BWW Interviews: LEND ME A TENOR to Open at Washington County Playhouse

Many audiences are familiar with the zany Marx Brothers movie, A Night at the Opera. But for a fast-paced and funny theatrical show about a night at the opera, check out Lend Me A Tenor, opening at the Washington County Playhouse in Hagerstown, MD this weekend.

Directed by Laura Martin, Ken Ludwig's famous comedy Lend Me A Tenor portrays one crazy day at the Cleveland Grand Opera Company. World famous tenor Tito Merelli is coming to perform as Othello in a one-night only benefit performance in Cleveland, Ohio in 1934. The opera manager, Saunders and his timid assistant, Max, are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the superstar. Through a series of misunderstandings, involving Max's girlfriend, Tito's wife and a bellhop, Tito is accidentally given a double dose of sleeping pills. Believing he is dead, Saunders convinces Max to impersonate the operatic tenor and sing as Othello in the performance that evening. A chaotic cast of zany characters, mistaken identities and plenty of sexual innuendos ensue. For a rapid-fire farcical show, the Washington County Playhouse cast faced many different challenges to properly portray each joke and double entendre.

"The dialogue is very challenging, whether it's memorizing the rapid fire and random lines, or simply not breaking character and laughing out loud on stage" said Nate LaDow, who plays operatic superstar Tito Merelli.

"The most challenging aspect of working on Lend Me A Tenor was figuring out how to create engaging stage pictures on an intimate stage with a unit set. It was a challenge, but a challenge I really enjoyed!" said director Laura Martin.

"The farcical nature of the show has proven to be an interesting challenge. There are certain elements in farces that are different from all other shows. For example, pacing is always important in a show, but in this particular show, the pace needs to be a little bit faster than I'm used to. It's been interesting to adapt to the different needs of this show" said Shannen Banzhoff, who plays Diana, a soprano in the operatic company. "The challenge to this show is timing the door slamming and entrances" added Joan Crooks, who plays Julia.

However, the cast certainly enjoyed working with each other, in addition to incorporating challenging technical elements, to bring the farce to life onstage

"The camaraderie was definitely the most enjoyable part of rehearsals. Getting to work through some of the most hilarious scenes ever written with this cast and crew has been a fun experience. We all make each other laugh. It never feels like work, and everyone seems to truly enjoy being at rehearsals" said LaDow

"I love working with the amazing people at the Washington County Playhouse. Every single person in this cast is so talented and Laura has brought us all together to create some truly magical theatre. The cast and crew have grown really close to each other, which has made rehearsals so much fun" said Banzhoff

"The cast and crew members have given 110%. It has been so rewarding to work with such professional, creative, talented, hard working, and kind people" said Martin.

The cast is ready to invite an audience to an over-the-top evening filled with mistaken identities and sexual innuendos.

"Audiences should come enjoy an evening of live theatre filled with laughter. My hope is that audiences will smile and laugh the whole evening as I have done at every rehearsal for the past few weeks. It's been good medicine for this director" said Martin. "Laughter is the best medicine, and there's no chance you can come to this show and not laugh out loud" added LaDow

"Ken Ludwig has written such amazing material and Laura Martin has done such a wonderful job putting it all together. We all truly have an unbelievable amount of fun onstage and not a minute goes by in this production without something hilarious happening. Whether it's the spoken lines or physical humor, there is always some funny moment happening" said Banzhoff. "This show is hysterical! I watch it every night at rehearsal and I still laugh until I cry!" said Crooks.

Lend Me A Tenor also features Ryan Perry as Max, Johnna Leary as Maggie, Shawn R. Martin as Saunders, Allison Banzhoff as Maria and Scott Ruble as the Bellhop. Lend Me A Tenor will run June 5, 6, 19, 20, 26, 27 and July 10, 11, 18, 24 and 25, with one Sunday matinee on June 28. Dinner hour will begin at 6:00 with the show shortly following at approximately 7:30 for evening performances and lunch hour for the matinee performance begins at 1:00 with the show following at approximately 2:30. For more information about the production or to make reservations, please call the box office at (301) 739-7469 or visit www.wcpdt.com.

Photo Credit: Washington County Playhouse