Leading Ladies is about Leo and Jack, two British actors whose careers are so far on the skids that they're performing "Scenes from Shakespeare" on the Moose Lodge circuit in Pennsylvania's Amish country. They think their luck might change, however, when they hear about Florence, an old lady in a nearby town who is about to die and leave a considerable legacy to her nephews from England. Leo convinces Jack that they should impersonate the heirs--Max and Stevie. Their foolproof plan hits a snag, though, when they arrive on the scene and realize the woman's long-lost relatives are nieces and not nephews….should they give up? Never! They don skirts and become Maxine and Stephanie. The plot only complicates as they fall in love with two beautiful girls…
So what is it about men in skirts? Charley’s Aunt. Some Like It Hot. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. The Coldwater Rotary Show….There are certain things that are always funny…men walking in heels for the first time, bad wigs on “women” who are outlandishly tall, the locals enamored of these new glamazons…
I could write about how the tradition goes back to the plays of Ancient Rome---but it’s summertime. This strikes me as the perfect farce for this summer. A play with no hidden messages, just lot and lots of laughs. And boy, do we need that now!
"Ken Ludwig gives the audience something powerful and potent: laughter and a guiltless evening of Theatre-going."--Village News
"Leading Ladies is a highly combustible and continuously hilarious new comedy by Ken Ludwig, Broadway's reigning comic writer."--The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Jack Benny in the film of Charley's Aunt, 1941--Twentieth Century Fox
So what is it about men in skirts? Charley’s Aunt. Some Like It Hot. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. The Coldwater Rotary Show….There are certain things that are always funny…men walking in heels for the first time, bad wigs on “women” who are outlandishly tall, the locals enamored of these new glamazons…
I could write about how the tradition goes back to the plays of Ancient Rome---but it’s summertime. This strikes me as the perfect farce for this summer. A play with no hidden messages, just lot and lots of laughs. And boy, do we need that now!
"Ken Ludwig gives the audience something powerful and potent: laughter and a guiltless evening of Theatre-going."--Village News
"Leading Ladies is a highly combustible and continuously hilarious new comedy by Ken Ludwig, Broadway's reigning comic writer."--The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Jack Benny in the film of Charley's Aunt, 1941--Twentieth Century FoxTop image is Arthur Askey in the British film Charley's Big Hearted Aunt, 1940
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