Set in 1934. Saunders, the general manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, is primed to welcome world famous, Tito Morelli, Il Stupendo, the greatest tenor of his generation, to appear for one night only as Otello. The star arrives late and, through a series of mishaps, is given a double dose of tranquilizers and passes out.  His pulse is so low that Saunders and his assistant Max believe he’s dead and Max is persuaded to get into Morelli's Otello costume and fool the audience into thinking he's Il Stupendo.

"Lend Me A Tenor” opened on B’way on Mar 2, 1989 at the Royale (Bernard B Jacobs) under the auspices of The Shubert Organization, Martin Starger & The Really Useful Theatre Co.  Jerry Zaks directed a cast which featured Philip Bosco, Jane Connell, Tovah Feldshuh, Victor Garber, Ron Holgate & J Smith-Cameron.