Wright State Theatre opens new season with ‘Lend Me a Tenor’ in Playhouse Theatre

“Lend Me a Tenor” is Wright State Theatre’s first live production in the Creative Arts Center’s Festival Playhouse in a year and a half. (Photos by Erin Pence)

Wright State University Theatre will welcome audiences back to the Playhouse Theatre with Ken Ludwig’s hilarious farce “Lend Me a Tenor” from Sept. 23 through Oct. 3.

Performances are Sept. 23 and 30 at 7 p.m.; Sept. 24, 25 and Oct. 1, 2 and 3 at 8 p.m.; and Sept. 26 and Oct. 2 and 3 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $23 for seniors and $15 for students. For tickets, call the Box Office at 937-775-2500 or purchase tickets online.

Audience members and performers are required to wear masks and observe university COVID-19 protocols.

“Lend Me a Tenor” is Wright State Theatre’s first live production in the Creative Arts Center’s Festival Playhouse in a year and a half.

Called the best farce of the last 50 years, “Lend Me a Tenor” was written by award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig. It had successful Broadway and London runs, as well as a recent Broadway revival. It’s a classic farce with mistaken identities, slamming doors and high-stakes hijinks set in a luxurious 1930s world right out of a Hollywood film.

“Lend Me a Tenor” is directed by Joe Deer, artistic director of the Department of Theatre, Dance and Motion Pictures. The production promises to be one of the most delightful shows Wright State Theatre has ever produced, he said.

“We want to welcome our audiences back with an evening of pure silliness,” he said. “For me, it’s a chance to revisit one of my favorite plays and to teach students how this kind of comedy works — and they are very quick studies.”

On the stage, “Lend Me a Tenor” features Aidan Lord, Camille Carmichael, Jake Jones, Cole Frasher, Donya Rahimi, Tommy Cole, Emily Eliasen and Sam Evans. The cast also includes Kevin Lausche, Hannah Rollins, Kyle Channell, Kyle Channell, Amy VanDyke, Ni-Ni Denker and Ariana Schrage.

Scenic design is by Pam Knauert-Lavarnway, chair of the Department of Theatre, Dance and Motion Pictures; costumes by Zoe Still; lighting design by Matthew P. Benjamin; sound design by Aaron Poland with opera coaching by Jamie Cordes. Jonathan Yokiel, a theatre studies major, is the stage manager.