Good Afternoon!
I made it up in time to get to the Alley Theater to catch this morning's student matinee performance of Ken Ludwig's latest play, Leading Ladies.
What a wonderful show! -I'm so glad I got my butt-cheeks out of bed in time to make it to the early show. It's a great farce filled with the usual farcical elements: cross-dressing men, mistaken identities, backstage intrigues, etc. Despite the very "old-fasioned" devices, the laughs ring true and fresh. -And I have to commend the cast for being at the their best for a 10:00AM(!) performance. The plot centers around two actors trying to bilk a elderly woman of her considerable fortune. One of them find himself falling in love with the niece, one of them finds himself falling in love with the friend... hilarity ensues.
And what a cast! The "Leading Ladies" are played to the hilt by Brent Barrett and Christopher Duva. The sight of Mr. Barrett in a Cleopatra dress with a sheer mid-drift made for a most memorable entrance. Mr. Duva's various costumes and wigs also provided their moments of genuine laughs.
Erin Dilly plays Meg who soon becomes the object of affection of Mr. Barrett's Leo/Maxine. I've worked with Erin before, and I've always loved her on stage, but I have to say I fell in love with her again while watching her this morning. Her slightly daffy ingenue is a wonder. So effortlessly carried off. And she also gets to show off some of her physical comedy skills - the way she descends the staircase is priceless. She's supposed to be in the upcoming Broadway bow of Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang, but I hope her performance in this show gets to be seen by a New York audience. -And I was glad I hung out after the show to catch up with here too.
Jane Powell - who one local reviewer noted "seems to get smaller and spunkier each times she comes to town" (she was on the The Full Monty Tour) - can deliver one-liners with the best of them. And her physical performance is also a joy to watch. -And it was her birthday today too!
Rounding out the cast are Mark Jacoby as Duncan, Meg's fiance; Lacey Kohl as Audrey the roller-skating waitress and Meg's best friend; Dan Lauria as Doc - who knows how to work a cod-piece(!); and Tim McGeever as Butch, Audrey's somewhat dim-witted but lovable boyfriend.
All in all, a very enjoyable morning.
And it's was very nice to see some very established musical theatre performers - Ms. Dilly, Ms. Kohl, Mr. Barrett and Mr. Jacoby - proving that singers can be - and ARE - actors too! *Oh, and there's a nice dance/costume parade sequence at the top of the final scene too!
-And the audience was very well-behaved too, for the most part. Most of the audience was comprised to middle-school and high school students. It was a joy and inspiration to notice that most of them were actually listening to the words coming from the stage, and that they actually got the laughs as well as most of the theatrical and Shakespearean references that appear throughout the play. However, the two older ladies who were sitting next to me obviously paid no attention to the pre-show announcements regarding unwrapping their candies and cough drops... I was literally about to reach over and help the woman open her package of cough drops! -And, of course, she held the bits of cellophane in her hand throughout the rest of the first act, and would occasionally crinkle them from time to time.. to time... UGH!
But, again, I had a wonderful time. I hope the play has a future beyond Houston.
*BK - I tried to pass on greetings to Brent on your behalf, but I seemed to have missed him at the stage door.
