The laughter coming from the Quannapowitt Players’ theater in Reading last weekend was hard to miss.

Although the small cast and crew, which includes director John Pease and actress Elizabeth Sheeran, both of Wakefield, has been practicing this season’s production of “Lend Me a Tenor," since late November, they couldn’t help but chuckle and sometimes burst with laughter as they watched the play’s humorous scenes unfold.

That reaction is exactly what Pease, a Salem Street resident, hopes will happen when the curtains go up later this month.

“People want to be taken away, especially in these times,” Pease said. “I want to make them laugh - that’s the payment for me.”

From Broadway to MA
Pease first saw “Lend Me a Tenor," a farce well known for its humorous and improbable situations, on Broadway. He said he knew right away he wanted to direct the play with the Quannapowitt Players, a volunteer-run community theater organization.

In the play, which takes place during the course of a single day in 1934 in a hotel suite, the Cleveland Opera Company books the world-renowned Italian tenor, Tito Merelli, for the title role in Othello. The opera company goes to great lengths to ensure that everything runs smoothly, even assigning Max, an aspiring yet self-doubting tenor, to chaperone Tito until the curtain rises.

The audience soon discovers that nothing will go as planned. Tito takes too many sleeping pills after his jealous wife (played by Sheeran) leaves him after she falsely accuses him of infidelity. Without the heavily publicized celebrity tenor, Saunders, the company’s manager, decides that the show must go on and has Max play the tenor’s role. But Tito doesn’t remain asleep for too long. And that’s just the beginning.

The audience will be impressed with Ken Ludwig’s clever script, and entertained by the play’s mistaken identities and dynamic, non-stop action. Everything is carefully orchestrated, down to synchronizing the opening and closing of the set’s five doors.

Wakefield Residents Take on Big Roles
Pease was not always so confident in front of an audience. As a shy teen growing up in Long Island, he worked as part of the crew backstage and caught the theater bug at the age of eighteen.

“I didn’t want to be a wallflower," he said. "I wanted to do something.”

Flash forward thirty-one years, and Pease has become an experienced director, currently leading the Quannapowitt Players into the community theater’s 74th season. The group performs four to five shows a year, which includes one comedy each season.

“John makes it easy,” said cast member Sheeran, a Cedar Street resident.  “I see him do comedy and he has that sense, that vision that brings the script to life. He has a real gift for comedy.”

Local Actress Takes The Stage
This particular show is a nice break for Sheeran, who performed no less than three different roles in last year’s production of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.”

Sheeran said she grew up in a family that was heavily involved in community theater.  Like a number of Sheeran’s castmates, her own family is involved backstage in this season’s production. Her husband, Chip, is this production’s sound engineer.

“It’s a type of show where we can go and have fun,” Sheeran said of the cast and crew. “Everyone can enjoy it.”

Sheeran revels in her role as Maria, the tenor’s ardent wife. It is not surprising that Sheeran studied Italian while in college, and applies her knowledge to the role.

Although she enjoys perfecting her character’s accent, she is truly devoted to the entire theatrical process.

“It literally starts with nothing," she said. "A bare stage, and we don’t even know the characters. And it’s the process of building something, and then sharing it with people.” 

Like all productions, there still remains a lot to do before opening night. The set’s plywood walls need a fresh coat of paint, and a few props are still missing here and there. But all in all, Pease says that they are right on schedule. 

“I have no worries about this cast. We have some really talented people in there,” he said as he smiled and nodded to the entrance of the black-box theater. 

More Information
"Lend Me A Tenor" is scheduled for Jan. 28, 29, and Feb. 4, 5, 6, 11, 12. Tickets are on sale for $18, with discounts available for students, seniors and groups.

For more information or to buy ticket, visit the Quannapowitt Players' website, http://www.qptheater.com/ or call their box office at (781) 942-2212.