Pen Players raises its voice in Ludwig’s madcap ‘Tenor’

Peninsula Players Theatre continues its 80th season when it presents Ken Ludwig’s madcap comedy “Lend Me A Tenor” from July 29 through Aug. 16.

The first of Ludwig’s comedies to appear on Broadway, “Lend Me A Tenor” was nominated for six Tony Awards and was awarded two for its initial run in 1989-90, as well as three more nominations for its 2010 revival. It also won four Drama Desk Awards and was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Comedy of the Year for its 1986 run on London’s West End.

Set in 1934, the play has legendary opera sensation Tito Merelli, “Il Stupendo,” scheduled to sing the lead in the Cleveland Grand Opera Company’s production of “Otello.” Tito’s appearance is highly anticipated by Cleveland’s opera fanatics, especially ecstatic is the opera manager, Saunders, who has sold out the theater.

Panic arises when the singer accidentally takes a double dose of tranquillizers and passes out before opening curtain. Comic mayhem builds to an operatic frenzy when Saunders forces his hapless assistant, Max, an aspiring singer, into Tito’s costume as Max tries to avoid an ambitious female co-star, the amorous opera guild chair and even his own girlfriend.

Six of Ludwig’s shows have been produced on Broadway and seven in the West End. They have been produced in more than 30 countries and in more than 20 languages. Peninsula Players previously has produced the Ludwig comedies “The Fox on the Fairway,” “The Game’s Afoot,” “Crazy for You,” “Be My Baby” and “Moon Over Buffalo.”

“Ludwig crafts comedies so beautifully,” said director Linda Fortunato. “His comedy lies in situation and in language. He creates an evening of great laughs within a really fun story.”

Fortunato’s credits with Players include directing “The Fox on the Fairway,” “Once a Ponzi Time” and “The Nerd.” She has also choreographed “Chicago” and “A Little Night Music” and appeared in “A Real Lulu” and “Noises Off.” She received a Jefferson Award for Chicago-area theater for her choreography of “Kiss of the Spider Woman” at BoHo Theatre and “42nd Street” at Theatre at the Center.

The cast of “Lend Me A Tenor” features Peninsula Players’ veterans Sean Fortunato as the international opera superstar; Tim Monsion as the high-strung opera manager; Max Holzfeind as his harried assistant, Max; Peggy Roeder as the excitable opera guild chair, Julia; Katherine Keberlein as the very determined soprano, Diana; and Joe Foust as the enthusiastic bell boy who loves opera. Two newcomers round out the cast: Maggie Kettering as Tito’s wife, Maria; and Ashley Lanyon as Max’s girlfriend, Maggie.

Sean Fortunato has been in “A Real Lulu” and “Chicago” at Players, among many other shows. He has received four Jefferson nominations and an After Dark Award for his stage work in Chicago. Foust (“Making God Laugh,” “The Elephant Man”) celebrates his 16th season with Players, where his stage credits include more than 30 roles. Along with regional stage credits throughout Chicago, his television credits include “Parks and Recreation,” “Normal” and “Early Edition.”

Holzfeind’s (“Dial M for Murder,” “The Tin Woman”) recent Chicago credits include “Our Class” with Remy Bumppo and “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” with Bailiwick Chicago. Regional credits include the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Keberlein (“A Real Lulu,” “Dial M for Murder”) received a Jeff Award for her work in “The Mother” with Oracle Theatre and has appeared on TV in “Sirens,” “Chicago PD” and “Shameless.”

Monsion (“Butler,” “Dial M for Murder”) appeared in New York theater at Minetta Lane, Playwrights Horizons and the Kennedy Center. Other regional theater credits include the Goodman in Chicago and Cincinnati Playhouse, and film credits include “The Second Greatest Story Ever Told” and “Men of Honor.” Roeder (“Miracle on South Division Street,” “The Game’s Afoot”) has numerous Chicago stage credits and has earned four Jeff Awards, three After Dark Awards and three Artisan Awards. Her film credits include “Groundhog Day,” “Road to Perdition” and “Stranger Than Fiction.”

As for the Players debutantes, Kettering’s stage credits include performances with the Michigan, Texas and Idaho Shakespeare festivals and Irish Theatre of Chicago. Lanyon’s New York credits include “South Pacific” at Westchester Broadway Theatre and “Le Cabaret Grimm” with the New York Musical Theater Festival.

Members of the creative team are Jeff Award-nominated scenic designer Jack Magaw (“Butler,” “Sunday in the Park with George”), Chicago-based lighting designer Emil Boulous (“And Then There Were None”), Jeff-nominated costume designer Rachel Lambert (“The Mystery of Irma Vep”), and Jeff Award-winning sound designer Christopher Kriz (“Butler”) and properties designer Meredith Miller (“The Game’s Afoot”).

Peninsula Players was founded in 1935 by a brother-and-sister team, Caroline and Richard Fisher, who dreamed of an artistic utopia in the northwoods where actors, designers and technicians could focus on their craft while being surrounded by nature in a contemplative setting. That dream lives on as professional actors, directors and designers work side-by-side with college interns while living on Players’ 16-acre campus and presenting a variety of works in the stage house and 600-seat, all-weather audience pavilion that opened for the 2006 season. Its location along the shore of Green Bay provides a serene location for patrons, where they can relax prior to performances and picnic on the grounds while watching the setting sun over the waters of Green Bay or enjoy the ambience of the beer garden and other gardens.

Peninsula Players Theatre is at 4351 Peninsula Players Road, Fish Creek. Show times are 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 7:30 p.m. Sundays, except for the closing performance at 4 p.m. Aug. 16. Individual ticket prices are $36 to $42; discounts are available for season tickets and groups. For tickets or more information, call (920) 868-3287 or go to www.peninsulaplayers.com.