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.
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.
The hotel farce, about chaos behind 'Otello' at a Cleveland Opera gala, is not nearly as clever as Kaufman and Hart comedies, nor does it have the loony danger of 'Noises Off.' But after a self-conscious start (much of it about wax fruit), Tucci's ensemble nails just about every hyper-physical take in the comedy archives, building to the recap (around designer John Lee Beatty's timelessly ornate hotel suite) that telescopes all the action into about 45 seconds of sweet dazzle.
1989 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2010 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Stanley Tucci |
2010 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Jan Maxwell |
2010 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Costume Design | Martin Pakledinaz |
2010 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Jan Maxwell |
2010 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | 0 |
2010 | The Hewes Awards | Costume Design | Martin Pakledinaz |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | Martin Pakledinaz |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Jan Maxwell |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Broadway Across America |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | The Shubert Organization |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Wendy Federman/Jamie deRoy/Richard Winkler |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Lisa Cartwright |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Spring Sirkin |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Scott and Brian Zeilinger |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Olympus Theatricals |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Rodney Rigby |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Carl Moellenberg |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Stuart Thompson |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | The Araca Group |
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