When one door closes, another one opens, according to inventor Alexander Graham Bell. In Wagon Wheel Theatre’s production of “Lend Me a Tenor”, there’s just a lot of doors slamming. For actors Stephen Anthony and David Schlumpf, the first doors that opened for them that got them into acting were “Jungle Book” and “A Christmas Carol The Musical” respectively. “I must have been 10 or 11. I just jumped right in, I haven’t stopped,” said Anthony. “The first show that had an impact on me was ‘Jungle Book’.” Anthony has one more year at Florida State before he graduates and receives his bachelor’s degree in musical theater. “One more year of school, then who knows? It’s a big scary world out there. I can’t wait to be doing things like this. I’ve never worked with a team like this,” Anthony said. He came to the Wagon Wheel this year after his friend Hillary Smith worked at the theater in 2010. Anthony said Smith just raved about working at the WWT, so he looked it up. The audition was a blast, and he knew he wanted to work at the Wagon Wheel if he was offered a contract. Schlumpf’s first show, “A Christmas Carol”, was in the fifth grade. He worked in theater off and on until college. His parents wanted him to get a liberal arts degree, so he went to the University of Florida, a rival of Anthony’s Florida State. Initially, Schlumpf double majored in mechanical engineering and musical theater. The engineering major didn’t last more than a semester, he said. Now living in Chicago, Schlumpf made his way to the Wagon Wheel through veterans of the theater who opened some doors for him. Brianna (Borger) Aguilar, a WWT alum, was hosting a dinner in Chicago. Wagon Wheel directors/actors Tony Humrichouser and Andy Robinson also happened to be there. Schlumpf was told about the theater’s auditions for the summer 2011 season. Since Schlumpf had no summer plans, he “crashed the callbacks,” he said. He didn’t have any doors slammed on him, and wound up with several roles this summer season. In graduate school now, he just finished his first of three years in the graduate program. He’ll be splitting his time between school, fine-tuning his craft and networking in the Chicago market. In “Lend Me a Tenor”, Schlumpf plays Tito Morelli, known to his fans as “Il Stupendo.” Set in Cleveland in 1934, Schlumpf said, Tito is a world-famous tenor coming to Cleveland to perform. His performance is a big deal for the opera company. But some crazy things end up happening, which will keep audiences on their toes, he said. “I don’t want to give too much away,” Schlumpf said. Anthony plays Max. “Max is very unsure of himself,” Anthony said. “He’s always underfoot and tries to stay out of everyone’s way. He’s an assistant. Through the course of the play, he has to learn to be a man and come into his own, to stand up for himself.” “I think it’s a situational farce where everything that could go wrong, does go wrong,” said Schlumpf. The characters are kept on their toes, Anthony said. “Lots of door slamming, mistaken identities,” said Schlumpf. Anthony added, “There’s lots of misunderstandings that turn into innuendo.” “As soon as you think it can’t get crazier,” said Schlumpf, “something else happens.” A neat thing about “Lend Me A Tenor”, said Anthony, is that the audience knows more about what is going on than the characters do so the audience is in on the joke. “Lend Me a Tenor” is a comedic play by Ken Ludwig. It was produced on the West End in 1986, and then Broadway in 1989. It received seven Tony Award nominations, and a Broadway revival opened in 2010. The show is considered a popular choice of regional theater companies and community theatre groups. Anthony said it’s a regional theater favorite because it’s very satisfying due to the show’s high energy. “It has the same energy level as ‘Hairspray’,” Schlumpf said. Asked about playing a role in 1934, the actors don’t find it difficult to do. “For me, ‘State Fair’ was set in 1946 so it’s not too far off,” said Schlumpf. “State Fair” director Humrichouser suggested Schlumpf watch movies like “His Girl Friday” to get in the mood for “State Fair”. Watching movies of an era help Schlumpf provide his characters with a set of values, how they carried themselves and other characteristics. “The other half is costuming. Living in costumes and feeling how they felt,” said Schlumpf. Anthony said Jennifer Dow and Stephen Hollenbeck do a wonderful job of making the actors feel like they are there through the costumes. He said the costumes let the actors feel the way people lived. “The period is really interesting, too,” said Schlumpf. “I thought about why it was set at that time. I have no exact answer, but the period lends itself to it.” Directing “Lend Me a Tenor” is Wagon Wheel veteran Mickey Fisher. Anthony said Fisher has been great. “The room has been like a play place,” Anthony said. Fisher offers the actors suggestions on how to play something, but is very willing to let the actors try things, too, Anthony said. “He’s very collaborative,” Schlumpf said. While rehearsing under Fisher, he said the actors make discoveries of their own, and Fisher lets the actors try them. While doing a scene in the room, Anthony said, if something gets all the actors in the room to laugh, they end up keeping it for the show. The show is so fast paced, Schlumpf said, that crazy things happen accidentally. While rehearsing a particular scene one day, Schlumpf tripped and fell on his face. It worked so well, they decided to keep that trip in the show, Schlumpf said. “It’s not heavy like, say, ‘Big River’,” Anthony said. “It’s like a nice light dessert,” said Schlumpf. “But it’s a roller coaster kind of dessert,” Anthony noted. “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong,” said Schlumpf. He suggested audiences may want to bring a change of pants because they will be laughing hard during “Lend Me a Tenor”. “It’s a very funny show,” he said.“Lend Me a Tenor” is at the Wagon Wheel now through Aug. 13. Adult tickets are $30 for all shows; tickets for students 13 through college are $16, and children 12 and under are $12. Special rates are available for groups of 15 or more. To order tickets or for more information, call the box office at 574-267-8041 or visit the Wagon Wheel website at wagonwheeltheatre.com
