Lend Me a Tenor, Starring T.R. Knight, Eyes February 2010 B'way Bow

The previously reported Broadway revival of Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me a Tenor is eyeing a February 2010 opening, according to Variety. The farce will star Grey’s Anatomy alum T.R. Knight, with actor Stanley Tucci making his Broadway debut as a director. The producing entity The Araca Group (Urinetown, Wicked) confirmed the target opening date and told Variety that a reading is scheduled for July 6.

Although no other cast members have been set, a previous reading of the play directed by Tucci had a cast that included Knight, Alfred Molina, Tony Shalhoub, Jan Maxwell and Marian Seldes.

Set in 1934, the comedy revolves around a gala performance of Otello for the Cleveland Opera Company. When the traumatized star performer is unable to go on, the troupe’s general manager persuades his assistant, Max (Knight), to don blackface and take the stage in the singer’s place, with chaotic consequences.

The original Broadway production of Lend Me a Tenor received seven 1989 Tony nominations, including Best Play, with a cast that included Tony nominee Victor Garber as Max, Tony winner Philip Bosco, Tony nominee Tovah Feldshuh and Ron Holgate in the title role. Directed by Tony winner Jerry Zaks, it ran for 476 performances at the Royale (now the Jacobs) Theatre.

Knight will play Leo Frank in the Los Angeles transfer of Rob Ashford’s Donmar Warehouse production of Parade, which begins performances on September 24 at the Mark Taper Forum. Before becoming an original cast member of Grey’s Anatomy in 2004, Knight appeared on Broadway in Noises Off and Tartuffe and off-Broadway in This Lime Tree Bower, Scattergood (receiving a Drama Desk Award nomination) and Boy. He began his career at the Guthrie Theatre in his native Minneapolis, where he played Tiny Tim at age five in A Christmas Carol and later appeared in Ah, Wilderness! and Amadeus.