Review: 'Lend Me a Tenor' is Farcical, Light-Hearted Fun

Ken Ludwig's farce "Lend Me a Tenor" debuted on Broadway in 1989. It received nine Tony Award nominations, and won for Best Actor and Best Director. A Broadway revival opened in 2010.

The setting is a hotel suite in Cleveland, circa 1934. Max (Aster Roy Kallman) is an aspiring tenor working for Saunders (Chris Sabatino), the manager of an opera house. The men eagerly await the arrival of their star attraction, Tito Merelli (Ron Martin), an charismatic and virile Italian tenor. Merelli drives his female fans crazy with lust.

Diana (Izzy Labbe), an ambitious singer, throws herself at Tito. His fiery wife, Maria (Camille Terilli), storms out of the hotel in a huff, which leaves him feeling despondent. Max comforts Tito by giving him tranquilizers and alcohol to calm him down before he takes the stage. Max's plan backfires when he finds Tito dead on the bed. Saunders then panics, and convinces Max to impersonate Tito. He will be wearing a mask, so who will know the difference? The show must go on.

Except, Tito really isn't dead, and Max is pretending to be him in front of hundreds of people. What follows is a lot of misunderstandings, mistaken identities, and slamming doors (from which the play's genre gets its name: The 'slamming door' farce).

The Community Players has assembled a solid group of performers, under the direction of Jay Burns, for its production. The only flaw was the pacing. Farce depends on whip-smart comic delivery to succeed, so it was noticeable when a few of the actors seemed to be a half step behind. Maybe it was just a case of opening night jitters.

Martin, who appeared in "9 to 5: The Musical" a few years ago, gives a hilarious turn as the egotistical Tito. Martin and Terilli are a lot of fun in their scenes together. These are two seasoned performers who know their stuff. They play everything broadly and over the top, which is what makes them so amusing.

Kallman is likable and energetic as Max. Elizabeth Jaques is a blast as Maggie, Max's love interest, who is also enamored with Tito.
("He was on the cover of Life Magazine," Maggie gushes; "So was Mussolini," Max replies.)

Ludwig's script has plenty of witty dialogue. (When Saunders's wife Julia (Katie Weeks) walks in wearing a shimmering silver dress, he tells her she looks like the Chrysler Building.) Andrew Lugo's sumptuous set design is a major boost to the production, along with Lindsay Rice and Pamela Jackson's glorious costumes.

"Lend Me a Tenor" isn't high art and it's not pretending to be. It's high-pitched silliness, with a touch of romance.

"Lend Me a Tenor" runs through February 23. The Community Players. Performances at Jenks Auditorium, 350 Division St., Pawtucket, RI. Run time is two hours, 10 minutes with intermission. For tickets, visit thecommunityplayers.org.