Theater Review: You Will Exit ‘A Comedy Of Tenors’ Laughing

“We all need some comedy in our lives right now,” was overheard as the audience exited Quogue Community Hall the other night. Indeed.

That’s exactly what we got the other night at the Hampton Theatre Company’s lively and buoyant production of “A Comedy of Tenors.” It’s a farce in two acts, a story of unimpeded egos, mistaken identities—don’t all farces turn on that plot point?—and of course, sex, that add up to an overturned barrel of frenetic fun. Ken Ludwig’s smart, zany script is brought to life there with first-rate acting. This is community theater?

Well, yes, if we are talking about the semi-professional group in Quogue that combines local well-oiled talent with a sprinkling of folks with their Actors’ Equity membership.

We’ve come to expect the troupe in Quogue to have Sean Marbury’s splendid sets; this one is a 1930s French hotel suite with, of course, several doors for exits and entrances, true to farce form. We have come to count on Diana Marbury’s excellent direction at least once (or twice) a season; Theresa LeBrun’s swell costumes, Sebastian Paczynski’s spot-on lighting, and a crowd of the troupe’s loyalists always in attendance, even on rainy nights.

But what we didn’t expect was the three tenors of the title would burst full-throated into operatic song and be, well, damn good to a man. And that includes regulars here who are known for their acting, not their musical ability. At the end of the first act, their performance was beautiful but all too brief. Quite simply, they blew me away.

Edward A. Brennan, whom I fondly remember as the upstanding moralist of J.B. Priestley’s “An Inspector Calls” a few seasons back, has the big, beefy frame of an aging tenor (Tito) whose best days are behind him. Mr. Brennan here is a ham par excellence, but when it’s time to sing, wow, he turns it on. If I’d known that he is a professional for hire, and is a regular at St. Lawrence the Martyr in Sayville, I might not have not have been so surprised when the vocals began.

But alas, poor Tito is being upstaged and out sung on the Paris radio by newcomer Carlo Nucco—handsome, suave, and unbeknown to Tito, in love with Tito’s presumably virginal daughter. Connor Antico from Rye, New York, was imported for the role after recently closing the same show at the well-known Arrow Rock Lyceum Theater in Missouri. In real life, Mr. Antico is a 2018 graduate of Pace University in musical theater.

Perhaps the real surprise was the musical gift of one the Hampton Theatre Company’s regulars, Matthew Conlon, who plays Max. He’s a tenor who’s looking for his first break, but in the meantime, is the lap dog and son-in-law of Saunders (Terrance Fiore), the demanding impresario of the upcoming concert this trio will perform in just two-and-a-half hours, and the clock is ticking fast. Mr. Conlon’s voice is rich and resonant and—dare I say it?—the best of the lot. Let’s hear more of him.

But what are egotistical, sexy tenors without the women in their lives? In this case, a busty, lusty wife for Tito, Maria (Catherine Maloney), along with a former lover, Russian diva Racon (Cesa Pledger), who also sings, and Tito and Maria’s daughter, Mimi (Amanda Griemsmann). None of the actors leave unfilled a single opportunity for hamming it up, thank goodness.

To explain the plot that embroils these characters (Mr. Brennan also appears as a signing bellhop) would be to waste space and the reader’s time. “A Comedy of Tenors” is the follow-up farce to Mr. Ludwig’s “Lend Me a Tenor”—I see a theme developing here—which was nominated for nine Tonys and snagged two. A musical theme may be developing in Quogue, for Hampton Theatre Company will be putting on its first musical ever, “Man of La Mancha,” in the spring.

With all the gloom and tension surrounding the country right now as we seemingly move inch by inch towards the midterms, it was fortuitous that the Hampton Theatre Company opened its 34th season with “A Comedy of Tenors.” It’s a much-needed antidote to all politics all the time. This is rich and frothy production, an all-around delight, with voices to match.

You will exit in good spirits.

Hampton Theatre Company’s production of “A Comedy of Tenors” continues at Quogue Community Hall, 125 Jessup Avenue, Quogue, through November 11 with shows on Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. An additional matinée performance will be offered on Saturday, November 10. Tickets are $30, $25 for seniors, $20 for under 35, and $10 for students. Calling 1-866-811-4111 or visit hamptontheatre.org.