Hi Stannic
"Chorus of Disapproval" by Alan Ayckbourn is, I hope, the play you're
after. It's about Guy, newly arrived in town, who auditions for a part
in 'The Beggar's Opera' with an amateur group. As a BBC review puts
it:
"Guy proves to be an extremely welcome addition to the troupe...
The men are keen to know him as they want to pump him for information
about the firm he works for.
The women simply find Guy attractive and he feels likewise it seems,
as he manages to sleep with most of them!"
Review of 'Chorus of Disapproval'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/goingout/2002/05/13/disapproval.shtml
It was first performed in 1984 and a film starring Jeremy Irons
appeared a few years later, though it was less well thought of than
the play itself.
There's a longer description of the plot in this review:
"David Storch is 'Guy', a meek and innocent everyman of modest,
somewhat reedy singing talent. He auditions, hilariously, for this
light opera company's Welsh born director, Dafydd, played by Ted
Dykstra, with the traditional Welsh standby "All Through the Night".
Dafydd, being passionate about the anthem of his homeland, finds it
difficult to resist singing along with our protagonist, completely
obliterating his audition...........................
With Guy welcomed to the company, we meet our cast.
......................
C. David Johnson is hunky swinger, Ian. He and his sexpot wife Fay,
played with enthusiasm by Nicole Underhay, have ulterior motives when
they invite the hapless innocent Guy to a swap party. Ryan Field, a
young black tough with a lovely voice is the lady killer, having
seduced both Linda and the company manageress/singer/barmaid, Bridget,
played by Sarah Wilson with a brutal authority that belies her
cherubic beauty.
Nancy Palk is the lanky lush Rebecca, wife of chronically boring
Jarvis (Jim Warren). Merek Norman is Mr. Ames the company's musical
idiot savant and Paul Thomas Manz and Christopher Morris round out the
cast as Jim and Raymond respectively.
Beyond the normal political machinations of a theatre company--the
rivalries, the sexual exploits and the petty squabbles and
jealousies--the plot hinges on Guy's hapless affairs with both Hannah
and Fay, and his innocent involvement in the competition to buy a
strip of vacant land owned by Jarvis which may or may not gain some
value depending on whether or not Guy's multinational employer
expands, as rumours have it. Of course, sparks fly between the rival
women and Guy also finds he has accidentally made tacit promises to
confirm the rumours to competing bidders for the land.
Naturally it all hilariously blows up in his bewildered face."
Canadian Actor online
http://www.canadianactor.com/info/disapproval.html
If you want to buy a copy of the text it's available in a collection
of Ayckbourn plays from Amazon:
Alan Ayckbourn: Plays (Contemporary Classics)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0571176801/qid=1036352998/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-0166128-5663839?v=glance#product-details
This review of the film is positive:
"Jeremy Irons plays a weak-willed corporate cog who joins the local
operatic society -- headed by Anthony Hopkins' terminally loony
Welshman -- in a small seaside town. In a flash, he's enmeshed in all
manner of petty affairs, amorous and otherwise. Michael Winner's
adaptation of Alan Ayckbourn's popular play is hilarious -- Irons is
good but Hopkins is superb."
'Chorus of Disapproval' review
http://www.sitegeist.com/ridge/thevault/chorus.html
More details of the Movie can be found on the Internet Movie Database:
'Chorus of Disapproval' information
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0094871
There are more reviews on the net but not, I think, telling us
anything about a tenor, although the role of Dafydd, the director
(Hopkins' role on screen), is for a baritone:
"For the first time, the New DOC got the casting of the comic baritone
right, by opting for an actor who can sing. Russell Dixon was trained
at the Bristol Old Vic and has created a number of roles in plays by
Alan Ayckbourn at Scarborough (including Dafydd in A Chorus of
Disapproval)."
see: Gilbertian Gossip
://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cache:8kGqB_M0FXkC:math.boisestate.edu/gas/newsletters/gossip/no37/gg37.doc+%22chorus+of+disapproval%22+ayckbourn+tenor&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
I really hope this is the right play for you. Please feel free to use
the 'request clarification' option if anything needs explanation.
Regards - Leli
search used:
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