‘Lend Me a Tenor’ delivers the laughs at Grove
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Grove Theater Center has scheduled previews Thursday and Friday for
its next production, Ken Ludwig’s zany comedy hit “Lend Me a Tenor,”
opening Saturday.
Trouble begins for the Cleveland Grand Opera when tenor Tito
Merelli overdoses on sleeping pills right before his debut with the
company. The fun begins when the company’s office assistant (and
aspiring opera singer) Max offers to impersonate him.
The company might have pulled it off, except for the three women
who throw themselves at Tito. Then his jealous Italian wife appears.
Hilarity abounds when a mad lunatic dressed as Otello tries to break
into the theater.
Stirring up the mayhem is Scott Dreier as Max. In his own debut
with Grove Theater Center, Dreier appeared as Seymour in “Little Shop
of Horrors” with the Santa Barbara, Riverside and South Bay Cities
civic light operas, and as Smudge in the production of “Forever
Plaid” in San Diego’s Old Town.
Joining Dreier are Grove Theater veterans David Allen Jones,
Howard Patterson, Terra Shelman and Lisa Enochs and newcomers Charise
Greene, Carol Herman and Joseph Buttler. Artistic Director Kevin
Cochran directs the play.
For more information and to buy tickets, call 238-9998 or go to
www.gtc.org.
Performances are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays
through April 26. Tickets are $17.50 for Thursdays and Sundays,
$19.50 for Saturdays. There is a $5 discount for Burbank residents.
Previews are $10.
The season continues with Grove Theater’s annual production of a
Shakespeare play on its quadricentennial anniversary. This year, the
tradition continues with “Othello” from May 8 to June 7.
GTC Burbank is at 1111-b W. Olive Ave. in Burbank. It is located
in the back of the George Izay Park, behind the Olive Recreation
Center. For tickets, call 238-9998 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday
through Saturday and prior to all performances.
*
Award-winning Los Angeles stage actress Pamela Gordon has joined
the cast of John Belluso’s “Gretty Good Time,” opening April 12 at
the Falcon Theatre in Burbank.
Gordon is a veteran Los Angeles stage performer with numerous
Best Performance awards from L.A. Weekly, Dramalogue and Back Stage
West to her credit. This April, she will receive the Queen of the
Angels Honor from L.A. Weekly for her work in theater.
Her most recent film credits include “The Technical Writer,” which
was in competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Gordon will portray the role of McCloud, originally announced to
be performed by Emmy-award winner Eileen Brennan, who had to leave
the production due to a feature film commitment.
Written by Belluso and directed by Joe Regalbuto, this is the West
Coast premiere for the play.
Frustrated by her life of dependency, a paralytic woman with a
death wish and an irascible sense of humor escapes the confines of
her 1950s nursing home into a surreal dream world. But even amid this
world of fantasy, she finds she still must reconcile the horrors of
her past with the painful reality of her future.
Preview performances begin April 9. The play continues through May
4. Show times are 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 4 p.m.
Sundays. Tickets are $25 to $37.50 with group senior discounts
available except for Saturday shows.
Falcon Theatre is at 4252 Riverside Drive, Burbank. For
reservations, call 955-8101.
* JOYCE RUDOLPH’s column appears Wednesdays. For events happening
this weekend, read her 48 Hours column Saturdays. Reach her at
637-3241.