Show dates run March 3 through March 19; tickets on sale now

Love Street Playhouse is kicking off its 2023 season with the presentation of Ken Ludwig’s farcical comedy, Lend Me A Tenor. 

Show dates run March 3 through March 19 at Love Street Playhouse, located at 126 Loves Ave in Woodland. Single tickets are $23 and are on sale at www.lovestreetplayhouse.com.

Lend Me A Tenor is described as “a head spinning, mind boggling, door slamming comedy of mistaken identities that will surely have you hooting and hollering as you laugh the night away.’’

The show

On a very important night for the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, Tito Merelli (played by Lou Pallotta), the world-famous Italian tenor, is set to perform the starring role in Pagliacci. Henry Saunders (played by Rick Barr), General Manager of the opera company, is beyond stressed about everything turning out right, and insists that his assistant, Max (played by Adam Pithan) — a nervous, young fellow and secret tenor extraordinaire – watch over Tito’s every move to ensure smooth sailing. After a huge fight with his fiery, Italian wife Maria (played by Sharon Mann), Tito receives a double dose of tranquilizers through a series of mishaps. 

Throw in Diana (played by Marcella Laasch), an ambitious, female co-star; Maggie (played by Lynn Lavon), Max’s giddy girlfriend; Julia (played by Lexy Dillon), a flirty head of the opera guild; and a meddling bellhop (played by Henry Lorch) fighting for Tito’s attention. Together, you have a recipe for comedic disaster. Max navigates the company through one catastrophe after the next — an angry wife, a presumed death, crazy costumes, secret sex romps, and loads and loads of slamming doors and mistaken identities — and, ultimately, takes on the role of Pagliacci to great effect. Together, Max and Saunders find a way to save the Opera Company’s big night in grand, farcical fashion.

Director Melinda Pallotta has assembled a talented cast of seasoned veterans for this hilarious production. Starring in Lend Me A Tenor is Adam Pithan of Longview playing the role of Max; Rick Barr of Vancouver playing Saunders; Lou Pallotta of Ridgefield playing Tito; Sharon Mann of Vancouver playing Maria; Lynn Lavon of Vancouver playing Maggie; Marcella Laasch of Vancouver playing Diana; Lexy Dillon of Boring OR playing Julia; and Henry Lorch of Vancouver playing the Bellhop.

The creative team

The creative team includes Love Street Playhouse Owner and Artistic Director Melinda Pallotta (Director and Set Designer); Love Street Owner Lou Pallotta (Managing Director), Mikail Nordquist of Longview (Lighting Designer), Lorraine Little of Longview (Costume Designer), Julisa Wright of Longview (Sound Designer), Kenzie Yancey of Vancouver (Hair and Makeup Designer); David Bareford of Woodland (Movement Coach); and Kalyn Flatt of LaCenter (Stage Manager).

Single tickets to Lend Me A Tenor start at $23 and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online at www.LoveStreetPlayhouse.com or by phone at (800) 966-8865. Performances run March 3-19, 2023. 

Performance times: 

• Friday, March 3 at 7:30  p.m.
• Saturday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m., 
• Sunday, March 5 at 2:00 p.m., 
• Friday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m., 
• Saturday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m., 
• Sunday, March 12 at 2:00 p.m.
• Thursday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m.
• Friday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m., 
• Saturday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m., 
• Sunday, March 19 at 2:00 p.m.

Local businesses contributing to Love Street Playhouse include Holland America Flowers, Benno Dobbe, Owner and President, Columbia Bank, A Cabin Atop Kalama River in Woodland, Third Street Villas in Woodland, Woodland Truck Line, Lewis River Studios of Woodland, Business Cents NW of Vancouver, Woodland Funeral Home, Erica Rodman of Woodland Real Estate, Lelooska Foundation, Crisp Home Connection of Woodland and Evergreen Leadership of Vancouver.