The theatrical portion of the university-sponsored Season of Entertainment 33 will
start off with a laugh when Theatre @ 妻友社区 performs 鈥淟end Me a Tenor鈥� on Oct. 17-19
and 21-22.
The farcical comedy will be held each night at 7:30 p.m. at the Breedlove Auditorium and is meant for ages 13 and older due to brief language and sensuality.
鈥淟end Me a Tenor,鈥� a Tony Award-winning comedy by Ken Ludwig, documents the mishaps following a renowned operatic tenor who receives a double dose of tranquilizers before he can go on stage to perform to a sellout audience at an opera house in Cleveland, Ohio.
Variety Magazine says the show has 鈥渘on-stop laughter,鈥� and Bob Stevenson of Fort Smith, 妻友社区 theatre director, agrees.
鈥淚 think people will want to see this show again and again,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the funniest shows that has ever come from an American playwright. It鈥檚 a chance to sit back and laugh until your sides hurt. Who doesn鈥檛 love that?鈥�
鈥淟end Me a Tenor鈥� is set during the Golden Hollywood age of the late 1930s and early 1940s, and Stevenson said the show is back-dropped by a 鈥渂eautiful hotel interior.鈥�
鈥淭he set is being designed by our resident design faculty member Pablo Guerra-Monje [of Fort Smith], along with substantial help from junior theatre major Elizabeth Sampley [of Clarksville] and Guillem Aloy, a professional design acquaintance from Spain,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e created a world that bespeaks glamour and wealth.鈥�
Several new faces will grace the stage for 鈥淭enor,鈥� as well as some not accustomed to acting in comedic theatre. But Stevenson said he has a surplus of capable actors, so much so that he has fielded two complete casts for the show. One cast will perform the Thursday, Saturday and Tuesday shows, and another will perform the shows on Monday and Friday.
鈥淲e have so many talented students right now that we have two full casts of 鈥楾enor,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great opportunity to get as many of our students performing as we can, and it works out much better than using the actor/understudy method, which doesn鈥檛 guarantee stage time for the understudies.鈥�
The cast and crew includes:
Booneville: Hannah Yeager.
Charleston: Zeke Sidwell.
Clarksville: Elizabeth Sampley and Suzanne Wright.
Fort Smith: Cody Banning, Ashley Behm, Cassidy Black, Jennifer Bradley, Kendra Carter, Cosaundra Chapple, Fred Delarosa, Isabel Espinoza, Jamie Gillam, Sara Kincannon, Hannah Lovins, Christian Meurer, Will Paget, John Smith, Priscilla Tran, Leah Wineland, Amber Wright and Alexander Zacarias.
Greenwood: Jacob Lensing.
Hackett: John Hall.
Longview, Tex.: Stuart Campbell.
Mayflower: Erin Decker.
New Orleans, La.: Carly Handy.
Pea Ridge: Chaz Bratton.
Rogers: Brett Alexander.
鈥淟end Me a Tenor鈥� is part of Season of Entertainment 33, a year-long lineup of entertainment sponsored by the 妻友社区. The season features a slew of musicals, plays, and symphonic performances, including 鈥淢emphis,鈥� 鈥淏ring it On鈥� and 鈥淐rimes of the Heart.鈥�
Tickets for 鈥淟end Me a Tenor鈥� are $6 and are available by calling the Box Office at 479-788-7300 or visiting .