Fort Kent’s theater program will host dinner and a show with its upcoming production of Ken Ludwig’s “Lend Me a Tenor” next month.
Earlier this year, the theater program won the Class B regional competition in Brewer, which it has done about 15 times in the past 30 years.
The play, originally written in the mid-1980s, focuses on the production of an opera and is set in a hotel with a split set that lets the audience see into two rooms.
“It’s a lot of fun, which is what you want at a dinner theater,” said Theater Director Doug Clapp.
The play takes place in the 1930s. In the hotel, world-famous opera tenor Tito Merelli arrives and prepares for a performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Otello,” based on the Shakespeare play “Othello.”
The action soon devolves into comedic misunderstandings, and the opera house manager’s assistant Max is eventually mistaken for Tito.
While the original play’s more adult themes and elements have been toned down for the high school version of the play, it is likely on par with a PG-13 film, Clapp said.
The set has about half a dozen doors and chaos ensues as the plot progresses.
“You have two guys who are ‘Tito’ running around, and then with the split room it’s just zany,” he said.
Will Gullick, an 11th grader who has been involved in theater for a year, plays Max. He joined because he had to sit through rehearsals with his sister, who was his ride home, he said. He thought it looked fun and decided to join himself.
“It is fun to really build a character and help build a show, to watch it come together and create that,” he said.
Gullick is having fun with rehearsals and looks forward to the performance.
Madawaska 11th grader Samantha Chasse will also perform. She has been acting since eighth grade, and eventually decided to audition for one of Fort Kent’s productions. She plays Maggie, the daughter of the opera house manager and Max’s love interest.
She enjoys the community aspect of acting and being able to portray different characters, she said.
“I like being able to do something completely different from what I would normally do,” she said. “And the other half of it is that I get to hang around with people I enjoy being around.”
9th grader Shanelle Rossignol, who has acted since 5, plays Tito’s wife Maria. whom she describes as a “mean Italian woman.”
“I love the people and the bonds that you make over the years,” she said. “And I’ve always just loved being on stage. It’s great to just not be yourself sometimes.”
9th grader Troy Celik plays Tito Merelli, and like Rossignol has been acting since he was 5. He has fun inhabiting characters with personalities that are completely different from his own.
“It’s how I act best,” he said. “It’s so fun to get to be either incredibly zany or incredibly evil, or any combination of those.”
Performances will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, June 4 through 6, at the Fort Kent Community High School cafetorium.
Tickets are $26 and include a full meal with dessert and beverages. Proceeds from the ticket sales will directly benefit the drama club.
