A Comedy of Tenors at Grove Hall

Emily Southwood - From February 16th through March 4th, Huntingdon’s Grove Hall will showcase Ken Ludwig’s Comedy of Tenors, performed by local actors and directed by Mark Bye. Billed this season as six evenings of dinner theatre catered by Chef Annie, and three Sunday Matinees, the British farce is sure to be a popular follow up to Lend Me a Tenor, which had Valley crowds busting a gut in 2015. In preparation for the play’s run, cast and crew have already been taking significant time away from their busy lives to rehearse at Grove Hall. What’s clear from a bird’s eye view is that everyone is having a blast. When asked about how each community theatre production is cast, Tina Tucker Bye explains that she sometimes approaches people specifically for a role. Such was the case with Alla Buskin who will play Tatiana Racon. “Sometimes it’s just a look or something about them that I think will translate on stage,” she explains. “We also tend to have more men than women involved in theatre from in the area, which is contrary to the standard of more actresses in theatre.” As for why they chose another Ken Ludwig, which will mark their 3rd Ludwig production, Tina explains, “People really want a comedy these days, an escape. A script like this also tends to work for a bilingual audience.” In Comedy of Tenors, Tito and Maria Mirelli (played by Howard Welburn and Tina Tucker Bye) are in Paris for the "Concert of the Century," which is being produced by their old friend Saunders (Chris Crilly) with the help of his dogsbody Max (Connor Stacey). Before long fiery tempers and huge egos ignite and mistaken identities ensue, doors slam and clothes fly in all directions. Audiences can expect returning Grove Hall acts Iris Delagrange as Mimi Mirelli and Jeremie Roy as Carlos Nucci, as well as a debut performance from Alla Buskin as Tatiana Racon. There will be nine shows over the show’s run—six dinner theatres on Friday and Saturday evenings, and three Sunday matinees. Seating is limited and reservations must be made well in advance to ensure preference of shows and to get accurate numbers to the chef who has designed a Parisian menu around the show’s theme. See www.grovehall.ca for more information.