| Leo Clark, a Shakespearean actor performed by Lane Hakel, is enraged when Doc, the Head Moose performed by Guy Zimmerman, interrupts a performance in the Black Swamp Players production of ‘Leading Ladies’. (Photos: Enoch Wu/Sentinel-Tribune) |
Early in "Leading Ladies" struggling Shakespearean actor Leo Clark recites some of the raves he
and partner Jack Gable have recited.
Clark, played by Lane Hakel, announces: "A powerhouse night of theater!" The gag is that it is
attributed to "David Dupont of the Sentinel-Tribune."
"But you wrote that," snaps Gable played by Kent McClary.
Well, the real, as far as I can tell, David Dupont wouldn’t go that far. "Leading Ladies" is a
tangled construction of coincidence, ploy contrivance and continuity error. So you know when the lovely
Audrey (Anne Clark) roller skates on stage in the second scene, she’ll show up later. Still The Black
Swamp Players execute this piffle with high spirits and enthusiasm to one purpose – having fun. That
applies to the cast that always seems to be enjoying themselves – which always takes a lot of work – and
the audience, who has the easier task of sitting back and taking in all this tomfoolery.
"Leading Ladies" is being staged Friday and Saturday and April 27 and 28 at 8 p.m. and April 29
at 2 p.m. in First United Methodist Church, 1506 E. Wooster, Bowling Green. Tickets are $10 and $8 for
students and seniors. Available at Grounds for Thought, 174 S. Main St., Bowling Green.
Ken Ludwig’s "Leading Ladies" falls back on one of the most reliable gags in comedy, men in
drag. Not cross dressers, but guys who would never ordinarily think of donning a brassiere except for
… plug in the plot twist here.
In the case of "Leading Ladies" we have our team of struggling actors, broke in the middle of
Pennsylvania, who discover that a dying woman is seeking the children of her late sister, Max and Steve.
But these lost lambs now grown are not as Clark and Gable assume nephews but nieces, Maxine and
Stephanie, and they stand to inherit a couple million dollars.
Don the dresses, boys.
| Shakespearean actor Leo Clark (right), performed by Lane Hakel, tries to convince is counterpart Jack Gable (left), performed by Kent McClary to join him in a scheme. |
Now Hakel and McClary, men of some heft, don’t make for the most believable women. I wondered how this
would play if actual cross dressers were cast, and realized, no the whole point is that we have these
hefty dudes strutting about in heels.
To pull this off the cast better make sure the audience’s belief is suspended in a cloud of laughing gas.
And director Bob Hastings has assembled a cast capable of doing that.
There’s of course the regulars from the company, including the leads, who most recently played dead
presidents opposite each other in "Momma’s Boys."
Clark is the ingenue who has educational aspirations maybe just beyond her current clueless state. Guy
Zimmerman plays the self-righteous, and maybe a little avaricious, pastor. And Becky Hansen is the
sprightly 90-year-old Florence who constantly frustrates rumors that she is dead.
To these familiar Black Swamp Players, Hastings mixes in veteran Toledo thespian William Delaney who adds
his sure comic touch as Doc, the hard-drinking physician who is a little quick with the death
pronouncements. Newcomer Benjamin Forman gets the role as the dim boyfriend of Audrey and son of Doc,
who serves mostly as a hard surface to bounce jokes off.
Sharon Esper plays Florence’s real niece, and the object of Clark’s affections. She is a generous, lively
young woman, engaged to the pastor, yet chaffing at the restrictions of small town life. When her
theatrical "cousin" Max shows up she in enthralled. Hakel does a wonderful job of making Max a
fully developed character, a kind of Auntie Mame with five-o’clock shadow.
She captivates Meg with her mix of empathy and dramatic flair, much like "Leading Ladies" will
captivate local audiences.
