The Resident Theater Company (A New York Theater in West Chester) is now showing their new Comedy performance Lend Me A Tenor.
Photo taken by ClintonBPhotography
We had the opportunity to attend the opening night this past Friday, at the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center.
Without giving away too much, Lend Me A Tenor by Ken Ludwig is a comedy performance set in 1934. Saunders the general manager of a grand opera company, welcomes the famous tenor singer, Tito Morelli at their hotel suite . Tito is to sing in a one night performance, in Otello. When Tito arrived late with his wife Maria (aurie Wells), they immediately began to argue, and cause chaos. More conflicts arise, as Max, Saunders Assistant tries to fix Tito’s issues himself.
The Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center has a lounge area connected to the theatre space, so we decided to go a little early to have a few drinks before the show. We were allowed to take our drinks into the theater, which was awesome. When I looked around, I saw quite a few older men and women holding glasses of wine, carrying on with one and other. I could tell that the show had a more laid back vibe, compared to regular shows held at the venue.
The show started up with a few corny jokes, giving the crowd a few hearty laughs. The first half was about getting to know the characters, and building up the story. I recognized Michael Yeshion, who played Saunders. He was one of the main characters in Evita, the previous RTC show I was lucky enough to see. We were excited to see him on stage again. Another noteworthy character we liked was Max, played by Woody White. He had a beautiful singing voice, and he also fit his character’s part perfectly. Everyone did a fantastic job.
At the end of the first half, the show leaves you with a huge cliffhanger before breaking for intermission, keeping us on the edge of our seats. There was about a 20 minute intermission, where you could grab another drink or a quick snack.
With the cast introduced, the second act focused on bringing out more laughter. I was not prepared to laugh that hard, or prepared for the chaos we witnessed on stage. The crowd gave the performers a standing ovation at the end of the show.
I would highly recommend going to see this show, it was a great experience for us. I might even go see it twice, and bring my mom and sister along. While children over the age of six are permitted to attend performances, the show is recommended for children ten years and older.
The show will be playing up until December 30th, and you can get your tickets online. A huge thank you goes to RTC, and Uptown! for providing us with the tickets. We absolutely loved it.
