Lend me a Tenor

‘Lend me a tenor’ is a farce that was written in 1989 by Pennsylvanian playwright, Ken Ludwig, it went on to win him his first Tony Award. This very funny play is being presented by Limelight Theatre in Civic Drive, Wanneroo. Each Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening at 8.00 pm until Saturday 20^th August.

           In an upmarket hotel suite in Cleveland, it is 1934, and Saunders (Don Collison) a theatrical manager, is waiting for his huge coupe, an operatic singer called Tito Merelli (Richard Tudge) to arrive.  Saunders’ daughter, Maggie (Suzanna Devenish), is fed up with her pathetic, inert boyfriend, Max (Nick Thomas) and recalls how Tito kissed the palms of her hands on a previous meeting. The gay bellhop (Andrew Brown - excellent) also lusts after Tito. When ‘Il Stupendo’ does arrive with his wife Maria (Jeanette Hotop), an old battleaxe of a woman, she is justifiably, insanely jealous of Tito’s infidelities.

            Tito has a nervous stomach and is given tablets by his wife, however they are the wrong ones and he takes an overdose and dies. What will Saunders do to pacify the thousand patrons waiting to hear the singer? How will Diana (Karen Tropiano), the lead soprano take the news? How will Saunders break the news to Julia (Colleen Hopkins) the Chairman of the Opera Guild?

The cast were well rehearsed, despite director Karen Tropiano taking over at a very late date. However, many of the cast, whilst acting their parts well, did so as though it was a straight play. Unfortunately the panic and frantic movements that are usually a large part of a farce, were replaced by clearly spoken dialogue and a few hand movements. At the chaotic passages, the pace needed to be increased and the actor’s whole body used to show the alarm being experienced. I enjoyed the play, but not as much as the Rockingham Castle version I saw about three years ago.

On the positive, the cast all captured their characters beautifully and were willing to let their hair down. I know the talent is definitely there. I am sure that with delivering the lines of hysteria perhaps in a semi-foetal position (like Groucho Marx’s walk) and with more indecisive movements, the show will become top notch. Jeanette Hotop’s performance as the cuckolded wife was hilarious.

The four, full-colour pages of the A4 programme (Bob Mainwaring) were well designed and remarkable value at $1. The teching was very good and the set décor (Polly Waugh) painted in the 1930s style, well thought out.

The comments of the audience on their way home were very positive; with comments like ‘hilarious’ and ‘so funny’ the punters really enjoyed the show.