Birmingham Village Players Presents LEND ME A TENOR, Madcap Comedy At Its Finest

Looking for a good laugh? You'll find plenty of them when you see Lend Me a Tenor, Birmingham Village Player's (BVP) zany comedy, opening March 10th.

"Playwright Ken Ludwig is definitely the king of madcap comedy," said director Eileen White. "Every role in this production has its moment to shine and I'm lucky to have a cast of all-stars."

"Lend Me a Tenor is the story of an opera company in the 1930's that hires a world-famous Italian tenor known as Il Stupendo to perform in a one-night only fundraiser. Through a series of mishaps, the tenor takes a double dose of tranquilizers, everyone thinks he is dead, and chaos takes over," explains White.

The focus for all that chaos is Il Stupendo, the tenor, and he's played to perfection by Russell Boyle of Detroit. "Il Stupendo is a drama king who commands the stage, especially when he's falling apart," said White. "Sonja Rasmussen Distefano of Clinton Township is his hot-headed wife and the source of so many crazy misunderstandings."

Benjamin Feliciano of West Bloomfield plays the excitable director of the company who is desperate to save his fundraiser. He recruits his musical talented assistant (Joe Danz of Rochester) to dress up and pretend to be Il Stupendo.

"Ben and Joe are delightful," said White. "Joe tries to be the voice of reason, but Ben is in such a state of panic that he can't be reasoned with. And then there are the ladies...Marie Burchi-Skipinski of Oxford, Kendall Doman of Bloomfield Hills, and Sue Chekaway of Bloomfield Hills...who almost come to blows during the show."

"And we can't forget the Bellhop," said White. "He's a fan of Il Stupendo and will do almost anything to meet his hero. Every surprise attempt is funnier than the last."

"This cast is incredible and the laughs are non-stop," added White. "So for a good time, call Birmingham Village Players and get your tickets today."

Join the fun with Lend Me a Tenor opening March 10-26th at Birmingham Village Players. Friday and Saturday performances begin at 8pm. Sundays start at 2pm. Individual reserved seat tickets are $24 each plus $1 ticketing fee. Call the box office, 248-644-2075, or click on the ticket page on the website (www.birminghamvillageplayers.com) to order yours.

The Village Players of Birmingham, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit community theater, presents high quality dramatic, comedic, and musical productions. Everyone is invited to participate on stage, backstage or as an audience member in the theater's main stage, youth theater, and Playwrights@Work productions and programs. The Village Players have been entertaining the community from its location at 34660 Woodward Avenue in Birmingham since 1926.

Photo credit: Paul Manoian


To post a comment, you must register and login.