Judith Blazer, John Treacy Egan, David Josefsberg to Headline Lend Me a Tenor at Paper Mill Playhouse
(© David Gordon)
It’s a 1930s screwball comedy with a dose of opera that originally took Broadway by storm in 1989. Now Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me a Tenor will get a new outing at the Paper Mill Playhouse, running February 13 – March 10. Don Stephenson (NYMF’s The Great Unknown) will direct the production, filled with luminaries from the Great White Way.
Mistaken identities abound in this comedy that’s set in Ohio amid the chaos of a production of Verdi’s Otello, which is supposed to star a fiery Italian singer. The Paper Mill production will feature John Treacy Egan (Sister Act) as the titular tenor, Judith Blazer (LoveMusik) as his passionate, jealous wife, and David Josefsberg (Les Miserables) as the opera company’s nebbish assistant manager caught in the center of the backstage drama.
The company will also feature Donna English (Broadway’s Lend Me a Tenor), Nancy Johnston (Elf), Michael Kostroff (HBO’s The Wire), Jill Paice (Curtains), and Mark Price (Mary Poppins).
Egan has also appeared on Broadway in The Little Mermaid, The Producers, Jekyll & Hyde, and Bye Bye Birdie, and has television credits that include Boardwalk Empire, Nurse Jackie, and 30 Rock, among others.
Blazer has won acclaim for her work in comedies like 45 Seconds from Broadway, and other musicals such as Titanic, Me and My Girl, and A Change in the Heir. In addition, she has performed feature roles in Sweeney Todd and Candide with New York City Opera, and has been a frequent performer at Paper Mill Playhouse.
Josefsberg has also been seen on Broadway in Grease and The Wedding Singer. Off-Broadway, he was one of the original Altar Boyz, and he is half of the comedy-music duo Joberg and Gurner.
Stephenson has directed numerous off-Broadway productions including Buck Simple, Golden Voices, and Doctors and Diseases. In addition he has directed productions around the country, including Titanic at The Muny in St. Louis and Of Mice and Men at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
The show’s creative team will include scenic designer John Lee Beatty, costume designer Wade Laboissonniere, lighting designer Stephen Terry, and sound designer Matt Kraus.
