"Lend Me a Tenor' in Ambler

Lend Me a Tenor is one of the best-constructed farces ever written by an American, but that fact in itself presents a challenge: The script's intricacies make it difficult for actors to get it right.

As the famed English actor Edmund Kean said on his deathbed, "Dying is easy; comedy is hard."

The current production at Act II Playhouse does justice to Ken Ludwig's script and even expands on its opportunities. It's the funniest show I've seen in a long time.

The plot bears similarities to (and improves upon) Ludwig's other successful farce, Moon Over Buffalo, in which a troupe of actors runs into seemingly insurmountable problems while trying to perform a play in that provincial city. In Tenor an opera company faces catastrophe while trying to impress the culture-starved city of Cleveland. Both plays add layers of sexual and romantic entanglements.

Too many tranquilizers

A beleaguered impresario tries to cope with the tardiness, and then the nervousness, of a visiting Italian tenor a few hours before a performance of Verdi's Otello. The star tenor, Tito Merelli— known to his fans as "Il Stupendo" — is given a double dose of tranquilizers, which makes matters worse, because he passes out and can't be revived.

The impresario's assistant, Max (Michael Doherty), a pleasant but bumbling flunky, volunteers to impersonate Il Stupendo and thus initiates a series of mistaken-identity confrontations that propel the plot toward its climax.

No knowledge of opera is needed to enjoy Lend Me a Tenor, but having some will enhance your enjoyment. Max understandably sounds shaky when he attempts to sing early in the show. Then Merelli supposedly coaches him and Max's talent becomes apparent as the two men sing a duet from Verdi's Don Carlo. Later, as Max gains confidence, he belts out the "Toreador Song" from Carmen. But that's a baritone aria, so the opera buffs in the audience will still wonder whether the character can credibly step into the lead-tenor role of Verdi's Otello, as the plot asks him to do.

Just before the final blackout, Doherty (as Max) must sing the highest and hardest part of Otello's music, the climax of the love duet— and to our delight, he nails it beautifully. I've seen Doherty in several roles where he evidenced a nice Broadway-style singing voice, but I wasn't aware that he possessed this vocal range. His handling of those notes encapsulates the entire plot.

Hyperkinetic bellhop

As the impresario, Braithwaite, a masterful comic actor at the top of his game, impressively manages to keep a stiff upper lip in the face of disaster as he orchestrates a plan to salvage the evening. As "Il Stupendo," Jeff Coon, himself an actor-singer with star-worthy credentials, here displays impressive comic gifts. Michael Doherty as Max wins our hearts with his earnest efforts.

The tenor's jealous wife, passionately played by Tracie Higgins, provides additional laughs. Eileen Cella is appealing as the impresario's daughter, who is engaged to Max but attracted to the tenor. Mariel Rosati wittily encapsulates the opera's sex-crazed leading lady, while Linda Friday plays the opera company's droll chairwoman. Howie Brown is hyperkinetic as a bellhop who joyfully pops into almost every scene.

This production was directed by Bud Martin, the former Act II Playhouse artistic director who this year took over similar reins with Delaware Theater Company. His handling of rapid-fire stage business was masterful, while he and his cast revealed the warm souls of the characters. Together they lifted Lend Me a Tenor from a clever farce into a warm human comedy.