The ubiquitous Bob Murrell who has acted on most stages in the area, brought the frantic to Max, nerd-ily wooing Maggie (Alaina Kraus) and trying to follow orders from boss Saunders (John Morovitz) when Italian opera star Tito (Quentin Brainerd II) and his wife (Nicole Davis) arrived late/sick/fighting - with Maggie, the Opera Guild matron (Deb Knipe) the bellhop (Doug Strong) and the sexy soprano (Mary Jo Damm Strong) all finagling to meet the celebrity. When the star is accidentally drugged to a presumed "death," Max is persuaded to stand in and sing Othello - and soon there are TWO bewigged, black-faced tenors bounding through the many doors. Kudos to Greg Freeman for a sturdy door-filled set where hiding in closets/bathrooms and slipping in and out of hallways and between rooms kept them slamming throughout.
Bob does his best to bring the necessary energy and pace to this wacky script, but is not always matched by his colleagues. The best scenes are with Bob and Quentin, the two "tenors" who played off each other well, had good comic timing - and were fine singers, too, in their opera duet -- a musical highlight of this "nonmusical" show.
Owosso is a bit of a trip but it's easy to find the "Studio Theatre" on the main street right next to the famed, historic, Lebowsky Theatre that is almost done with its RE-renovation and will open with SHREK May 9-18.
Lend Me a Tenor continues to offer farcical fun through March 30 - Fridays & Saturdays at 8; Sundays at 3.http://owossoplayers.com/