Review: All components click in 'Tenor' Published Saturday March 20, 2004 BY JIM DELMONT WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Ken Ludwig's "Lend Me a Tenor" is a classic farce in the French mode, even down to the detail of six set doors with characters flying in and out.
With a mistaken-identity premise, "Tenor" offers a real opera singer and a fake one, both dressed in black fright wigs with blackface (because they're both planning to sing Verdi's "Othello").

Denise Chevalier plays Maggie in the Bellevue Little Theatre's production of "Lend Me a Tenor."	A batch of characters is put into frenzied motion from the start, establishing a zany, high-pitched comic tone that never stops. There are endless physical gags and collisions, courtesy of both the script and director Don Nguyen. The first two actors on stage, Jeffrey Pierce as Max and Denise Chevalier as Maggie, inaugurate the comic mode in a duet that lasts for much of the first scene. Their success in creating and sustaining a noisy physical comedy makes the entire show work thereafter. Pierce has to play not only Max, but Max in disguise as Tito, a real Italian tenor who passes out and is thought to be dead (thus inspiring Max to go on in his place, with proper makeup). Nguyen handles his revolving-door comedy on a split set with admirable ease, moving his actors around in what amounts to a miracle of timing. The result is a play that resembles a Marx Brothers comedy from the 1930s, at times with the two actor-tenors in makeup on opposite sides of the set. Pierce's performance in an exhausting role is outstanding, as is that of Eduardo Millan as the real Tito. Millan also is a real opera singer and does justice to those moments when he must sing. Chevalier is a real find, a delightful performer standing out in a delightful cast. Since there are two Titos, various wives and girlfriends are wont to romance the wrong Tito, providing some of the play's biggest laughs. Classic farce requires actors who must not act as if acting crazy but must act as though they really are crazy. If this is done, everything clicks - as it does in this production. D. Laureen Pickle is a hoot as Tito's stage wife, Maria, huffing and puffing around, ready to trash Tito for playing around with groupies. Groupies include Marry Carrick, splendid in a silver lamé dress with a boa; Stacey Badura-Koterba as a blond cutie; and Jennifer Gilg, in offbeat casting as a bellhop. Patrick Schwery is good as the impresario putting on the show that almost doesn't go on - and as the father of Maggie.
BLT offers fast-pace farce with 'Lend Me a Tenor' Review by Jason Keese Published Wednesday March 24, 2004 Before the opening of "Lend Me A Tenor" last weekend at the Bellevue Little Theatre, director Don Nguyen expressed concern about the show's pacing. Specifically, he was worried the show wasn't moving quickly enough. Nguyen needn't have worried. "Lend Me A Tenor," which runs for the next two weekends, is a two-hour sprint, filled with fast talking, fast walking and fast jokes. It's not only a farce, it's a farce on steroids. It has more slamming doors than a house full of angry teenagers, more falling down than a baby learning to walk, more comical mix-ups than a classic sitcom. Simply put, if you love the farce genre, this show is for you. "Lend Me A Tenor" tells the fictional story of world-famous tenor Tito Morelli and his scheduled performance at the Cleveland Grand Opera's 1934 season-opening performance of "Othello," in which he'll play the lead role. Saunders, the opera's manager, hopes Morelli's performance will propel Cleveland into the opera big-time. But the performance seems cursed from the beginning. Morelli is late arriving to Cleveland, too late to even rehearse for that night's show. He then gets drunk and passes out, and Saunders and his assistant, Max, mistakenly think he's dead. Then Max, an aspiring singer himself, fills in for Morelli - only to have Morelli wake up in the meantime. In the midst of all this operatic confusion, Max has a crush on Saunders' daughter, Maggie, who in turn has the hots for Morelli. The script is ripe for a great farcical performance, but it's the show's deft acting and directing that make this a notable performance. The show's acting anchor is, without a doubt, Jeff Pierce. He plays Max and transforms the role from co-star to show-stealer. I last saw Pierce a few years ago in "3 Guys Naked From the Waist Down" at Shelterbelt Theatre, a three-hour marathon in which he delivered a high-energy, schizophrenic and ultimately brilliant performance. Pierce is no less brilliant in "Lend Me A Tenor." He oozes nervous energy. He walks in a herky-jerky motion, like his limbs are controlled by a marionette. His voice cracks and squeaks and screams. The show's dialogue is relentlessly fast, but Pierce never misses a beat. Nor do any of his fellow cast members. Patrick Schwery, in the role of Saunders, offers a more controlled but no less commanding performance. Denise Chevalier, making her BLT debut, shines in the starring role of Maggie. Eduardo Millan, as Tito Morelli, doesn't let the fact that he can actually speak Italian get in the way of a comically bad Italian accent - "She-uh hates me-uh. I want to-uh kill myself-uh." Making smaller but equally stellar performances are Stacey Badura-Koterba as Diana, Mary Carrick as Julia, Jennifer Gilg as the bellhop and D. Laureen Pickle as Tito's wife, Maria Morelli. Leading the cast, of course, is Don Nguyen as director. The show's pacing is relentless and never misses a beat, something Nguyen can certainly take credit for. This is only the second time Nguyen has directed a show at the BLT, but let's hope he comes back soon. "Lend Me A Tenor" runs about two hours, and that includes a 15-minute intermission. There is some swearing, as well as some sexually charged banter, so parents be advised.
Pratfalls aplenty in terrific Tenor Julien R. Fielding PerformanceOmaha.com Actors falling over couches, hitting their heads on doors, having suitcases slammed repeatedly on their chests … it’s a wonder that Bellevue Little Theatre’s cast of Lend Me a Tenor made it to opening night in one piece. This is physical comedy to the ninth degree, and even though I fear that by the farce’s end everyone will be on crutches, and in the case of Jeff Pierce, a full-body cast, many of these slapstick moments will have you laughing so hard that you’ll be gasping for air. Don Nguyen, director, has taken already cartoonish characters and stretched them as far as he can. The result is pure hilarity. Cleveland Grand Opera Company is thrilled that world-famous tenor Tito Merelli (Eduardo Millan) has come from Italy to perform Otello, his greatest role, at the gala season-opener. Saunders (Pat Schwery), the company’s general manager, hopes that this will put Cleveland on the operatic map. The situation starts out bad, though, and progressively gets worse. Max (Pierce), Saunders’ assistant and gopher, comes back from the train station to reveal that Tito isn’t anywhere to be found. Then when the tenor finally does turn up, with his jealous and irritated wife, Maria (D. Laureen Pickle), he’s sick to the point of throwing up. He eats too much, as Maria explains, so he can get breasts. A budding opera singer, Max lets his ambitions get the best of him and he puts tranquilizers into the opera singer’s alcoholic drink. Combined with the previous drugs he’s taken, this new mixture puts Tito over the edge and he passes out. Because his pulse is so low, Saunders and Max believe that he is dead. Not wanting to lose the money they’ve raised nor risk looking like amateurs, they determine that the show will go on with Max disguised in black face, a curly black wig and Otello costume. Since this is a farce, Act One ends with Tito waking from his stupor. Ken Ludwig’s script contains characters and situations that seem plucked from a Saturday morning animated lineup. Max is so nervous and jittery that I was afraid he might spontaneously combust. (Wouldn’t that have been spectacular?) He’s like so many nervous cats in the Warner Brothers cartoons. (Nervous? Yup!) Had the scenes between the bellhop (Jennifer Gilg) and Saunders been animated, it would have been Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam chasing each other around a hotel. With her curly blonde wig and fawning ways, Julia (Mary Carrick) reminded me of Miss Piggy. All she needed were a few French phrases and some enthusiastic "hi-yahs." Ludwig’s script gets so outrageous towards the end that I half expected a giant anvil or grand piano to come from the ceiling and squish one of the characters. Nguyen found his ideal cast for this show and there isn’t one dud, which is essential to a show that’s basically an ensemble piece. Pierce speaks in a nervous, high-pitched manner and twists his hands a lot. I had a difficult time putting my finger on who he reminded me of until he donned his black face. Then it clicked. With that crazy curly hair, he’s a young Gene Wilder in Silver Streak. The killer is when he assumes his Italian accent and suave persona, though. Very funny. Denise Chevalier is a born comedienne and has one of the most expressive faces in town. In Lend Me a Tenor she plays Maggie, Saunder’s hot-to-trot daughter and Max’s fiance. She’s the type of romantic who doesn’t believe she’s in love unless she hears bells ringing. In this role, Chevalier must be seductive and screwball. She does both quite well. Stacey Badura-Koterba plays Diana, a curvy blonde singer who’s willing to do anything to advance her career, including disappear into the bathroom and come back out in a towel. She’s the type of character that Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe frequently played. Not surprisingly, Badura-Kotera actually looks like a cross between these classic Hollywood goddesses and has a similar comic timing. She also does a good job of screwing up Tito’s name – she calls him everything from Toto to Tonto – without drawing too much attention to the fact that she’s doing it. It makes it that much funnier. Gilg plays a part designed for a male, but you wouldn’t know it. Although her voice might be a bit too high for a 20-year-old male, she comes across as a cheeky teen-ager whose only dream it is to meet Tito Merelli. (Nice jump and heel click.) The first time you see Carrick, she’s swanning around in a silver dress, a tiara, a black feather boa. And, at one point, she even clucks like a chicken. Nguyen described her character as a "dodo bird" and that’s probably the best description you’re going to get. She’s sexually charged but in an eccentrically scary way. Does this woman exist in real life? I hope not. A versatile actor, Schwery has gone from playing the antisocial bad guy in Wait Until Dark to this comic, high-strung character. BLT audiences might not recognize this is the same person. Schwery keeps the energy level high in Lend Me a Tenor and impresses with his comic gifts. Of all the characters, my favorite are the emotionally charged Merellis. Alternating between Italian and Italian accents, Millan and Pickle demonstrate exceptional chemistry; they seem like a real-life married couple. She’s a fussy, demanding, henpecking woman who is sick of her husband’s (imagined) infidelities. She’s a slow boiler but when she reaches her peak of fury, watch out. Every minute that Pickle was onstage I was howling with laughter. (For the third or fourth time, the actress is made to sit in front of a dressing mirror, fixing her hair – she also did this in Sunday in the Park and King & I - I’m beginning to think this is a running gag.) Millan finds the heart of this character who could be just a one-dimensional tenor. Like many Italians, Tito is a man who loves good food, drink and song; he’s a real bon vivant. (My favorite line about Tito: "He’s Italian. They kiss everything. If they move, they kiss it.") But in Millan’s hands he also comes across as genuinely warm and giving. The moments he shares with Pierce, enthusiastically teaching him how to sing, are funny and heartwarming. Millan makes Tito so likable that you feel genuinely sorry that everything goes wrong for him. My only despair about this show is that it doesn’t contain more opera. We get a hint of it when Tito gives Max a singing lesson but that’s all too brief. If this were to be made into a film, I can see the possibilities. Watching Max as he goes onstage and sings his heart out, even for a short time, with the roaring of the crowd behind him would add tremendously to the impact of the second Act. It’s also too bad that this show doesn’t have more singing because Carrick, Pickle and Millan are members of the Opera Omaha chorus. They can sing the material that this show dances around. Pierce, too, is a phenomenal singer as is Gilg. Sometimes the stumbling and falling goes from being funny to worrisome – I kept wondering how Pierce is going to make it through this play’s run – but it’s all good. I generally dislike farce and have been known to sit in stony silence throughout an entire show. So it’s a testament to Nguyen and his cast’s talents that I laughed as much as I did on Friday night. Everything just came together as it should. And wait until you see the curtain call. That’s like icing on the cake! Bravo! Lend Me a Tenor continues through April 4 at the Bellevue Little Theatre. TENOR HITS HIGH NOTES Dee Patney - Omaha Weekly Reader Lend Me A Tenor, the latest offering from the Bellevue Little Theatre, is the type of comedy htat keeps the audience lcoked in "big, goofy grin" mode.  One can't help but smile, when not outright guffawing, at the rousing ribaldry of this slapstick farce about mistaken identities involving a Cleveland opera production of Otello. Director Don Nguyen keeps the plot moving at a madcap pace that never falters and does a superb job of ratcheting up the anarchy to absurd heights.  At the same time, his work here is a study in eye-of-the-storm focus. Though the action may occur simultaneously on both sides of the split stage, the director has a hypnotic ability to plot audience member's attention wherver he wants, shifting it away from what's happening elsewhere until it hits them with pie-in-the-face precision. Nguyen's genuis shines most brilliantly, however, between the final line and the curtain call, as he runs the cast throught a near wordless fast-motion version of the play that's just occurred.  The actors' dash through this opera scored fast forward executing every pratfall, door slam and head bump with such balletic grace that it is surprising to find no choreographer credited in the program. The actors make this night at the opera a night to remember as well. How can the audience forget Jeffrey Pierce as Max, the ever-perspiring frantic wannabe whose nerves keep him from reaching his high-note dreams?  Or Denise Chevalier as the ingenue Maggie, whose rolling eyes and rubber face make her a joy to watch, even when she's doing virtually nothing?  Or Jennifer Gilg as the tough bellhop with a Tweety Pie voice and Mary Carrick as the bloviating afficianado with a Woody Woodpecker laugh?  Be forewarned, though.  Chock full of innuendo, this is not a play for children.  Theatregoers squemish about political incorrectness also may want to avoid this one, with its loud, overheated Italian stereotypes, sometimes performed in blackface, no less.  Luckily, most audience members probably won't be too offended.  They'll be too busy laughing.