John Treacy Egan and Judy Blazer (photo credit: Jerry Dalia)
It’s easy to see what has gone slightly awry with this production
at the Paper Mill Playhouse of Ken Ludwig’s farce A Comedy of Tenors, but it can be fixed. Why it isn’t as consistently
hilarious as it was in its world premiere at Princeton’s McCarter Theatre almost
two years ago can, I suspect, be traced to a general performance level way that
is, at the present time, way over the top and with direction and staging that too
often exceeds the boundaries of truly effective farce.
Without drawing too many comparisons between the two
productions, I was initially encouraged to see that Don Stephenson has reunited
members of the cast he directed in Lend
Me a Tenor at the Paper Mill Playhouse in 2013 for this eagerly anticipated
sequel. They are a splendid ensemble and
just need more time to inhabit rather than invade their roles
The good news is that there is plenty of time to consider what
works and what doesn’t before any move to Broadway is considered. As it is, there
is plenty of fun to be had for audiences who are both new to the play and for
those who remember and love Lend Me a
Tenor. However, you only had to listen to the appreciable difference in
audience response to the terrific Act II in contrast to the more tepid reactions
to many of the antics that simply seem unnecessarily forced in Act I.
As for the play, for those who may need a fast refresher course
on characters who have been refreshingly re-observed, here goes: A trio of temperamental tenors (are there any
other kind?) one wife, one lover and a few significant others have been
recruited to create havoc, make love to the wrong person, slam the usual number
of doors, leap head first off a balcony, hide, dress and undress in
corresponding bedrooms and one pretending to be who he is not.
It's an absurdist situation involving a look-a-like hotel
porter who amazingly sings, a talking pickled tongue (don't ask) and a nervous
producer who can't keep the approaching preparations from spiraling out of
control and into complete chaos. As it should, the play with it many stunts and
silly shtick galore moves along at breakneck speed. But it is Ludwig's gleeful
almost giddy text that will keep you laughing, sometimes even hoping for a
breather.
A Comedy of Tenors takes place in 1936 two years after the events that take place in Lend Me a Tenor and mostly concerns the frustrations that beset the world-class tenor Tito Merelli (John Treacy Egan) as he arrives in Paris, accompanied (once again) by his tempestuous wife Maria (Judy Blazer) to sing at a gala concert. The gimmick is that he is contracted to sing with two other tenors Max (David Josefsberg) and Carlo (newcomer Ryan Silverman) for what has been promoted by their high-anxiety producer Saunders (Michael Kostroff) as "the biggest concert in the history of Paris."
All the action takes place in a luxurious suite in a swanky Paris hotel (handsomely designed by Michael Schweikardt) in which a little hanky-panky is already in progress. Unknown to Tito is the affair that is going on between his beguiling daughter Mimi (Jill Paice) and Carlo of whom Tito not only disapproves but who he mistakenly believes is having an affair with his wife. Add the singing hotel porter (also played by Egan who, except for his beard, is the spitting image of Tito) and a sexy Russian soprano (Donna English) — who, unbeknownst to Maria, once had had a torrid affair with Tito. I should mention that Max, who was Saunder's assistant in Lend Me a Tenor and his now his son-in-law, is anxious to get through the concert before his wife (unseen) goes into labor
The shenanigans unfold in close to real time with the concert scheduled to begin in two hours. It remains for Saunders to keep his temper-prone tenors from killing each other before they actually get to sing. If some of the outrageous behavior that is guided by director Stephenson needs reigning in, the ensemble has been otherwise been corralled to work seamlessly as a team and individually as shameless scene-stealers. There are opportunities for designer Mariah Hale’s period-perfect costumes to steal a scene or two.
A Comedy of Tenors takes place in 1936 two years after the events that take place in Lend Me a Tenor and mostly concerns the frustrations that beset the world-class tenor Tito Merelli (John Treacy Egan) as he arrives in Paris, accompanied (once again) by his tempestuous wife Maria (Judy Blazer) to sing at a gala concert. The gimmick is that he is contracted to sing with two other tenors Max (David Josefsberg) and Carlo (newcomer Ryan Silverman) for what has been promoted by their high-anxiety producer Saunders (Michael Kostroff) as "the biggest concert in the history of Paris."
All the action takes place in a luxurious suite in a swanky Paris hotel (handsomely designed by Michael Schweikardt) in which a little hanky-panky is already in progress. Unknown to Tito is the affair that is going on between his beguiling daughter Mimi (Jill Paice) and Carlo of whom Tito not only disapproves but who he mistakenly believes is having an affair with his wife. Add the singing hotel porter (also played by Egan who, except for his beard, is the spitting image of Tito) and a sexy Russian soprano (Donna English) — who, unbeknownst to Maria, once had had a torrid affair with Tito. I should mention that Max, who was Saunder's assistant in Lend Me a Tenor and his now his son-in-law, is anxious to get through the concert before his wife (unseen) goes into labor
The shenanigans unfold in close to real time with the concert scheduled to begin in two hours. It remains for Saunders to keep his temper-prone tenors from killing each other before they actually get to sing. If some of the outrageous behavior that is guided by director Stephenson needs reigning in, the ensemble has been otherwise been corralled to work seamlessly as a team and individually as shameless scene-stealers. There are opportunities for designer Mariah Hale’s period-perfect costumes to steal a scene or two.
If A Comedy of
Tenors too often mistakes frantic for funny, it also joyously carries on the age-old tradition of farce that
inspired and sometimes even confounded many playwrights from Plautus to Moliere
to George S. Kaufman.
Paper Mill Playhouse, 22 Brookside Drive, Millburn, N.J. 973 - 376 - 4343 Tickets: $32.00 - $123.00
Performances:
Wednesday at 7:30pm, Thursday at 1:30pm and 7:30pm, Friday at 8:00pm, Saturday
at 1:30pm and 8:00pm and Sunday at 1:30pm and 7:00pm.
From 02/01/17 Opened
02/05/17 Ends 02/26/17
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