Broadway Blog - LEND ME A TENOR Review Roundup

Set in the 1930s, Lend Me a Tenor is a madcap screwball comedy that takes place when Tito Merelli, the fiery-tempered and world famous Italian superstar, arrives in Cleveland, Ohio to make his debut with the local opera and promptly goes missing. As Saunders, the show's presenter, conspires to cover for Tito's absence, placate his hot-blooded wife, and distract his most passionate fans, chaos on a truly operatic level ensues.

Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter: "Bottom Line: Stanley Tucci's expert staging and a terrific cast makes this unremarkable screwball farce come to comic life."

Charles Isherwood, The New York Times: "Much of the responsibility for the evening's only fitful amusement lies with the material itself. "Lend Me a Tenor" was a big hit in its first Broadway run two decades ago, playing for more than a year and winning a Tony for the great Philip Bosco in the role of the impresario. But Frank Rich, writing in The New York Times, noted that Mr. Ludwig's comedy "is all things farcical except hilarious." This time around, the unhilarity is almost uninterrupted, and sometimes magnified by miscasting and flaccid pacing."

Elysa Gardner, USA Today: "Granted, some actors are more engaging than others. The most valuable players are Anthony LaPaglia, cast as Tito Merelli, an Italian opera star enlisted to appear at the gala, and Jan Maxwell, who plays his wife. Though these troupers have lent their gifts to a range of roles, LaPaglia is appreciated in particular for his rugged everyman quality, and Maxwell for her old-school elegance."

Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press: "The frantic foolishness that fuels "Lend Me a Tenor" has not diminished in the two decades since the Ken Ludwig comedy's initial New York appearance. If anything, the play's desperation quotient - a prime ingredient of any farce worth its belly laughs - has only increased in the show's first Broadway revival, which opened Sunday at the Music Box Theatre."

David Sheward, Backstage: "Despite a serious case of miscasting, Stanley Tucci's riotous staging of Ken Ludwig's "Lend Me a Tenor" provides an evening full of belly laughs, slapstick action, and projectiles aimed into the orchestra seats. If you want to laugh yourself silly and you're willing to duck fruit, champagne corks, and flung roses, this is the show for you."

Michael Sommers, NewJerseyNewsroom.com: "People born when "Lend Me a Tenor" premiered on Broadway just turned 21, so it's time for a new generation to laugh themselves silly over Ken Ludwig's frisky hotel room comedy."

More reviews to come in the AM...