Academy Players of East Greenwich

 

Lend Me A Tenor 1

This hilarious farce revolves around renowned tenor Tito Morelli, known to his fans as "Il Stupendo," who is scheduled to sing the lead in Otello, produced as a gala fundraiser for the Cleveland Opera Company. Unfortunately, even before the star leaves his hotel room, everything begins to unravel. Chaos ensues when a “Dear John” letter is left by his wife, who has mistaken an autograph-seeker hidden in his closet for a secret lover. The distraught Merelli accidentally is given a double dose of tranquilizers to calm him and passes out. Saunders, the company's General Manager, is determined the show must go on (for his own financial sake), so he enlists the aid of his assistant Max to impersonate the opera star. Max is succeeding admirably . . . until Merelli awakens and heads for the stage. What follows is a chain-reaction of confusion, plot twists, double entendres, innuendoes, and constant entrances and exits through many doors

And the reviews are in!

http://www.littlerhodytheater.com/2009_lend_me_a_tenor_academy_tonyareview.htm

and

http://www.littlerhodytheater.com/2009_lend_me_a_tenor_academyplayers.htm

Lend Me A Tenor 2

and

The BlitheSpirit's review of Academy Players' "Lend Me A Tenor."

"In these dark days of recession, laughter is the best medicine. If that be true, then Academy Players' latest production of the famous farce, "Lend Me A Tenor," is just what the doctor ordered.

Imagine for a moment your boss gives you the awesome responsibility of picking up the most important (and talented) person in the company—an infamously notorious womanizer, alcoholic and egomaniac. Your one job is to get him to the office on time for his big presentation and keep him away from his vices.

Famous opera star, Tito Morelli (played by Terrence Shea) has a date on stage with throngs of his adoring and sycophantic fans of the Cleveland Opera. Max (Michael Johnson) has been charged by his overbearing potential Father-in-law (Brian Lamonthe) with ensuring Tito's debut is a success. Max's fiancé Maggie (Kate Arthur) may not be willing to commit to Max's marriage proposal just yet, but she certainly is committed to meeting the great opera star. Joining her in this mission to meet Tito are: the buxom Diva of the opera, Diana (Kathleen Bebeau-Katic); Julia (Karen Gail Kessler), the fawning President of the Opera Guild; and the insanely fanatical Bellhop (Matthew Royality-Lindman). The one critic of the great Tito—"Il Stupendo," as he is known—is his high-strung, high-maintenance wife, Maria (Camille Terilli); who knows that Tito cannot resist the two greatest infatuations of Italian men: food and women.

The mayhem ensues as character after character chews the scenery up until it becomes a palatable paste of pithy precociousness. Michael Johnson completely pulls off the believability that Max is the proverbial foot-shifting, nervous nelly, hell-bent on performing on stage on day. He adds schtick with such subtlety you hardly realize it has happened until you find yourself bent over laughing. When he finally grows some brass ones (thanks to Tito), he becomes a tempest in a teapot.

Terry Shea's performance as "Il Stupendo" was a force of Nature to be beheld. Think Pavarotti meets The Sopranos meets Danny Devito, then has an illegitimate lovechild with every female character in My Cousin Vinny. Though Terry's Italian accent at times sounded like the Swedish Chef from The Muppet Show, one makes allowances since Tito's expected to get so hot under the collar (and so excited by the mere thought of "bosoms") he practically loses his mind.

Kate Arthur's performance was brilliantly delightful as Maggie, as she makes us believe her charm and innocence hide something somewhat more lurid when it comes to dear Tito. Though she loves her beau, the poor woman swoons from the vapors when "Il Stupendo" walks into a room. As her debut performance with Academy Players, we hope to see much, much more of her. Purposely included in this paragraph is a tribute to the incredibly funny Matthew Royality-Lindman as the Bellhop, as he joins Maggie in her unnatural love of Tito. Matthew falls all over himself to practically lick the ground the famous Tenor walks on. The two of them could join the Hollywood paparazzi and teach them a thing or two.

As Maria, Tito's wife, Camille Terilli was an excellent choice. The more she spoke, the more she henpecked her egomaniacal, womanizing husband, and the more she ranted and raved, the more she gave us. A fantastic performance, indeed.

If this isn't enough to leave you giggling in tears, add Brian Lamonthe's (Saunders') explosions of sheer frivolity to the mix. Especially enjoyable is his ability to find every opportune moment to shake the living hell out of Tito's seemingly lifeless corpse as he realizes his meal ticket—and his reputation with the Opera Guild—is about to be dashed to pieces. We understand why he's so bent out of shape when we see Karen Gail Kessler (Julia) flit into the room in a socialite's gown even Helen Keller could see. Karen's engaging performance reaches its pinnacle as she vainly attempts seducing the great Morelli. Each wave of her arm and lilting phrase was so eloquently bawdy, it makes you feel for the poor, beleaguered tenor. Kathleen Bebeau-Katic (Diana) gives a grand performance as the sultry and sexy Diva of Otello. She too makes us believe she can seduce anything on two legs and leaves us wanting more.

The set designs by Neil Santoro and lighting designs by Michael Hyde were brilliantly simple, yet absolutely perfect for this show—almost an organic extension of each and every character. Terry Shea also provided the sound design with fabulous selections from the grand stage of Opera. The costumes by Heather Tingle—while not always period—were enthralling to say the least. Though we have yet to understand how two Mickey Mouse hats ended up in one woman's millinery. Marcia Zamarelli included her tongue-in-cheek addition to the show—as she does in every Vincent Lupino production—with some brilliantly simple Otello costumes. A tad on the Oompa Loompa side, but fabulous nonetheless.

And last but not least, Vinny Lupino's superb direction pulled the best from each and every cast member. Between the high-energy stage-direction, the added schtick, and the subtle (and not-so-subtle) innuendo, this performance stands out as truly one of his best—and there are many, trust us. He can always be count on to direct and produce something that will be true to the playwright, yet have that flair we adore so much.

If you don't see this play, members of the Italian Opera Mafia will come find you...and make you!"

Presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.