“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, world-renowned tenor Tito Morelli!” Or is it someone else? This case of mistaken identity is a door-slamming, classical farce guaranteed to have you singing an octave higher as the Wagon Wheel Theatre presents the Tony Award-winning “Lend Me a Tenor” Aug. 3-13. It’s 1934 and Tito Morelli, known to his fans as “Il Stupendo,” is scheduled to play the lead in “Otello” for the Cleveland Opera’s fundraising gala. His wife mistakes an autograph-seeker hiding in his hotel room closet for a secret lover and leaves Tito a “Dear John” letter. Distressed over his wife’s defection and needing to regain his composure before the show, Tito inadvertently takes a double dose of tranquilizers and passes out. Subsequently, the company’s general manager resolves the show must go on and seeks an unlikely replacement. Can he pass off an unknown as the great Tito? What will happen when the “great one” awakes and heads for the stage? Nominated for seven Tony Awards, “Lend Me a Tenor” saw a Broadway revival in 2010 starring Golden Globe winner Anthony Lapaglia (“Without a Trace”), Emmy award-winning Tony Shalhoub (“Monk”) and Justin Bartha (“National Treasure”, “Hangover”).Adult tickets are $30 for all shows; tickets for students 13 through college are $16, and children 12 and under are $12. Special rates are available for groups of 15 or more. To order tickets or for more information, call the box office at 574-267-8041 or visit the Wagon Wheel website at wagonwheeltheatre.com
