Pioneer’s zany ‘A Comedy of Tenors’ offers antidote to anxiety

“Great confusion.” That was one of my notes from Pioneer Theatre Company’s rollicking production of “A Comedy of Tenors,” scrawled at the height of the manic carryings-on.

Yes, Ken Ludwig’s sequel to his popular “Lend Me a Tenor” is full of frantic and funny activity, but it’s orchestrated frenzy — and that is what makes this comedy so sophisticated and satisfying. Director Wes Grantom has filled the production with sight gags that are in perfect sync with the larger-than-life performances of an extremely quick-witted and well-matched cast.

“A Comedy of Tenors” charts the mayhem that ensues when opera impresario Saunders (Andy Prosky) tries to corral three temperamental tenors for “the concert of the century” in 1936 Paris. The largest ego belongs to the volatile superstar Tito (Gregory North), who quotes lines from famous operas to convey the melodramatic significance of his outsized emotions.

“These opera singers need a lot of maintenance,” Tito’s fiery wife, Maria (Jennifer Cody), quips in an apt summation.

Tito’s not fooling Maria; the two yell at each other like competitive fish peddlers on an Italian pier. Because North is very tall and Cody is petite, the physical contrast becomes as humorous as the verbal sparring.

Like any good farce, the play turns on mistaken identity, misinterpreted information and people talking at cross purposes. When Tito jumps to the mistaken conclusion that Carlo (Storm Lineberger), one of the other tenors, is having an affair with his wife rather than his daughter, aspiring actress Mimi (Jessica Fontana), Tito quits. Maria also stalks off in frustration: “I am going to Assisi to become a nun … or Chanel to shop,” she fires off as she exits.

But voilà, the day is saved when Saunders recruits Beppo, a bellhop who looks and sings amazingly like Tito — you can guess why — for the concert. Beppo has a much mellower disposition, however: “I like to sing in front of people. It makes them happy,” he tells Saunders congenially, and follows his own advice: “A man should relax and have a good life.”

North does such a good job differentiating between these two characters that when Tito was onstage with everyone at one point late in the play, I kept waiting for Beppo to join them.

The play’s other two characters are Max (Hansel Tan), the third tenor, who tries valiantly to be the peacemaker yet has his own family problems to contend with; and Tatiana Racon (Kirsten Wyatt), a sexy Russian soprano who was Tito’s girlfriend in a former life. Tatiana struts around the stage like a dominatrix, dramatically complaining that “in Russia, everyone is lonely.” Soon doors are slamming, characters are in perpetual motion and any resemblance to normal life is gone.

Grantom’s meticulous sense of timing keeps the cast interacting like well-oiled parts of a comic machine. Even the curtain call has a sense of humor.

The production values are outstanding, as is standard with PTC. Eric Renschler’s elegant hotel suite with its colorful vases of flowers and view of the Eiffel Tower glows under Kendall Smith’s warm lighting. Susan Branch Towne’s stylish 1930s costumes feature evening gowns and formalwear. Kate Wecker’s sound design mixes opera music with exuberant squeals, and the tenors actually get to sing, an unexpected plus for the audience.

“Life is full of surprises; the trick is to be patient,” Beppo tells us, but you don’t have to wait very long to share in the laugh-filled surprises of this production. It will help you forget the troubles of an anxiety-filled world — at least for a couple of hours.