Len Me A Tenor Sparknotes

Lend Me a Tenor is a comedy written by Ken Ludwig, which follows Max, an assistant to the producer, who is convinced to impersonate international opera star Tito Merelli in order to save the show when Tito is found dead. However, everything is not as it seems, and chaos soon ensues as the characters have various exchanges with both the real Tito, who turns out to be alive, and Max. This play was first produced at the London Globe Theatre in London in 1986 and made its way to Broadway three years later. Over the course of its various runs, Lend Me a Tenor received nine Tony Award nominations, winning Best Actor (Philip Bosco) and Best Director (Jerry Zaks) It has also been produced in twenty-five different countries and been translated into
He has sent his assistant Max to check and see if Tito has arrived. However, Max arrives only to find Maggie, who is also excited for Tito’s arrival. The first complication of the play occurs at this point (I, i, pg. 15-6) as we find out that Max and Maggie have a history together but Maggie doesn’t “hear bells” and want some excitement before she settles down. Our second complication picks up right after, as Saunders then enters, frustrated that Tito has yet to arrive and rehearsal is about to begin. We see that Saunders, producer of the opera and Maggie’s father, sees Max as a failure and weak by the conversation Saunders has with Max. Saunders orders Maggie to leave and Max to stick with Merelli like glue upon his arrival. This transitions into the next complication. Our inciting action begins, as Tito finally arrives much to the relief and joy of Saunders, Max, and Maggie, who disobeying her father’s orders has hidden herself in the closet at this point (I, i, pg. 27). Tito and his wife Maria start to get settled in, but just as things seem to be in order, the next complication begins, in which Maria discovers Maggie hiding in the closet and storms out of the room in a fit of
Julia, a chairman of the opera guild, and Maggie enter the hotel room and get a call from the police. They are looking for "a lunatic dressed as Othello, who thinks he's Tito Merelli." During Max's performance, the "lunatic" tried to force his way into the opera house, hit a policeman who tried to stop him, and ran away. (II, i, pg. 82) This is the act’s first complication and thickens the mistaken identity aspect of the plot. Julia leaves, but Maggie decides to wait for Tito in his hotel room and this time she is successful. However, she does not realized that it is actually Max still disguised as Tito. We then see the second tension point of this act when Max kisses Maggie (II, i, pgs. 86-7). They start going at it but soon after Saunders comes knocking at the door. Maggie scrambles to compose herself but she is able to maintain herself long enough to exit. Saunders then tells Max to get out of costume and prepare and alibi for Tito’s death. But then the next dilemma picks up. As Max goes into the bedroom to change, he discovers that Tito has vanished (II, i, pg. 92) and rushes out of the room to find Saunders. Just as Max leaves, Tito emerges from the closet and starts to pack since he is on the run from the police. But before Tito he can even phone the train station our next complication begins. Diana, Cleveland Opera House’s sexy and ambitious soprano, enters scantily dressed and primed to seduce