Gender-Swapped LEND ME A SOPRANO Comes to Olney Theatre Center in February

Ken Ludwig's Lend Me A Soprano, a gender-swapped adaptation of his 1989 Broadway hit, Lend Me A Tenor, runs in the Roberts Mainstage at Olney Theatre Center February 7 - March 10, 2024. The new production is directed by Eleanor Holdridge, who also directed the World Premiere of the comedy at Houston's Alley Theatre. The generation of the gender-swapped adaptation was previously workshopped as part of Olney Theatre's Vanguard Arts Fund before the World Premiere.

Olney Theatre's Artistic Director Jason Loewith says, “Ken Ludwig and Olney Theatre have long been a match made in theater 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.” Ken Ludwig's Lend Me A Soprano becomes the 4th project of the Vanguard Arts Fund to see a full Olney Theatre production, following The Joy That Carries You, A.D. 16, and The Music Man.

 

Ken Ludwig's Lend Me A Soprano is set in 1934, when world-famous Italian soprano Elena Firenzi (Carolann M. Sanita), the biggest star of her era, is in town for a one-night-only concert with the Cleveland Grand Opera Company. The gala performance is the apex of general manager Lucille Wylie's (Tina Stafford) career, and she's given her assistant Jo (Rachel Felstein) one job – keep Elena away from men and liquor until the curtain rises. That's not so easy as Elena quarrels with her husband Pasquale (Dylan Arredondo), charms Jo's fiancé Jerry (Maboud Ebrahimzadeh), and offers a road out of Cleveland for star tenor Leo (Tom Patterson). Meanwhile, Lucille has the opera's president, Julia (Donna Migliaccio) breathing down her neck and a star-struck bellhop (Natalya Lynette Rathnam) getting in the way. Inevitably, events spiral out of control, but Jo and Lucille take one crazy chance to try and set everything right. Graciela Rey and  Benjamin Topa are swings for the production.

 

Joining Eleanor Holdridge's creative team are Chris Youstra as Music Director, Andrew Cohen as Set Designer, Sarah Cubbage as Costume Designer, Alberto Segarra as Lighting Designer, and Matt Rowe as Sound Designer. Robb Hunter is the Fight Choreographer; Larry Peterson is the Wig Designer; Helen Aberger is the Intimacy Choreographer; and Melissa Flaim is the Dialect Consultant. Ben Walsh is the Stage Manager, and Tori Niemiec is the Assistant Costume Designer.

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