The sixth annual Livermore Shakespeare Festival brings audiences a little ambition with their wine: what do people do to reach their ambition, whether of power, fame, or love? How do they change once they have it? This season swings from the depths of tragedy in Shakespeare’s Macbeth to the heights of comedy in Ken Ludwig’s contemporary farce, Lend Me A Tenor. Ambition has not only shaped Founding Artistic Director Lisa A. Tromovitch’s choice of plays but also her choice of guest director: Leslie Martinson, a celebrated Bay Area artist, rejoins the company to direct Lend Me A Tenor, which opened this past Friday at Concannon Vineyard. An associate at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, Martinson last collaborated with Livermore Shakes to direct the hilarious and wildly successful Compleat Works of William Shakespeare Abridged (Revised). “I’m very familiar with the high caliber of Martinson’s work,” Tromovitch said. “I’ve been looking for a way to lure her back to us!”

Tromovitch found the perfect match for Martinson’s precision and sense of humor in Lend Me A Tenor, a door slamming, clockwork farce, complete with mistaken identities and ridiculous misunderstandings. Ambition leads to comedy when a tongue-tied middle manager from Cleveland, Ohio, takes the place of Italy’s most celebrated opera star—un divo with a big voice and even bigger bravado. “We’ve had fun working with all kinds of sources,” Martinson reports: “30’s screwball comedies, commedia dell’arte, tried and true vaudeville, and even Gilligan’s Island. The cast is idiosyncratic and creative; I can honestly say I’ve never laughed so much in rehearsal. We know that audiences will join right in.”

“Livermore Shakes makes for a fun, fun summer,” Martinson affirms. “I am delighted to be back.” She returns for the same reasons that attract thousands of audience members year after year: the special joy of outdoor theater, the open, relaxed atmosphere, and the beautiful setting of Concannon Vineyard. Audiences can enjoy a bottle of wine with their pre-show picnic and a bottle of laughs with their evening entertainment. Buy your tickets now—Lend Me A Tenor will tickle your fancies and your funny bone for weeks to come.

Lend Me Tenor runs in rep with Macbeth through July 31st. Performances are Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 7 pm. Tickets range from $25 to $39, day-dependent with discounts for seniors, students, and educators. Tickets are on sale through Brown Paper Tickets at (800) 838-3006 or via www.LivermoreShakes.org.