In Lend Me a Tenor, Tito Merelli, a famous Italian tenor, is supposed to make his American debut in The Cleveland Company’s production of Otello… only he wasn’t on the train. The financial and critical success of the opera company depends on his performance – and nobody is more aware of this than Mr. Saunders, the short-tempered General Manager who’ll stop at nothing to make sure the show goes on. Merelli finally shows up, but he’s sick and cannot make the rehearsal. Saunders orders his long-suffering assistant, Max, to baby-sit the world-famous tenor and let nothing – especially liquor and women – keep him from his appointed curtain time.
Trouble starts when the tenor’s fiery wife, Maria, finds Maggie, the boss’ daughter, hiding in the bedroom closet. Maggie only wants the singer’s autograph, but it doesn’t look that way to Maria, who believes she’s been two-timed. When Maria leaves her husband, it starts a chain-reaction of hilarious confusion, plot twists and impersonation. Meanwhile, Saunders and Max must come up with a sure fire way for nothing to be noticed by anyone.