The latest San Benito Stage Company show promises to be quite funny – it is so laugh-inducing that the eight-person cast has been having a hard time keeping a straight face delivering their lines during rehearsal.
But Producer Anne Hall and Director Sarah Smith said the actors would save the laughing for members of the audience once the show, “Lend Me a Tenor,” opens Feb. 10. Despite its name, the show is not a musical. It is a comedy with a few moments of music in it and it will run through Feb. 25.
“It’s PG-13 so it isn’t necessarily something that you think of with the (San Benito) Stage Company,” Hall said. “We usually do the big family shows. But it is really funny and it’s a great date night or for a group of friends.”
The show deals with a case of mistaken identity at an opera house, which is expecting a visit from a famous tenor. An assistant has to pose as the tenor when the opera staff members mistake him for dead.
“It’s great working with such a small cast,” Smith said. “It’s all adults and they are very professional and really mature. They are extremely talented.”
Smith said it is her first time directing an adult cast but she’s worked with children in the past and has acted for 12 years.
“Even though it’s not a musical, there are a couple songs that are sung,” she said. “We need to get that nailed down…A few of the actors need to stop laughing at themselves because it’s a really funny show.”
Even the crew helping behind the scenes can’t seem to stop laughing.
“We are hysterical throughout the entire show,” Smith said.
The annual dinner theater production will be held in the banquet room at Paine’s Restaurant on East Street.
“We looked around and the biggest factor was Paine’s (owners) were really enthusiastic,” Hall said, of selecting the location for the dinner theater. “They seemed to think it was a good opportunity for them.”
Tony and Lorraine Garcia, the restaurant owners, allowed the cast and crew to leave the stage set up in the banquet room for the three weeks of rehearsal before the show opened and throughout the run of the show.
The menu is not set for each show, one of the benefits Hall said of working with an actual restaurant instead of a caterer. Tickets for the show are $30 and include a full dinner and dessert. Tables for eight are available for $235, and include a bottle of wine for the table.
“You would spend more than that or easily as much as that going out to dinner and a movie,” she said.
Heading into the final week of dress rehearsals, Hall said things were going smoothly.
“We are in really good shape,” she said. “We have the stage. It needs a few finishing touches. But the costumes are good and we’ve got the lighting down. The cast has their lines down well so I think we are in good shape.”
