By James V. Ruocco
The time is 1934.
It's opening night.
World famous opera star Tito Morelli is scheduled to perform the title role in the Cleveland Grand Opera Company's colorful staging of Ruggero Leoncavallo's 1892 opera "Pagliacci" before a black-tie audience anxious to see the much-ballyhooed "Il Stupendo" take center stage.
So, what could go wrong?
Plenty.
This being a Ken Ludwig farce - aptly titled "Lend Me a Tenor" - all hell is about to break loose.
Morelli is late for rehearsal.
He's eaten too much food for lunch.
He's mixed his relaxant medication with wine.
His wife Maria thinks he's cheating on her - again.
He's also fallen asleep in the bedroom of their Cleveland Hotel suite and won't wake up.
The discovery of an empty medicine bottle and a letter on the bedside night table stating, "By the time you read this, I will be gone" not only signals suicide, but a cancelled performance of "Pagliacci" as well.
Really?
Well, not exactly.
Max, the nerdy, harried assistant to Henry Saunders, the Opera Company's stalwart General Manager, has a plan.
It's a long shot, but it can work.
"Pagliacci" will go on as scheduled, but he will don the title character's clown costume and starry white-faced make-up (he insists no one will notice that he's not the famous tenor) and perform the role in full operatic splendor.
One slight problem - Morelli is not dead.
Taken as a whole with all the necessary ingredients to make it fly, sting and resonate, "Lend Me a Tenor" is drenched in over-the-top farcical giddyap right from the starting gate.
Remember, this is farce.
Ludwig, in turn, is quick to establish his place in the comic firmament as both storyteller and playwright.
Here, comically collected doors open, close and are slammed shut by the on-stage characters in rapid succession depending on the "Tenor" blueprint.
Mistaken identities, off-the-cuff silliness and improbable situations that do not mimic real life hilariously pop up from time to time in sync with the play's absurd plotting. Sexual frivolity and innuendo are mixed to thrilling sensation. Quick pacing and double-time exaggeration are plentiful. Ensemble trust or bonding, if you prefer, is also part of the playwright's comic packaging.
At Music Theatre of Connecticut, the inviting, intimate venue where "Lend Me a Tenor" has settled in for an enjoyable three-week run, audiences are privy to a polished, fluffy and eccentric bit of nonsense that is innovative, breezy, light-hearted, charming and boldly theatrical.
This "Tenor" sings and soars with full comic fruition, uproarious identity, ricocheting gait and whirlwind madness.
It is fun.
It is crazy.
It is sexy.
It is nostalgic.
It is giggly.
It is push and pull.
It runs like clockwork.
Farce of any kind - "Noises Off" and "The Play that Goes Wrong" immediately spring to mind - is difficult to pull off, but here at MTC, director Pamela Hill crafts a knockabout entertainment of rambunctious imagination and stagecraft that cuts loose with anxious abandonment, aggressive slapstick, battered abasement and well-timed verbal gymnastics.
It's all wildly caricatured to perfection with plenty of ceaseless physical energy and minutely timed tomfoolery, offset by expertly choreographed staging, positioning and preening that tilts and spins with precision-drilled lunacy from start to finish.
Amid all the chatter and the unexpected chaos that ensues, Hill's slap-bang approach to Ludwig's glazed and crazed scenario necessitates order, teamwork, split-second comic timing and the ability to shift gears at a moment's notice. Without it, the play simply would not work, much less entertain, charm and titillate.
Putting the ballyhoo back into farce, Hill creates a carnival-like atmosphere where even the silliest character, situation or line of dialogue makes perfect sense. She also has great fun with the push-pull, stop-and-go mechanics of the actual story, its evolution, its mishaps, its conflicts and its romantic couplings and does her best to keep things rolling merrily along until the play's fitting, justified conclusion.
This production also comes gift-wrapped with a frenzied, over-the-top epilogue that replays the action of the entire play in less than three or four minutes. It's a feat that Hill pulls off swimmingly much to the delight of everyone on stage and in the audience.
In the role of Max, the bespectacled nerd who takes on the role of Pagliacci, Michael Fasano brings a sparky, squeaky-clean Felix Unger/Leo Bloom quality to the character that is refreshing, charming and pivotal to the comic mayhem at hand. Frank Mastrone's Tito Morelli is accompanied by expertly timed double takes, line delivery, clever movement, fast, clip action, an amusing Italian accent and a keen understanding of how to play farce with artful creation and panache. Jeff Gutner triumphs most amusingly as a hilariously starstruck intrusive bellhop who pops in and out of Morelli's hotel suite hoping to meet his idol face to face. Cynthia Hannah, in the role of Morelli's jealous wife Maria, comes to the proceedings with a thick Italian accent, a Fellini-like persona and a commanding comic presence that is freshly minted and executed with delightful perfection. Elsewhere, Jo Anne Parody interprets her portrayal of Julia, a wealthy society matron with silly position and indulgence.
The always versatile Jim Schilling slides into the role of jowly Opera manager Henry Saunders with such ease, skill and farcical certainty, playwright Ken Ludwig would surely applaud his centered, madcap, eye-catching performance. Watching his face change from bafflement and smarm to cover-up fear and hysteria is priceless as is his assured investment of the play's whirlwind chaos, complications, conflicts and increasing frantic paces. In the role of Saunders ingenue daughter Maggie, Alexandra Fortin is glamorous, flirty, attentive and well suited to the mechanics of stage farce - front and center. Her comic timing - like all those around her - is priceless.
Emily Solo, as Diana, the beguiling Cleveland Opera soprano/seductress anxious to fling her way to the top, is the epitome of 1930's movie star glamour and sophistication while sashaying across the MTC stage with fiery sweep, prance and flounce. As both actress and comedienne, she has created an important female role delivered with focus, power, fun, sensuality and natural silver screen flair. Credit also goes to MCT costume designer Diane Vanderkroef for not only giving Soto the right period look, but everyone else in the cast as well.
Hysterically funny with belly laughs galore, "Lend Me a Tenor" is a jolly good show with knockout comic performances, clever, insider gags, playful, sexual innuendo and flip, giddy one-liners reminiscent of days gone by.
It's the perfect fit for Music Theatre of Connecticut - up close and personal - and one that connects actor to audience for an immersive, lively, one-on-one experience. Pamela Hill's cracker-jack direction not only enlivens the mood of the piece, but revels in the hoot-and-holler farcical conceit of Ken Ludwig's playscript with ovation worthy zing, bling, fire and snap.
Photos of "Lend Me a Tenor" courtesy of Alex Mongillo
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