A woman in roller-skates, a red bowler hat, short gingham red-and-white skirt and a fitted, sleeveless vest reads a newspaper over the shoulder of two men in a train car. One man has a medieval-style beard and cap. The other is dressed like a traveling salesman.
Lacey Kohl, Ian Kahn and JD Cullum in Leading Ladies (2005). Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

Leading Ladies

A comedy by Ken Ludwig

date September 23, 2005 — October 23, 2005

In this hilarious comedy by the author of Lend Me A Tenor and Moon Over Buffalo, two English Shakespearean actors, Jack and Leo, find themselves so down on their luck that they are performing “Scenes from Shakespeare” on the Moose Lodge circuit in the Amish country of Pennsylvania. When they hear that an old lady in York, PA is about to die and leave her fortune to her two long lost English nephews, they resolve to pass themselves off as her beloved relatives and get the cash. The trouble is, when they get to York, they find out that the relatives aren’t nephews, but nieces! Romantic entanglements abound, especially when Leo falls head-over-petticoat in love with the old lady’s vivacious niece, Meg, who’s engaged to the local minister. Meg knows that there’s a wide world out there, but it’s not until she meets “Maxine and Stephanie” that she finally gets a taste of it.

Artistic Team

Director Mark Rucker
Scenic Designer John Coyne
Costume Designer Judith Dolan
Lighting Designer Michael Gilliam
Sound Designer John Gromada
Choreographer Michele Lynch
Fight Choreographer Brad Waller
Co-Sound Designer Sten Severson
Wigs and Hair Designer Tom Watson
Dialect Coach Ellen O’Brien
Production Stage Manger Craig A. Horness
Assistant Stage Manger Dana DePaul
Casting Liz Woodman

Cast

Silhouette of a human head on black.

John Astin

Doc

Silhouette of a human head on black.

JD Cullum

Jack

Silhouette of a human head on black.

Daniel Frith

Butch

Silhouette of a human head on black.

Ian Kahn

Leo

Silhouette of a human head on black.

Patrick Kerr

Duncan

Silhouette of a human head on black.

Lacey Kohl

Audrey

Silhouette of a human head on black.

Charlotte Rae

Florence

Silhouette of a human head on black.

Karen Ziemba

Meg

From the Gallery

Inside the living room of a home stand a group of people with shocked faces. The groups is: an older gentleman, a priest, two male actors in ladies Shakespearean costumes, a young man in his 20s, a woman in roller-skates, and another woman who carries a large bouquet of flowers at the bottom of a large sweeping staircase. On the railing of the balcony to the second level of the house is a painted sheet reading, “Welcome Max and Steve.”

Cast of the Ford’s Theatre 2005 production of Ken Ludwig’s Leading Ladies. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

A woman in roller-skates, a red bowler hat, short gingham red-and-white skirt and a fitted, sleeveless vest reads a newspaper over the shoulder of two men in a train car. One man has a medieval-style beard and cap. The other is dressed like a traveling salesman.

Lacey Kohl as Audrey, Ian Kahn as Leo and JD Cullum as Jack. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

A woman in roller-skates, a red bowler hat, short gingham red-and-white skirt and a fitted, sleeveless vest points a finger a at pair of men who stand inside a train car near her. One of the men has a medieval-style beard and cap. The other is dressed like a traveling salesman.

Lacey Kohl as Audrey, JD Cullum as Jack and Ian Kahn as Leo. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

Two actors in Shakespearean dress perform a scene at a Moose Lodge.

JD Cullum as Jack and Ian Kahn as Leo. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

A man in a fraternal order attire of the Moose Lodge organization (red beanie-style hat with long hair tuft; red vest embroidered with gold thread and medallions) stands on a stage to introduce a play.

John Astin as Doc. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

At a party in someone’s home, an older woman sitting in an armchair, a priest, several men in drag (disguised) and others in tuxedos and fancy dress gather.

Cast of the Ford’s Theatre 2005 production of Ken Ludwig’s Leading Ladies. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

Three couples dance to music in fancy dress.

Cast of the Ford’s Theatre 2005 production of Ken Ludwig’s Leading Ladies. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

A man wearing a ladies wig and a 1950s-style dress covered in lavender tulips sits on the sofa holding the hand of an older woman. The older woman is still in her pink pajamas and bathrobe and wearing hair curlers. She has a shocked expression on her face.

JD Cullum and Charlotte Rae. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.