Stephen F. Austin State University

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - Called "the funniest show on Broadway" when it opened in New York, Ken Ludwig's "Lend Me a Tenor" will be the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre's season-opener Tuesday, Oct. 2, through Saturday, Oct. 6. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. in the W.M. Turner Auditorium in the Griffith Fine Arts Building.

The 1930s-era farce is full of mistaken identities, plots and counterplots, amorous interludes and outrageous characters, said Alan Nielsen, SFA professor of theatre and the show's director.

The musical is set on the biggest night in the history of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company--a gala fund-raiser set to raise $50,000 for which the world-famous tenor, Tito Morelli (a.k.a. "Il Stupendo"), will sing the lead role in Giuseppe Verdi's "Otello."

Through a series of hilarious mishaps, Morelli passes out after consuming a double dose of tranquilizers, and his wife's "Dear John" letter is mistaken for a suicide note. Believing Morelli dead but not wanting to lose $50,000, the company's general manager agrees to let his assistant sing the lead. When the costumed Morelli arrives backstage, however, he is mistaken as an imposter and the plot thickens.

When the show opened in New York in 1989, it won two Tony Awards, four Drama Desk Awards and three Outer Critics Circle Awards. In London, it was nominated for an Olivier Award.

USA Today called it "Uproarious! Hysterical!" and CBS Radio claimed it was "Screamingly funny!"

A joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Theatre, the play is sponsored in part by Tipton Ford-Lincoln-Mercury of Nacogdoches.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for seniors and students. For tickets or more information, please visit www.sfasu.edu/finearts or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.