by Maryann Lopinto
Opening Night Photos: Maryann Lopinto
A Comedy of Tenors is a sequal to Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me a Tenor which, a few seasons back, was presented at the Paper Mill Playhouse.
Paper Mill was able to bring back the same actors who had performed in Lend Me a Tenor – – Judy Blazer, John Treacy Egan, Donna English, David Josefberg, Michael Kostroff, Jill Paice and Ryan Silverman with director, Don Stephenson.
Tito, the acclaimed opera singer (Egan), is about to do a concert with two other Tenors, his assistant Max (Josefberg) and Carlos (Silverman), who is replacing another tenor, and whom he has never met. Before TIto’s arrival his daughter has made her way into her dad’s suite and is having sex with her fiance. Not trying to be discovered, they try to sneak out and Tito’s wife appears and tries to help him put on his pants as Tito comes out of another room thinking his wife is having an affair with the fiance. His has never met him and his daughter had no time to introduce him. Unbeknown to Tito, is that this gentleman is Carlos the third tenor. Let the story begin.
As a typical farce, the characters are coming in and out of rooms pretending they are someone else. The show is well cast and under good direction. However, the action moves a little too quickly and the actors are constantly yelling, Exhausting!
The show is also a reuntion for three of the actors, John Treacy Egan, David Josefberg and Michael Kostroff who were all in the first show of the season, The Producers, also directed by Don Stephenson.
The Paper Mill Playhouse is a stone’s throw from Manhattan. a simple ride on New Jersey Transit gets you there in no time, in less than an hour. The station is just a short walk to the theatre. And the short travel is well worth it!
The next two productions are Million Dollar Quartet, followed by Mary Poppins.
