Lend Me A Tenor reviewRLT review RLT Guest Director Rod Rich and a crackerjack cast Raleigh Little Theatre guest director Rod Rich may be a little heavy handed at times in staging Ken Ludwig's frantic sex farce, Lend Me A Tenor; but he heightens the hilarity of this 1989 Tony Award® winner so much that all is forgiven. Leaving no door in scenic designer Jim Zervas' posh two-room hotel suite unslammed, Rich and his crackerjack cast get big laughs from this zany backstage comedy about the Cleveland Grand Opera Company's 1934 benefit performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Otello, starring world-famous Italian tenor Tito Merelli (played with panache and in fine voice by Michael Jones). Merelli has gargantuan appetites -- for food and for women -- which may prove his undoing. Overeating on the train trip to Cleveland has left him with a sour stomach, and the not-entirely-groundless suspicion of his long-suffering wife Maria (Tracey Phillips) that “Il Stupendo's” wandering eye has zeroed in on yet another likely conquest leads to an uproar in the hotel room. When the fecal matter hits the oscillating machine, Saunders (Tony Hefner), the opera company's high-strung manager, and his hapless assistant Max (Loren Armitage) desperately try to salvage the rapidly deteriorating situation. Hefner, with his imperially thin moustache and swept-back hair that make him look like a sawed-off version of Orson Welles playing the title role in Citizen Kane, adds to his reputation as one of the Triangle's funniest men with his amusing antics as Saunders; and Armitage also demonstrates a fine flair for comedy as Max, who is also an aspiring opera singer thunderstruck by the great Merelli's willingness to give him singing tips. Adrienne Morton sometimes goes way over the top -- surely with the encouragement and approval of director Rod Rich -- with her humorous histrionics as Saunders' hot-blooded daughter Maggie, who is secretly dating the humdrum Max but longing for a torrid fling with someone like the super-sexy Il Stupendo. Staci Sabarsky is a scream as Diana, the sexy soprano who hopes to sleep her way to the top; Tracey Phillips is a pip as the indignant Maria Merelli; Alison Lawrence has some funny moments as the hot-to-trot chairwoman of the Cleveland Opera Guild; and Bobby Rathbone is a scene-stealer as an opera-mad Bellhop, who just won't leave the visiting superstar alone. RLT set designer Jim Zervas, lighting designer Rick Young, and costume designer Jenny Butler all make impressive contributions to this crackling comedy; and director Rod Rich, who does yeoman's work as sound designer for Lend Me A Tenor, makes sure that the laughs keep on coming and building throughout the show. WHAT: The TRIANGLE THEATER REVIEW is a FREE weekly e-mail theatrical newsletter, featuring previews and reviews by Robert W. McDowell and reviews by Alan R. Hall and others. (For brief bios of our critics, see the CVNC biographies page.) Classical Voice of North Carolina, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and this state's leading performing-arts platform, not only pays our reviewers but also makes continued publication of TTR possible. The online versions of our critics' theater reviews are now listed on the CVNC Reviews page. CVNC also publishes a comprehensive list of Triangle Theatre Openings and an extensive list of Theater and Film Links. DONATIONS: If you value the comprehensive, in-depth local theater coverage that TTR and CVNC provide, please mail a check today to Classical Voice of North Carolina, 3305 Ruffin Street, Raleigh, NC 27607-4025; or use your credit card to donate online via PayPal. Because CVNC is a 501(c)(3) organization, all financial contributions are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Be sure to indicate that you want to support continued online publication of the TRIANGLE THEATER REVIEW. You may also donate to CVNC through the Triangle Community Foundation, based in Research Triangle Park. You can find current information about CVNC at Philanthropy Central, an online service operated by the Triangle Community Foundation. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: E-mail RobertM748@aol.com and type SUBSCRIBE TTR in the Subject: line. TO UNSUBSCRIBE: E-mail RobertM748@aol.com and type UNSUBSCRIBE TTR in the Subject: line. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? E-mail RobertM748@aol.com. COPYRIGHT: Editorial content and all formats © 2010 CVNC and the respective authors. Reproduction in any form without authorization of Classical Voice of North Carolina and the respective authors is prohibited. CVNC will maintain an archive of standard previews and reviews from past issues for at least a year. To request copies of web articles from 2005 and earlier, e-mail cvnc1@earthlink.net. You are here: Home > Reviews and articles about the theatre's productions > Lend Me A Tenor review |