TheaterMania: Ken Ludwig might just be America's greatest farceur. The playwright made his Broadway debut in 1989 with Lend Me a Tenor, a door-slamming comedy set in a posh hotel suite at the height of the Great Depression. In the play, Max, the underappreciated assistant to the general manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera, tries to ensure that the volatile Italian tenor, Tito Merelli, gets some rest and makes it to the theater on time. Naturally, chaos ensues.
1 comment:
This sounds very well done. Gender-bending a story doesn’t always feel so intentional because the words were not written to be said by certain people. But the fact that Ken Ludwig went into “Lend Me a Tenor” and shifted the story lines and characters enough to make it “Lend Me a Soprano.” I’ve been a fan of this farce since I saw it done at my high school. It’s fun and fast and allows for some exciting character work. But ultimately, it is pretty deep set into some gender norms that would be hard to overlook without this revision. This article also emphasizes the scenic design, which is really important for such a fast-moving, physical farce, so I’m glad it’s given some attention. Any play that requires stair climbing, door slamming, mistaken identity needs quite a sturdy and extensive set of features that don’t compromise structural integrity in any way.
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