43
"Lend Me a Tenor" is an old-school farce
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
The Youngstown Playhouse will close its season with the old-school farce “Lend Me a Tenor” with John Cox directing.
The comedy written by Ken Ludwig opened on the West End in 1986 and Broadway in 1989.
Cox last saw the play during its 2010 Broadway revival, which starred Tony Shalhoub and Anthony LaPaglia, and pitched it to the Playhouse’s play-selection committee.
“I laughed out loud several times when I saw it in New York,” said Cox, who has a soft spot for slapstick. He admits to being fan of The Three Stooges, the Little Rascals and Charlie Chaplin while growing up. “It has good writing, mistaken identities, a lot of in and out of doors, and physical comedy, which I like a lot.”
When the Playhouse was in financial trouble and on the verge of closing a few years ago, Cox stepped in to direct “Barefoot in the Park” and “Blues in the Night” just to keep the lights on.
But “Lend Me a Tenor” will mark the first time he’ll direct a play that had been scheduled in advance.
The play is set in Cleveland in 1934, where the local opera company brings in Tito Morelli, a Pavarotti-like singer. After Morelli takes too many sleeping pills, an assistant steps in to take his place on stage. When Morelli wakes up, the mayhem begins.
Because the play is set in Cleveland, Cox said it’s well-suited for the area.
The Playhouse production will have an elaborate set, befitting a fancy hotel, created by Jim Lybarger and John Pecano.
The cast includes Jason Green starring as Max, Medford Mashburn as the singer Morelli in his theater debut, and Corina Daugherty, Victor Garcia, Denis Scully, Cyndi Plyler, Dylan White and Lauren Wenick.
Cox, who is a pediatrician, has known Mashburn for years — the two were lab technicians at North Side Hospital. Mashburn is also a doctor and is now director of hospice care at the hospital.
“He called me up about ‘Tenor’ and wound up with the part,” said Cox. “He is doing a good job.”