Drama Club Sponsor Michael Palmieri puts on another play that is sure to keep the audience laughing and entertained.
The Cast and Crew of TJ’s spring play Lend Me A Tenor gear up for opening night. Photo by Tori Wallace
Lend Me a Tenor is a play written by Ken Ludwig, the same writer of a play presented by the TJ Drama Department of few years back called Moon Over Buffalo. TJ’s Drama Club Sponsor, Michael Palmieri, oozed excitement about this new play. “Much like all our other productions, Lend Me a Tenor is bound to be a hit. Lend Me a Tenor is hilarious,” said Palmieri.
The TJ drama program has put on many very successful plays and musicals in recent years, and this is no exception. “Lend Me a Tenor takes place in Cleveland in 1934 when a struggling opera company convinces the world’s greatest tenor singer to perform at their Gala fundraiser,” said Palmieri. “Through a series of mishaps it becomes a full-blown disaster. There are many cases of mistaken identities,” explained Palmieri. “The set is going to be very elaborate with lots and lots of doors. Lend Me a Tenor is a mixed up love story. It is going to be general craziness with a thickening and hilarious plot,” Palmieri said.
In the past, the cast size has differed for TJ’s plays. Book of Days had a cast of 15, Moon Over Buffalo had 11, Mad Woman of Manhattan had 16, but Lend Me a Tenor will have a small cast size of only eight. The size of the cast determines how hard the auditions were. Senior Mariah Linton has been in previous TJ productions and will play Maggie, the daughter of Mr. Saunders and Max’s girlfriend, in Lend Me a Tenor. “With a smaller cast there is an added pressure,” said Linton. “Regardless of your involvement in past plays, you still have to earn your role,” explained Linton. “With a bigger cast there’s definitely still pressure to have a strong audition, but not as much.”
Auditions were recently held and the actors were cast. Jordan Antonio plays the main character named Tito Merelli. “Tito is a very famous Italian Opera singer who is hired to perform at a struggling opera house. He is dubbed by his fans as “stupendo,” meaning stupendous in Italian,” said Antonio.
Sophomore Jessica Holman plays Maria Merelli in the play. “Maria is Tito’s hot-tempered wife. They constantly argue, which makes for a hilarious plot,” explained Holman.
Sophomore Marcos Descalzi plays Henry Saunders. “Henry is an authoritative [jerk] who gets stuff done. This is the funnest role I’ve ever had, as well as the most lines. All my lines combined from past plays are still less than how many lines I have in Lend Me a Tenor,” states Descalzi.
Bobby Perez plays Max, Saunder’s assistant. “At first he’s a pushover,” explained Perez. “He gets bossed around by everyone, but in the end he becomes the head honcho,” said Perez.
Diana, a diva soprano is played by Sophomore Kellsie Forfar-Jones. “My character basically sleeps her way to the top,” explains Forfar-Jones. “Much like some other characters, Diana is trying to get with Tito Merelli, the main opera tenor,” she said.
Julia, the Chairperson of the Cleveland Opera Guild, is played by Sophomore Sarah Puckett. “I play a 60-year-old woman who thinks she’s still got it. Much like Diana, I try and seduce Mr. Merelli,” described Puckett. “Julia is very obnoxious and stays involved in everyone’s drama.”
Anja Oss, a Spartan Freshman, plays the singing bellhop at the hotel who wants to be an opera singer but hasn’t quite made it yet. Palmieri overheard Anja’s interview and had a few things to say. “Anja is very humble and won’t tell you that the part of the bellhop was originally a male role,” he said. “Anja’s audition was so good we gender switched the role just for her,” explained Palmieri.
Lend Me a Tenor is bound to be a hit and Palmieri isn’t the only one excited for the play. Every cast and crew member who interviewed had nothing but positive things to say. Some included things like, “Lend Me a Tenor is going to be one of the most fun plays TJ has ever put on.” Others stated, “I’m absolutely excited for this play. It’s going to be a lot of fun and completely hilarious.” And finally, “If you don’t laugh throughout the play, something’s wrong with you.”
Everyone who gets the chance should make it to at least one showing of Lend Me a Tenor, which runs Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, March 13-16. Tickets are available at the door or in advance online here.
