 or buy online at www.baystreet.org.

Previews for Lend Me a Tenor (May 28-31) are sponsored by Peconic Landing. For the May 28 performance at 8 pm, there will be a limited amount of "Pay What You Can" tickets available only at the Box Office after 2 pm on that day.

Set in 1934, Lend Me a Tenor tells the story of the renowned "Il Stupendo" as he is accidentally given a double dose of tranquilizers causing a chain reaction of mistaken identity, double-entendres and musical mayhem.

"We think the three shows this summer are some of the best comedies written for the stage," says Gary Hygom, Producer for Bay Street Theatre, "and Lend Me a Tenor is going to be such a night of fun for audiences of all ages."

Lend Me a Tenor was produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber on both the West End (1986) and Broadway (1989). It received nine Tony Award nominations and won for Best Actor and Best Director. As a Broadway revival, Lend Me a Tenor opened in 2010 and was nominated for the Olivier Award as Comedy of the Year.

Ken Ludwig is an internationally-acclaimed playwright whose work has been performed in at least 30 countries in over 20 languages. He has had six shows on Broadway and six in the West End. Awards include two Laurence Olivier Awards, three Tony Award nominations and two Helen Hayes Awards. His best known plays include Lend Me A Tenor, Crazy For You, Moon Over Buffalo, Leading Ladies, Twentieth Century, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Game's Afoot, The Fox on the Fairway, Midsummer/Jersey, The Three Musketeers, Treasure Island and The Beaux' Stratagem. His book, How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare, will be published in June 2013 by Crown Publishing. He studied music at Harvard with Leonard Bernstein and theatre history at Cambridge University in England.

Don Stephenson's directing credits include: the critically acclaimed productions of The 39 Steps, Titanic, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Oleanna and The Great Unknown. Broadway acting credits include The Producers, Dracula, Titanic, Parade, By Jeeves, Wonderful Town, Private Lives, Rock of Ages, and Pardon My English. Off Broadway includes Take Me Along at Irish Rep, Chess and The Tavern at Equity Library Theatre. For television, Stephenson appeared as himself on an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. He is married to Emily Loesser, daughter of Guys and Dolls composer Frank Loesser. Stephenson has also appeared in Turandot: The Rumble for the Ring at Bay Street Theatre.

Judy Blazer (Maria) Broadway credits include Love Musik, 45 Seconds from Broadway, Titanic, Me and My Girl, A Change in the Heir. Off-Broadway includes Whida Peru: Resurrection Tango, N.Y.C Opera's Sweeny Todd and Candide, The Torch Bearers, Hurrah at Last, Bernalda Alba and Hello Again at LCT, Connecticut Yankee (Encores) Twyla Tharpe's Everlast(the Met). Regionally; title roles of Funny Girl, The Night Governess, The Miracle Worker, Peter Pan, and My Fair Lady. Additional; Twelfth Night, On the 20th Century, THOMASHEFSKY, with Michael Tilson Thomas (for PBS' GREAT PERFORMANCES). T.V: "Law and Order", "As the World Turns", "Guiding Light", "Bernstein's New York" and "In Performance at the White House".

Scott Cote (Bellhop) played the role of Goran on the 1st Broadway National Tour and the regional premiere at the Lyric Theatre of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He originated the role of Gus Gus in the new musical Twice Charmed: An Original Twist on the Cinderella Story for Disney Creative Entertainment. His other regional credits include Harry the Horse in Guys and Dolls, Robert In Boeing Boeing, Gangster #1 in The Drowsy Chaperone, Ernst Ludwig in Cabaret,Howard in Moon Over Buffalo, Brian Runnicles in No Sex Please, We're British, Thurston Wheelis (et al) in Greater Tuna.

Betsy DiLellio (Maggie) is happy to be back at the Bay Street Theatre where she was previously seen as Eleanor Roosevelt in Enter Laughing: The Musical. National Tours: The Light in the Piazza directed by Bartlett Sher (1st National), The Sound of Music (Atlanta TOTS). Off-Broadway: Enter Laughing: The Musical (York Theatre and OCS), Glimpses of the Moon (The Oak Room), The Baker's Wife (York Theatre). Regional: It's a Wonderful Life(BBDT), Carousel, The Full Monty (WVPT), The Light in the Piazza (Maine State Music Theatre), Oklahoma!, Annie (Atlanta TOTS), The Tin Pan Alley Rag(The Cleveland Playhouse). Many thanks to John and Gary. Ciao Pasquale!

Donna English (Diana) NYC includes Nice Work If You Can Get It, Lend Me a Tenor (directed by Stanley Tucci), Broadway (directed by George Abbott),Madam X (NYMF Outstanding Performance Award), Taking a Chance on Love, Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back!, The Gig and Ruthless! (Drama Desk nomination). Favorite Regional: Hairspray (Velma Von Tussle), Harold and Maude (Mrs. Chasen), On the Twentieth Century (Lily Garland), Victor/Victoria(Victoria), A Little Night Music (Charlotte), The King and I (Anna). Original cast recordings: Taking a Chance on Love, Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back!Graduate: Northwestern University. Amazing Child: Lila.

Nancy Johnston (Julia) returns to Bay Street Theatre with thrilling memories of playing Jessica Gatewood in the World Premiere of Splendora in 1995. Broadway: Elf, Music Man and The Secret Garden. Off-Broadway: Splendora, Olympus on my Mind (featured/cast recording,) Merrily We Roll Along, Douglas Carter Beane's White Lies, and Allegro in Encores' first season. Regional favorites: Florence Foster Jenkins in Souvenir at Vermont Stage, Big Edie/Little Edie in Grey Gardens at Houston's Stages, The Baker's Wife in Into the Woods at St. Louis Rep, and Chloe in Lips Together, Teeth Apart at Austin's Cap City (Austin Critics' Award /Best Actress/Comedy. Town: Beacon, N.Y. Husband: Jess. Proud member for over thirty years: Equity.

Noah Plomgren (Max) is thrilled to be at the Bay Street Theatre in this production of Lend Me A Tenor. Recent credits include: Claude in the national tour ofHair, Gabe in Next to Normal and Murdoch in Titanic, both at the Hangar Theatre, Zack in Tigers Be Still at City Theatre Company, Pirelli in Sweeney Todd, and Radu in Mad Forest. Noah is a proud graduate of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. Love and gratitude to my incredible family and friends.

Steve Rosen (Saunders) most recently, along with writing partner David Rossmer, co-wrote and co-starred in the musical The Other Josh Cohen, Off-Broadway earning a 2013 Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Best Musical and 6 Drama Desk Award nominations including Best Musical and Best Leading Actor for Mr. Rosen's performance. Select credits include, Broadway: Spamalot; Aaron Sorkin's The Farnsworth Invention and Guys and Dolls. Concerts:Knickerbocker Holiday (Alice Tully); The Mikado (Carnegie Hall); phish (MSG). TV: "Psych"; "Law & Order: Original and SVU"; "Masters of Sex"; "The Good Wife"; "Kings" and "Ed". Twitter:@sweetrosen. In memory of Faetra Petillo.

Roland Rusinek (Tito Merelli): Broadway: Piangi, The Phantom of the Opera. Other NYC; Fezziwig, A Christmas Carol, M.S.G, Jerry Springer, The Opera, Carnegie Hall. Beadle, Sweeny Todd, NYC Opera. The Prince and The Pauper, The Lambs Theatre. Kismet, Encores! First National Tours, The Addams Family and Kiss Me Kate. Regional: La Jolla Playhouse, 5th Ave Theatre, Sacramento Music Circus, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Westport Country Playhouse among others. Film and TV: Jack Lapidus in "The Producers" and Frank in "Bear City", The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Grad of PCPA's Actor's Training Program and LA County High School for The Arts. More at rolandrusinek.com

Production designers include Ken Goldstein (Set Designer), Mike Billings (Lighting Designer), Wade Laboissonniere (Costume Designer), Matt Kraus (Sound Design), Tom Helm (Music Coordinator), Kathy Fabian/Propstar (Properties Designer) and April Ann Kline (Production Stage Manager).

The 2013 Mainstage Season continues with The Mystery of Irma Vep (July 2-28) by Charles Ludlam, directed by Kenneth Elliott starring its newly announced cast Tom Aulino and David Greenspan. This satire of several theatrical and film genres, includes Victorian melodrama, farce and the Alfred Hitchcock film Rebecca (1940). The play is written for two actors who, between them, play eight characters of both sexes. It contains the occasional jibe of an adult nature, but is largely acceptable for younger audiences. Time Magazine and the New York Times both named The Mystery of Irma Vep one of the Best Plays of the Year - and you will too!

"We are so thrilled to have David and Tom as part of the Irma Vep cast," says Hygom. "This show, led by Elliott's genius, is going to be an amazing part of our summer production."

Kenneth Elliott has directed off-Broadway plays and musicals at such theatres as the Public, Primary Stages, Manhattan Theatre Club and the WPA Theatre. He co-authored and directed Devil Boys from Beyond, which received the "Outstanding Play" award at the 2009 New York International Fringe Festival and transferred to New World Stages in 2010. He is best known for his long collaboration with Charles Busch, having directed (and sometimes appeared in) the original productions of Mr. Busch's plays from Vampire Lesbians of Sodom to You Should Be So Lucky. He also directed revivals of Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band in New York and the West End of London. Regional credits include The Asolo Theatre Center, Cincinnati Playhouse-in-the-Park, Cleveland Play House, Denver Center, Wilma Theatre, and the Cape Playhouse. He is delighted to return to the Bay Street Theatre where he directedHome Fires, which was later retitled Swingtime Canteen for its off-Broadway transfer. He is associate professor of theatre and chair of the Fine Arts Department at Rutgers University in Camden.

Tom Aulino's New York credits include the Broadway revival of On The Town as well as Marvin's Room (Playwrights Horizons), Up Against It!, The Chang Fragments (Public Theatre) Measure for Measure and Henry VIII (Delacorte), Sin (Second Stage) and UBU (Lincoln Center). He recently performed in Mary Zimmerman's production of Candide in Chicago, Washington D.C. and Boston. Other Chicago credits include The Winter's Tale and She Always Said, Pablo(Goodman), The Dresser, Valparaiso (Steppenwolf), Take Me Out (Joseph Jefferson Award) and Theatre District (Steppenwolf/About Face Theatres). At Kansas City Rep he performed in Circle Mirror Transformation and directed their production of The Mystery of Irma Vep last fall. He was an original member of Charles Busch and Ken Elliott's Theatre-In-Limbo, appearing in the cult classics, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, Sleeping Beauty or Coma, Pardon My Inquisition, Theodora She-Bitch of Byzantium and Times Square Angel. He is Assistant Professor of Theatre at Auburn University.

David Greenspan recent credits include The Haunted Inn (Target Margin), Marie Antoinette (A.R.T/Yale Rep), Melancholy Play (13P); two performance Obies: one for Terrence McNally's Some Men and Goethe's Faust, one for Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band (dir. Kenneth Elliott); solo renditions of Barry Conners' The Patsy and Gertrude Stein's lecture, Plays, and his own plays, most notably Dead Mother at the Public, She Stoops to Comedy (Obie) and Go Back to Where You Are at Playwrights Horizons, The Argument (Obie) with Target Margin, The Myopia with The Foundry and Coraline (w/Stephin Merritt) at MCC. Obie for Sustained Achievement.

In August, Bay Street presents the Stephen Sondheim musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (August 6 - September 1) based on the book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart with Musical Director Ethyl Will, and Directed and Choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge. Previews August 6-9are sponsored by Peconic Landing. Buy a subscription to all 3 Mainstage productions this summer starting at $138! Call the Box Office at 631-725-9500 or buy online at www.baystreet.org.

Bay Street Theatre has announced the 2013 Comedy Club lineup. The fun begins on June 3 and will continue on most Monday nights at 8 pmthrough August. Tickets are $62 for members or $69 for non member excluding The All Star Comedy Showcase, which is $15 in advance and $25 on the day of the event. All are available online at www.baystreet.org or by stopping by or calling the Box Office at 631-725-9500.

The Comedy Club kicks off 2013 with the return of Ralphie May on Monday, June 3. Voted one of Variety's "10 Comics to Watch" in 2008, May has filmed a record-setting three separate 1-hour Comedy Central Specials in the past three consecutive years, all of which were among the networks most highly-rated. Since his debut on season one of Last Comic Standing, audiences can't get enough of the larger than life comedian. He has a no nonsense point of view and the ability to connect with a diverse audience by pointing out society's hypocrisies. Ralphie has worked as a writer and producer on ESPN's Mohr Sports starring Jay Mohr and performed stand-up on numerous late night talk shows including eleven appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live. He has appeared on The Man Show, MTV's Bash and NBC's Whoopie. He's also one of a handful of comedians to have received a standing ovation on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Jim Breuer returns to complete the Comedy Club on Monday, June 10. A stand-up comedian since his high school days at Valley Stream Central High School in Valley Stream, NY, Breuer worked in Comedy Clubs around the country for several years before deciding to become a regular on the New York Comedy Club circuit. In 1995, Jim joined NBC's Saturday Night Live becoming best known for his original character "Goat Boy" and his impression of actor Joe Pesci. After a four-year stint on SNL, Jim starred in the movie Half Baked alongside Dave Chappelle. Additional appearances include numerous stints on Late Night with Conan O'Brien as well as roles in several movies, such as Dick, Once in the Life, Beer League and most recently The Zookeeper with Kevin James. Breuer pioneered the "heavy-metal comedy" revolution, combining his love of rock 'n' roll with comedy. Jim's Heavy Metal Man comedy tours also feature a mix of routines that have become cult favorites, such as The Wizard, Coming Home at 4 am, and Party in the Stomach. It was this act that garnered him one of Comedy Central's "100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time". His Sirius Satellite Radio show Fridays with Breuer, airs every Friday.

THE ALL STAR COMEDY SHOWCASE kicks off the fun on Monday, June 17, hosted by Joseph Vecsey and will feature the hottest rising stars from the stand up scene with the comedy of Kenny Garcia, Vic Henley, Chris Clarke and Mark Riccadonna. Vecsey is a fast rising talent in comedy and is known for hosting The Call Back Podcast in which he discusses the art and business of comedy in a hilarious way with his guests that he has on each week. Garcia has been busy tearing up stage in Comedy Clubs across the US, while Henley has been seen on Late Night shows with Conan and David Letterman. He is also the co-author of national bestselling book with Jeff Foxworthy. Clarke is a favorite at the Las Vegas Comedy Festival while Riccadonna tours with the Armed Forces Entertainment over 6 continents.

Log on to www.baystreet.org to purchase tickets and for the complete line up of 2013 Comedy Club for July and August and more information about Bay Street Theatre. Or, call the Box Office at 631-725-9500, now open 7 days a week, 11 am till show time.

Bay Street Theatre is a not-for-profit institution presenting new, classic and contemporary works with a commitment to challenging and entertaining our diverse community. This commitment extends to educational programs for all ages to foster the continued value of theatre as a vital art form for future generations.

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