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Director of Theater, A. Victor Jones speaks with an associate in the Wagner Theater during a rehearsal for the production of "Hello, Dolly!" at Ohio University Lancaster.
Ohio University Lancaster Theatre is pleased to announce its first live production in the Wagner Theatre this year, Ken Ludwig’s “A Comedy of Tenors.” Performances run from Wednesday, March 30, to Saturday, April 2, at 7 p.m., with a matinee on Sunday, April 3, at 3 p.m.
Artistic Director and Assistant Professor of Instruction Victor Jones said he loves directing comedies and specifically working with Ludwig scripts, having previously produced “Moon Over Buffalo” and “Lend Me a Tenor,” at OHIO Lancaster Theatre
“Ohio University Lancaster was honored when ‘Moon Over Buffalo’ was a Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival nominee and received several awards for the production,” Jones said. “Back in 2014, we performed ‘Lend Me a Tenor’ and some of those characters are also featured in ‘A Comedy of Tenors.’ We are having so much fun during rehearsals.”
“A Comedy of Tenors” tells the story of one hotel suite, four tenors, two wives, three girlfriends, and a soccer stadium filled with screaming fans. It’s 1930s Paris and the stage is set for the concert of the century – as long as producer Henry Saunders can keep Italian superstar Tito Merelli and his hot-blooded wife, Maria, from causing runaway chaos. Audiences can prepare for an uproarious ride, full of mistaken identities, bedroom hi-jinks, and madcap delight.
The theater program is also excited to welcome back an OHIO Lancaster and theatre alumni for “A Comedy of Tenors.” Connor Daughtery earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting from Ohio University and spent two of his years at Ohio University at the Lancaster campus. He returned to the theatre program as an alumni guest artist for the production of “I Hate Hamlet.”
“It's great to come back to OHIO Lancaster as a guest alumni,” Daughtery said. “I've worked with Victor Jones for many years and he is always a joy to collaborate with. He picks out a lot of great material that challenges newcomers and veterans alike and it's always fun to learn your way through a show while watching your fellow cast members learn their way through it themselves.”
Daughtery has also found opportunities to act with the Actor’s Theatre in Columbus, Ohio, playing Lord Hades in last summer’s production of Sarah Ruhl’s “Eurydice.”
"‘A Comedy of Tenors’ is the first traditional farce I've ever performed in. As an actor, it is important to value the reality of the scene above all else, especially in something like a comedy, which can often prove distracting,” Daughtery said. “I'm sure anyone who's watched some of the classic Saturday Night Live sketches can see just how hard it is to maintain focus in a scene when observing it from the perspective of an audience member. That and timing and coordination are so key with a production like this. Every little piece ultimately leads to the flow and punchlines of this show, so making sure every beat we want to nail night by night will prove to be just as thrilling of a challenge.”