A Janet Jacksonesque wardrobe malfunction only served to titillate the obviously enthralled audience at the opening of Ken Ludwig?s clever farce, ?Lend Me A Tenor?, on Thursday night.

Even though Jeane Butterfield, who played the sultry, ambitious and perpetually horny diva-in-training, Diana, understandably had a short bout of the giggles after the shoulder straps on her very revealing gown came undone, there was no harm done.

She was quickly back in character and after a gracious exit and applause from the audience she returned once again fully covered, albeit in a towel, as her character was about to take a bubble bath. Forgive the bad pun in my opening line but I could not help it especially since the script made regular use of scintillating wordplay.

In ?Lend Me A Tenor?, set in Cleveland, Ohio, 1934, Max the put upon assistant to the impresario of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company must figure out how to save the company the loss of money when it appears that world famous operatic celebrity Tito Merelli may not be able to perform at a sold out gala.

It does not help that Tito is a notorious womaniser with a high-spirited, jealous wife or that Max?s love interest, his boss?s daughter Maggie, has her heart set on seducing the celebrity. Misunderstanding, presumed misadventure and subterfuge abound to make for a very enjoyable play.

Admittedly the performance was not without hitches. Brian Webb, as Saunders, noticeably flubbed a few lines. Fortunately it was a quirk of saying them the wrong way around so it almost worked as a character tic.

As the Bellhop, Paul Harney edged just over the top at times but he more than made up for this with great stage presence coupled with a resonant voice that made effective use of pitch. His campy portrayal appropriately evoked the 1930s with a refreshingly modern sensibility.

The energy was high and the timing near perfect for the first half. It was evident that Kelvin Hastings-Smith had done an impressive job of directing. It was all quite precise and there were some very tight moments, especially between Mattew Nester and Shawn Angiers, both with good singing voices.

All of the actors performed well. Matthew Nester gave an outstanding performance as the uptight, repressed, Max. He immediately had the audience rooting for him as the accommodating underachiever, lacking confidence but obviously able.

The last time I saw Mr. Nester in a play I thought that he embodied the character but he was a bit too subtle. This time that subtlety, a definite strength for his, was not completely forsaken but he was spot on.

For instance, his character?s obligatory transformation at the end of the play came across as completely unforced. He played the straight man with most of the other roles as extremes and still came across as really funny and always quite riveting.

Jo Shane shone in a relatively small role, most notably for her consistent accent.

She was also a pleasure to watch as the high strung and demonstrative, Maria. Shawn Angiers, as the loveable scoundrel, Tito, demonstrated once again his facility for comedy and that he is a steadily improving actor.

Marie Hans Kromer and Suzanne Notman rounded out the very fine cast with capable performances as Maggie and Julia.

A great, connected cast, direction with attention to detail, an excellent set designed by Julie Hastings-Smith and a better comedy than any that I have seen recently at Daylesford made for one of the most enjoyable evenings of theatre I have attended there.

I loved the play and it was well presented.

The few flaws were incidental and, in at least once case, somewhat entertaining.