No one could make as dramatic an entrance or exit as Norma Desmond, played by the late Gloria Swanson, from the famed film Sunset Blvd.
And now local fans are about to be introduced to her slightly more crazy equivalent, a daffy entourage of characters in the production of Lend me a Tenor.
Written by Ken Ludwig, the Tony Award-winning comedic farce made its Broadway debut in 1989, and was revived on the Great White Way last year with actor Stanley Tucci in the director’s chair.
And now Vernon’s Powerhouse Theatre is lending the production its talents.
Matt Brown, who has directed and acted in numerous local productions, most recently Munschapalooza for Bumbershoot Children’s Theatre, is making his directorial debut at Powerhouse.
In a case of life imitating art, Brown jokes that the show should have been renamed “Lend me a Director,” as the original director scheduled to helm the show had to pull out due to unfortunate circumstances.
After receiving a call from Powerhouse president Sarah “Scottie” McLean that the board was considering him as director, Brown said he was honoured, but wanted to read the script more thoroughly.
“I had never directed a farce before, but Scottie assured me, and said ‘I have confidence in you,’ and said she was also available to help. They made me feel welcome,” he said.
And although he was part of the artistic committee that chose the play as part of this year’s Powerhouse season, Brown said he had only time to scan the script initially, but this time he really took a look at it.
“To my memory, it was the first play that I’ve read where I laughed out loud,” he said.
With that first challenge tackled, Brown next set out to find his cast. And he was a little worried at first, explaining he needed male actors, and they had to be able to sing.
Many who fit the bill had already committed their time for Powerhouse’s December production of Grease.
“(However), when I held the auditions, I had enough people to cast the play three times over,” said Brown.
Around the same time the play was cast, Powerhouse’s design team set off to make a door ––yes, one set piece–– to accommodate rehearsals.
“This is a very physical show with lots of entrances and exits,” said Brown, explaining the play’s pace maintains a constant high speed throughout. “I had to bump rehearsals up because it’s so physical and I didn’t want to be at a loss.”
And the pace is set right after the curtain opens.
Set in a Cleveland, Ohio hotel suite in 1934, Lend me a Tenor features four male and four female characters.
It follows world famous Italian operatic tenor Tito “Il Stupendo” Merelli (played by Geoff Ingram), who shows up late, and not in optimal condition, for his leading role in a highly anticipated opera.
Enter protagonist Max (Joel Montgrand), the bumbling slave servant to tightly-wound theatre manager, Saunders (Rick Smith), who insists that the show must go on despite the condition of their star performer.
“I tried to pull the physical comedy out of (Montgrand) the most out of all the characters, while still having a convincing story,” said Brown.
“From the time Tito shows up, a series of mix ups ensue… The theme of ‘what are we going to do to get this man motivated for the show’ is the set up, and it happens from early in the production. The first line of the show tells you exactly where it’s going to go from there.”
Love, or lack thereof, plays a big part in the production with the female characters, including Tito’s Italian firecracker wife, Maria (Christina Cuglietta-Braun).
“All these women are crazy about Tito, but she doesn’t swoon, she controls him,” said Brown.
Max’s love interest, and female protagonist Maggie (Ashley Plomp), doesn’t exactly share the same sentiment towards him.
“She has as much character development as Max,” said Brown. “She is the undiscovered, the inexperienced female of the show –– the baby.”
The supportive voice comes from close family friend, Julia (Jean Given), who is more like an aunt to Maggie.
“She makes these comedic cameos that are used to accentuate how young Maggie is,” said Brown.
Then there’s Diana (Emily Heayn), who is part of the opera.
“She is out for herself, and the opposite of Maggie in experience,” said Brown, adding “With all these characters you get the essence of all the women.”
And although the action revolves around the funny things that happen on the way to the opera, it’s another memorable character that steals the show, so to speak.
“The bell hop (Chris Froese) has been gifted with treats written in the script. He’s the cherry on the whipping cream,” said Brown, who also sends a shout out to his crew: “Viva argyle club!” while explaining, “I am wearing argyle to represent all the folks that don’t get seen, but make the show happen.”
Lend me a Tenor runs at Powerhouse Theatre Feb. 16 to 19 and Feb. 22 to 26 at 8 p.m., with a matinee Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at the Ticket Seller. Call 250-549-7469 or order at www.ticketseller.ca.
