Such is the case in The Lake Country Players' present offering, "Phantom of the Op'ry." The play didn't in any way measure up to the choices and performances of past LCP shows as "South Pacific," "Camelot," "Sabrina Fair," "The Dining Room, "Company" and the stunning "The 26th Annual Spelling Bee."

Farce and melodrama are not my personal favorites, but they can be very well executed, and I often end up enjoying them, despite my somewhat negative preconceptions.

I try to be as objective as any human being can be. But this script, a spoof of the original "Phantom of the Opera," had little going for it in terms of its humor or its music. In fact, it was a sorry choice. Even some of the actors whom I've seen and enjoyed before had little to work with here, though they tried their best to squeeze what they could from very meager fare.

The play refers to critics as being sadistic folks who are envious of talented performers, and therefore, get some kind of pleasure in lambasting them. I'm sure there are critics who fit that description. I, however, am not one of them.

If anything, I sin on the side of being too forgiving, too appreciative of the effort involved in executing a worthy production. But I have to be honest to maintain my own integrity, and to say I was not impressed by this show would be an understatement.

However, as is true of most shows, even the bad ones, there are always redeeming moments. Several characters did the best they could with inferior material:

Mary Melter as Guppy (good comic sense), Larson Seaver as Humphrey Rainwater (who had one of the best lines in the play - "Hey, don't blame me. I didn't write this stuff,") Emilie Neij as Dora (good German accent), Tracy Stefanski (best singing voice), Heather Rhoer (good energy and strong vocals), Ruth Behrend and Dorothy Blish (good mileage out of cameo roles) and Betsy Francoeur (amusing pantomime in the death scene).

Act II was better than act I, which moved too slowly. The musical accompaniment by Cathy Paquette and Robert Gagliano was precise. The only musical number that pleased my ear was Stefanski's "Too Good to Be True." The ensemble number "One-Man Military Industrial Complex" was mildly clever.

The show runs through Nov. 6. I challenge you to totally enjoy the production and prove me as mean-spirited as Silky Acidtongue, the theatre critic in the show.