"Leading Ladies"

July 25, 2012 —Ken Ludwig, author of tonight's presentation, has had six Broadway shows and six in the West End, and he has won two Laurence Olivier Awards, three Tony Award nominations, two Helen Hayes Awards and the Edgar Award.

The Barnstormers in Tamworth, New Hampshire, presented Ludwig's farce, "Leading Ladies." Leo Clark and Jack Gable, two British Shakespearean actors, have not been well-received playing small towns across America and are desperately low on funds. Upon learning of Florence, an elderly Pennsylvania widow who is bequeathing a million dollars each to her sister's missing children, Max and Steve, they decide to pose as the two missing men. But wait, they learn Max and Steve are nicknames for Maxine and Stephanie! No problem. They're actors, they have suitcases full of costumes, they can play women as well as men. And, best news of all, Florence may be near death!

Michael Kirby as Leo and Graciany Miranda as Jack are in and out of drag many times in this zany play. This is the sort of madcap presentation the Barnstormers are particularly good at, with lots of rapid costume changes and character switching. Dale Place, a Barnstormers regular, is excellent as always as an uptight minister who suspects the two "nieces" are frauds from the start. His bride-to-be, appealingly played by Kelly Rypkema*, is happily deceived, at least at the beginning, and complicates things by falling in love with the male version of Stephanie. Waltrudis Buck, in her second play in as many weeks, portrays the widow Florence.  Rounding out the cast are Rachel Alexa Norman, George F. Piehl and Jordan Ahnquist.

None of these actors had trouble projecting their voices. In fact, at times they were annoyingly shrill. But the laughs were unceasing, and the audience was the most enthusiastic I've seen so far this season. There's no profanity in the play, but sexual innuendo and suggestiveness are so blatant, but hilarious, it's best suited for an adult audience.

*Talented as she is on stage, Kelly Rypkema's main forte is not acting. She's a certified master naturalist, wilderness first responder, trail guide and host of "Nature in a New York Minute." Take a look at her interesting website at this link:

http://www.natureminute.com/