[All photos by Nick Hunt for PMc] A host of stars flocked to Broadway for the opening night of Stanley Tucci's staging of the popular farce by Ken Ludwig, 'Lend me a Tenor' on April 4th. Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate made an appearance to support Ashley's beau Justin Bartha.-
Despite some relatively poor reviews, the afterparty deserved an encore. After the final curtain call, the cast headed to the sleek ultrachic midtown hotspot Espace to celebrate with their celebrity pals. A-list attendees included Academy Award winning actresses Julianne Moore and Viola Davis.
The farce, set in 1934, revolves around renowned tenor Tito Merelli who pre-performance accidentally overdoses on sleeping tablets. In true 'the show must go on' style, his role falls upon the aspiring persistent assistant Max (Bartha) to assume the guise of 'Il Stupendo'. Max fools the audience whilst Merelli awakes mid-performance and wanders onto the stage - cue a series of entrances, exits, mistaken identities, innuendos and hilarious plot twists.
Julianne Moore ---------------Viola Davis
Justin Bartha Brooke Adams
Jan Maxwell, Mary Catherine Garrison, Tony Shalhoub, Brooke Adams, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Anthony LaPaglia
Stanley Tucci Sam Rockwell
Ken Ludwig and family
Mary Catherine Garrison, Tony Shalhoub Jennifer Laura Thompson