On the Move

It's not Broadway. But it might be better.

That's because the next destination for "Lend Me a Tenor: The Musical" -- which premiered in 2007 at the Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City -- is London's West End, Britain's Broadway equivalent.

"It's actually better than Broadway," says Peter Sham, who wrote the book and lyrics for the musical adaptation of Ken Ludwig's hit comedy. "It is special."

In part, it's because Ludwig's original "Lend Me a Tenor" opened in London before transferring to Broadway.

And, in part, it's because Brits really know -- and love -- their theater.

"They're very loving audiences," Sham says. "It's not that crazy cutthroat world of New York."

Not that "Lend Me a Tenor: The Musical" wasn't anxious to try its luck on the Great White Way.

But playwright Ludwig decided it was high time the Tony-winning 1989 original had a Broadway revival of its own, in honor of its 20th anniversary. (The revival, directed by Stanley Tucci, begins previews next month with Anthony LaPaglia, Tony Shalhoub, Brooke Adams and "The Hangover's" Justin Bartha, among others, in the cast.)

Once the play's Broadway revival was in place, those involved with the musical version figured, "oh, excellent -- we'll open in London," Sham says during a telephone interview from Cedar City, where he's associate chair and director of theater at Southern Utah University's Theatre Arts and Dance Department.

Set in the 1930s, Ludwig's madcap farce -- and its musical adaptation -- details the pandemonium surrounding a world-famous tenor's appearance at a Cleveland opera company gala; when the traumatized tenor disappears, the troupe's general manager persuades his assistant, Max, to take the star's place. (One-time Las Vegas resident Jered Tanner, a former singing gondolier at The Venetian, originated the role of Max in Cedar City.)

The first step in the musical's West End sojourn takes place next month, at a staged reading in London, where creators, casting agents, marketers and others can "take a look at the script and see the shape of the show," Sham explains. (A similar presentation, staged last month in New York, "went marvelously well," he notes.)

After all, there have been some major changes since the show's debut two years ago.

Sham and Brad Carroll, who provided the tunes for Sham's lyrics, have added "about four or five new songs" to the score, Sham says.

In addition, "we're doing great rewrites," he says, citing "a lot of fat cut from the script."

Some of those cuts come courtesy of Ian Talbot, who's helming the London production.

Talbot definitely knows the territory; he portrayed Max during "Lend Me a Tenor's" initial London run. When going over rewrites with Sham, he cited edited material and told his writer, " 'I've been dying to cut this for 20 years,' " Sham notes with a laugh.

Talbot's knowledge of the original represents "one of the great things about working with him," Sham says. "He has a wonderful feel for it."

But the musical version of "Lend Me a Tenor" differs from its source in several key ways -- and has ever since the initial Cedar City production.

"We've departed quite a bit" from Ludwig's original, acknowledges Sham. But he and the musical's other creators "keep him in the loop," via e-mail, regarding the changes.

Not that Ludwig has ever objected to the changes.

When Ludwig saw the musical's Cedar City premiere, "he was very pleased with the production," reports R. Scott Phillips, the Utah Shakespearean Festival's executive director. "He thought it was very true to the story" and captured "the essence of his play."

And while "you can't really sit down and write a hit musical," Sham admits, the fact that Ludwig's hit comedy inspired the musical gives the show "great cachet," he says.

After the March workshop, rehearsals for the full production will begin in August; a September run at the Theatre Royal in Plymouth, England, will be followed by the show's West End bow in "late October or early November," according to Sham.

The London production's budget is "definitely in the millions -- but I couldn't venture to say how many millions," he says.

Even so, "it will be cheaper for them by several million dollars to mount it in the West End," rather than on Broadway, Phillips notes.

And if the show succeeds in London, it then would be ready to make the jump to New York.

As the original home of "Lend Me a Tenor: The Musical," the Utah Shakespearean Festival will receive royalties from future productions for several years, Phillips says.

"Potentially, it might be the first big, breakthrough production" for the Utah Shakespearean Festival, he notes.

Beyond financial considerations, however, "it allows the opportunity for our name to get out," Phillips adds. (This summer, the Utah festival will premiere another musical adaptation, this one based on Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations.")

The London production of the "Lend Me a Tenor" musical "means a lot for all of Southern Utah," Sham contends -- including SUU's theater program.

"It's going to put us on the map," he predicts. "I have dreams of raising the Tony and saying hello to the kids of SUU."

But, Sham acknowledges, "I try not to think about that."

After all, "it's a million-to-one shot no matter how good you think it is," he says. Besides, "I've got a show to write."

Contact reporter Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.