by dick kerekes dickkerekes@yahoo.com
Theatre Jacksonville opened its first show of 2007 last weekend with the North Florida premiere of Ken Ludwig’s Leading Ladies. I need only mention two other Ludwig’s plays, Moon Over Buffalo and Lend Me a Tenor, and that is all you need to know about Ludwig, since he is currently the funniest contemporary playwright.
Award-winning director, Shirley Sacks directed. This is the 33rd show in her directing career. As in all her plays, the cast is selected so that exactly the right person is playing the right part. When the Jaguars need a new player personnel director, I am going to nominate Shirley. Ms. Sacks, in her program’s Director Notes, gives an excellent history of gender-changing disguises in performance, movies, and plays since the 1940s. Of course, that is the main theme of Leading Ladies. The pacing and timing are precise because of Shirley’s definitive direction.
I will not get too elaborate with a plot description; a farce is farce. Two down on their luck Shakespearian actors are now playing Moose and Elk Lodges. They conceive a plot to try to con a York Pennsylvania dowager out of her money by pretending to be her two long lost relatives. They wind up imitating two nieces instead of two nephews and fall in love with two small town gals, as they zip in and out of their male and female clothing. The rest I will leave for you to discover.
This is a full-blown farce, which means that you check all your sensibilities in the hatcheck room when you pickup your tickets. As one actor in the play says, “Actors are liars; they lie for a living.” And Leading Ladies is wall-to-wall lies. When viewing a farce, just think of it like riding a roller coaster. It will be fast with lots of up and downs and in the end you never get anywhere but you have a lot of fun.
If you transported someone from across the country to Theatre Jacksonville and did not tell them this was a community theatre, they would certainly feel that they had seen a professional production of Leading Ladies.
Scenic Designer Kelly J. Wagoner’s two-story interior of an expensive Pennsylvania home is gorgeous! It could put a lot of Ortega homes to shame.
This show has as many costumes as a musical, considering all the dresses the “guys” wear. Costume Designer Audrey Wagner has once again topped herself, with eye-appealing and very colorful apparel.
Josh Waller, plays Leo of the cross-dressing duo. He is a triple-threat performer and not only is he an excellent comedian, but he does drama roles and is a wonderful singer.
His partner, Joel Sumner, pays Jack and reminded me of a young Jimmy Stewart with his great smile. He and Waller have wonderful chemistry in these roles.
Tracy Olin is Meg, the small town girl who has the 3 “Gs”’, gullibility, good looks and great legs! You will think she is auditioning for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof when she appears in a slip at the top of the stairs in act II. I have always been impressed with her great facial gestures, but she has moved to being a sex-symbol as well.
Roger Lowe is Duncan, Meg’s up tight minister fiancée, who could care less about sex but does love money and tries to expose the two imposters.
Winner of several Best Actor awards in previous years, Brad Trowbridge only does a show every couple of years due to his other activities, so don’t miss this one. He is terribly funny as the family doctor not too old to chase young women.
Every farce seems to have a bimbo blond, and Leading Ladies has a wonderful one in Heather Butler who plays Audrey. You probably missed her first appearance on TJ’s stage as the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio, which occurred some years ago. Since then she has done theatre around the country, has been an NFL cheerleader, sang in Carnegie Hall and done several movies. I guess what aced the role in this play was her role as Kiki in the TV movie Bikini Zombie High School. (Sorry I missed it. Is it on DVD?)
Daniel Owen Duncan has one of the smaller but significant roles as Butch, Audrey’s boyfriend. He does have a notable moment of humor as he mangles Shakespeare and Mississippi. (I told you this was a farce).
Alice Beardsley plays the old rich lady, Florence, and she was just a delight and a crowd favorite. She left Florida 55 years ago, but is now back living here and finally making her Theatre Jacksonville debut. She has been in show business all her life, on Broadway, Off Broadway and even made three films with Woody Allen. Attention local theatres! It is time to dust off those copies of Driving Miss Daisy, as I have found the perfect Miss Daisy.
I heard nothing but praise for the show, as the opening night audience left the theatre, in very jovial mood. Leading Ladies is obviously going to be a big hit, so make your reservations quickly.
Theatre Jacksonville has a newly decorated lobby that is quite stylish and much brighter than the old one. Call 396-4425 for information and reservations.
|
