Lend Me A Tenor: NY Daily News

by Joe DziemianowiczSpeed, finesse and keen comic chops are key ingredients to any farce.Happily, they're all in ample supply in director Stanley Tucci's antic revival of "Lend Me a Tenor."Even so, it doesn't quite cover the fact that Ken Ludwig's play, first on Broadway in 1989, is a yoyo yukfest. There are lots of laughs and lots of lulls.The story, set in 1934, swirls around Tito Merelli, a famous tenor set to lead a benefit performance of "Otello" for the Cleveland Grand Opera Company.Unforeseen circumstances (i.e., misunderstandings and an overdose of tranquilizers) force Max, a company lackey who can sorta sing, to impersonate Tito.Cue: Chaos, hookups and a mistaken-identity gag that gets played (actually, overplayed) every which way - and loose.Dramatic actor Anthony LaPaglia proves himself a deft comic as skirt-chaser Tito and Jan Maxwell is living laughing gas as his hissing, howling hellcat of a wife, Maria. She outdoes this season's earlier standout female comic turn - also hers, in "The Royal Family."The evening's great surprise: Justin Bartha, known for adorable sidekick roles in "National Treasure" and "The Hangover." He's fall-down funny and owns the show as mild-mannered-turned-manly Max.Tony Shalhoub, Mary Catherine Garrison and Jennifer Laura Thompson lend fine support as, respectively, the opera company GM, his daughter and a diva.Thanks to sly business devised by Tucci, which I won't reveal, folks in orchestra center get various keepsakes. Don't be jealous. Some may whisper, "Lend me a tissue."