Lend Me a Tenor

Prolific comic playwright Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me a Tenor, first performed 40 years ago, stands as timeless testament to the slings and arrows of showbiz, singling out in particular the heartstopping emotional effects that performers and audience can suffer under opera.  The play, set before, during, and after the opening performance of a grand opera, opens with impresario Henry Saunders (Michael Sparks) worrying his assistant, Max (John Whinfield), over the lateness for rehearsal of the production’s star, “Il Stupendo”: Italian tenor Tito Merelli (Willy “Wally” Allington).

Saunders is under additional pressure because he has promised his daughter, Maggie (Maxine Beaumont), the opportunity to meet Tito when he arrives.  Maggie and Max are in love… except that Maggie is clearly infatuated with Tito even before having met him, as is Tito’s leading lady, Diana Bateman (Meaghan Stewart).

Such could be the setup for a drama, a thriller, or a tragedy; but as time ticks by and Tito still does not arrive, Saunders’s attempts to avert disaster are compounded by misunderstandings, by the women — and even a man — who, when the opportunity arises, throw themselves at Tito, and by the understandable suspicions of Tito’s wife, Maria (Christina Falsone), creating the kind of havoc that you can only pray for.

Under Cate Clelland’s able direction, Free-Rain’s production brings all eight characters to farcical life.  All the action occurs in the two rooms of Tito’s hotel suite, of which the set made every detail visible, and the physical interactions between up to seven or eight characters at a time made perfect sense.  Of especial note was the clarity with which it was possible to follow two arguments between four characters though they spoke simultaneously; quite a feat in direction, timing, and sound design.

More broadly, although the play’s plot essentially advances through the humorous interactions of six of its eight characters, the pace of the entire performance kept the audience constantly on its toes, with each actor timing moves and lines to perfection.  As well, Lend Me a Tenor, though not a musical, does feature a little singing, of which John Whinfield’s fine style was an unexpected treat.

This production is deliciously, laugh-out-loud funny.  Don’t miss it.

John P. Harvey.

Images, from the top: [L–R] Willy “Wally” Allington and Meaghan Stewart and [L–R] Willy “Wally” Allington and John Whinfield in Lend Me a Tenor.  Photographer: Janelle McMenamin.