The theatrical portion of the university-sponsored Season of Entertainment 33 will start off with a laugh when Theatre @ UAFS performs “Lend Me a Tenor” on Oct. 17-19 and 21-22.

 

The farcical comedy will be held each night at 7:30 p.m. at the Breedlove Auditorium and is meant for ages 13 and older due to brief language and sensuality.  

 

“Lend Me a Tenor,” a Tony Award-winning comedy by Ken Ludwig, documents the mishaps following a renowned operatic tenor who receives a double dose of tranquilizers before he can go on stage to perform to a sellout audience at an opera house in Cleveland, Ohio.

 

Variety Magazine says the show has “non-stop laughter,” and Bob Stevenson of Fort Smith, UAFS theatre director, agrees.

 

“I think people will want to see this show again and again,” he said. “It’s one of the funniest shows that has ever come from an American playwright. It’s a chance to sit back and laugh until your sides hurt. Who doesn’t love that?”

 

“Lend Me a Tenor” is set during the Golden Hollywood age of the late 1930s and early 1940s, and Stevenson said the show is back-dropped by a “beautiful hotel interior.”  

 

“The set is being designed by our resident design faculty member Pablo Guerra-Monje [of Fort Smith], along with substantial help from junior theatre major Elizabeth Sampley [of Clarksville] and Guillem Aloy, a professional design acquaintance from Spain,” he said. “They’ve created a world that bespeaks glamour and wealth.”

 

Several new faces will grace the stage for “Tenor,” as well as some not accustomed to acting in comedic theatre. But Stevenson said he has a surplus of capable actors, so much so that he has fielded two complete casts for the show. One cast will perform the Thursday, Saturday and Tuesday shows, and another will perform the shows on Monday and Friday.

 

“We have so many talented students right now that we have two full casts of ‘Tenor,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to get as many of our students performing as we can, and it works out much better than using the actor/understudy method, which doesn’t guarantee stage time for the understudies.”

 

The cast and crew includes:

 

Booneville: Hannah Yeager.

 

Charleston: Zeke Sidwell.

 

Clarksville: Elizabeth Sampley and Suzanne Wright.

 

Fort Smith: Cody Banning, Ashley Behm, Cassidy Black, Jennifer Bradley, Kendra Carter, Cosaundra Chapple, Fred Delarosa, Isabel Espinoza, Jamie Gillam, Sara Kincannon, Hannah Lovins, Christian Meurer, Will Paget, John Smith, Priscilla Tran, Leah Wineland, Amber Wright and Alexander Zacarias.

 

Greenwood: Jacob Lensing.

 

Hackett: John Hall.

 

Longview, Tex.: Stuart Campbell.

 

Mayflower: Erin Decker.

 

New Orleans, La.: Carly Handy.

 

Pea Ridge: Chaz Bratton.

 

Rogers: Brett Alexander.

 

“Lend Me a Tenor” is part of Season of Entertainment 33, a year-long lineup of entertainment sponsored by the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith. The season features a slew of musicals, plays, and symphonic performances, including “Memphis,” “Bring it On” and “Crimes of the Heart.”

 

Tickets for “Lend Me a Tenor” are $6 and are available by calling the Box Office at 479-788-7300 or visiting www.uafs.universitytickets.com.