Review: A COMEDY OF TENORS at TheatreWorks New Milford

It never gets old. A farce about someone pursuing a great achievement, only to have that achievement at risk due to a misunderstanding, before introducing a doppelganger that just heightens the absurdity (and hilarity) until somebody figures out what's going on and wraps everything up in a neat little bowl? It's a tale as old as time, and yet you will find me in that seat time and time again; always knowing what's going to happen but still laughing as it unfolds nonetheless. Which show am I talking about this time? A Flea In Her Ear? The Comedy of Errors? The Doppelganger? How about the Shakespeare parody, A Comedy of Tenors, because that Ken Ludwig hit is what brought me to TheatreWorks New Milford to enjoy another farce! 

Directed by Diana Canova, A Comedy of Tenors is a farce set in Paris, France, where Saunders- played by Adam Battelstein- is attempting to stage a concert bringing together Max- an up and coming tenor played by Sam Everett- and the World famous Tito Merelli- played by Joe Harding. Caught in the middle is Tito’s wife, Maria (Gillian Holt); their daughter, Mimi (Sydney Mann); another famed Tenor, Carlo Nucci (Shawn Wodarka); and famous Soprano, Tatiana Racon (Barbara Disraeli). Not only did the entire cast nail the pacing of an energetic farce, but Battelstein’s physicality gave Canova an endless supply of physical comedy to work with that the entire cast fed on. The real treat of the production comes from Harding, whose character work to take on the central crux of this show was truly astonishing! Every time he came on stage, you immediately got a sense for who he was: A sense of clarity that is special to watch and only adds to the hilarity. 

The energy on stage was supported by the beautiful set of a high class, and very expensive looking, hotel suite from 1936. From the couch to the gramophone; from the telephone to the cow’s tongue, everything about this production worked in perfect harmony for a delightfully wild night!