Presented by: Tea Tree Players
Reviewed: 13 August 2026
Based on his hugely successful Lend Me a Tenor, this is Ken Ludwig’s new, female-forward version, premiered in 2022. It’s great to see local companies such as Tea Tree Players, taking on more recently-written pieces, even if they are not ‘contemporary’ in the full sense of the word.
It is 1934, and Lucille, manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera, has put her career on the line to bring renowned Italian soprano Elena Firenzi to Ohio for a special one-night performance as Carmen (although why Ludwig had a soprano singing Carmen, which is a mezzo role, is a tad inexplicable…). Lucille and her assistant Jo await the arrival in her hotel suite. Elena is running late, but eventually turns up along with her jealous husband Pasquale, who, in his defence, has much to be jealous about, given Elena’s man-eating reputation. The afternoon continues to disintegrate, with the big opening night looking less likely to happen, and Lucille becoming more frantic with every mishap.
Ludwig knows how to write an old-style classic farce. All the action takes place in the hotel suite, and there is plenty: door slamming, bed-hopping, mistaken identity, too many sleeping pills, and lots of hiding in closets. Bits of more sophisticated humour are sprinkled amongst the general silliness, and the whole play just oozes naïve delight at the follies of humans.
Veteran director Barry Hill knows this type of theatre like the back of his hand. He guides his ensemble cast around the stage in an easy, logical, relaxed way, with only one or two ‘standing-in-a-line-down-stage’ moments. He keeps the action, and the dialogue, tight and taut, as a consequence of which there are almost no missed beats. This type of play looks easy to do, but it is very difficult to do well. This was no doubt helped by the incredible set design of Damon Hill.
At the centre of the ensemble is another Adelaide stage ‘vet’, Dianne k Lang who has come out of semi-retirement to take on the role of Lucille. Lang’s work is utterly faultless in characterisation, physicality, and comic timing. Let’s hope she takes on more of these roles in the future. All the way from Minnesota (not TOO far from Ohio!) is Amanda Mai as Jo, who brings a delightful freshness and authenticity to this role, lifting Jo out of being a bit of a drip (which I sense she could be). Theresa Dolman clearly has a ball playing Elena, and works beautifully with Jay Mancuso as Pasquale. The rest of the cast all put in solid performances and feed off each other’s energy.
Lend Me a Soprano is a night of endless laughs, warmth, and delight. Tea Tree Players know how to bring the audiences in, and continue to provide quality theatre at a low price, in their gorgeous mini-Drury Lane in the suburbs. Only gripe is…why start at 8 pm instead of the fairly standard 7.30? It does make for a quite late night…
Grab tickets quick, because this is one theatre company that almost always sells out early!
Venue:Â Â Tea Tree Players Theatre
Season:Â Â 12 August – 22 August
Duration:Â Â 2 hours 30 including 20 min interval
Tickets:Â Â $19 – $22 (plus booking fee)
Bookings:Â Â https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1505720?&track=website
