by Ken Ludwig
Mark Eckstein broke into theater in the 4th grade, when he took the role of The Narrator in his summer camp’s production of Oliver! His first directing gig was High Notes and Fast Words: A Gilbert and Sullivan Sampler, for WCBS Players in Warsaw, NY. Other directorial credits include: The Mikado; Brigadoon; Your Lucky Strike Hit Parade; The Odd Couple (female version); A Night of Comedic One-Acts (readers theater); and Physical Therapy, which won an award for Best Short Production from the Theatre Association of New York State. His first stage appearance with Aurora Players was in 2007’s production of Oliver! (with a bigger part than 4th grade). He is a past member of the Aurora Players’ Board of Directors, and currently serves on its Volunteer Committee as well as being the Front of House Coordinator for all productions.
Callbacks on April 2nd.
Auditions will be held at the theater in Hamlin Park, on March 31 and April 1 with callbacks on April 2. The production will run weekends in June (June 6-22.)
This Tony-nominated play by Ken Ludwig follows Saunders, the general manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, as he prepares to welcome world-famous tenor Tito Merelli, known as Il Stupendo, for a one-night performance of Pagliacci. When Tito arrives late and accidentally takes a double dose of tranquilizers, Saunders and his assistant Max mistakenly believe he’s dead. To save the show, Saunders convinces Max to impersonate Tito. Max succeeds, but chaos ensues when Tito wakes up and dons the same costume. The result is two identical tenors and two women in lingerie, each thinking she’s with Il Stupendo.
CAST – CHARACTERS AND DESCRIPTIONS
SAUNDERS (50+): General Manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company.
MAGGIE SAUNDERS (mid-20’s): Daughter of Saunders, and Max’s girlfriend.
MAX (late 20’s): Assistant to Saunders. Needs to be able to sing tenor
TITO MERELLI (30+): A world-famous Italian tenor, known also to his fans as Il Stupendo. Needs to be able to sing tenor.
MARIA (30+): Tito’s wife.
BELLHOP (any age): A bellhop.
DIANA (30+): Prima dona soprano of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company.
JULIA (50+): Chairman of the Opera Guild.
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