Lend Me a Tenor
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Cititour.com Review
Hard to believe that Ken Ludwig's Lend Me a Tenor dates back no further than the late '80s. At its best and its worst it plays like a farce excavated from 50 years earlier, when the play is set. Broadly conceived characters are embroiled in a case of mistaken identity with consequences that are both dire and ridiculous. But rather than full-out farce, it more closely resembles the screwball comedies of early Hollywood, and despite an able cast and some creative work from director Stanley Tucci, there aren't enough laughs or charms to sustain this dalliance of a plot for two and a half hours.
It's hard to blame the cast. Tony Shalhoub makes a welcome return to Broadway after 17 years, as the temperamental manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera. He has a lot riding on a performance of Otello, starring world-renowned opera singer Tito Merelli, known as Il Stupendo, and played by a plump Anthony LaPaglia. So he tasks his nebbishy assistant, Max (Justin Bartha, recently seen in The Hangover), with keeping the singer away from booze and women long enough to get him through one performance.
Of course complications ensue, and soon both Max, who longs to be an opera divo, and Tito are flitting about the stage in Otello costume and blackface, caught up in mistaken-identity mayhem as they try to dodge authorities and admirers. The action and humor build slowly to a crescendo in act two. Paglia, in particular, is explosively funny; Shalhoub indulges in several hilarious bits of physical comedy; and Bartha shows the range to play what amounts to a dual role. Were the play a tightly packed 90 minutes, it might be a gut-busting romp, but this farce has too many cracks in its foundation.
By Diane Snyder
Visit the Site
http://lendmeatenoronbroadway.com
Cast
Anthony LaPaglia, Tony Shalhoub, Justin Bartha, Jan Maxwell, Mary Catherine Garrison, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Jay Klaitz, Brooke Adams
Open/Close Dates
Opening 3/12/2010
Closing 8/15/2010
Box Office
212-239-6200
Theatre Info
Music Box Theatre
239 West 45th Street
New York, NY 10036
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