Chickasaw Civic Theatre closed its October 2011 run of Ken Ludwig’s comedy “Leading Ladies” with performances on October 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m. and a Sunday, October 23 matinee at 2:30 p.m., with tickets at $15 for adults and $10 for seniors and students.
The 2004 farce follows two English Shakespearean actors, Leo Clark and Jack Gable, who — flat broke after being laughed out of a Moose Lodge on their tour of 1958 New England — impersonate the long-lost heirs of a dying heiress, only to discover the will names Maxine and Stephanie rather than Max and Steve. Timothy Guy (Leo/Maxine) and J.C. Towns (Jack/Stephanie) led the cast, joined by Sarah Dunham as Meg, Steven Castle as Duncan, Don Bloom as Doc, E.A. Keeble as Florence, Justine Cauley as Audrey, Ryan Mouner as Butch and Nathan Harrison as Moose Frank, under director Leonora Harrison.
A Theater Inside an Old Armory
The production doubled as a introduction for newcomers to one of the area’s most distinctive playhouses: Chickasaw Civic Theatre resides in a former National Guard armory, where volunteers build every set in-house backstage. The lobby doubles as a mini-museum of past productions, displaying memorabilia including Snoopy’s life-sized doghouse from “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” the wooden shower built for “South Pacific,” and the oversized milk jug, cooler and oven from “Cats” — the doghouse long a favorite photo spot for theatergoers. The stage is a traditional proscenium design with a working trapdoor, a rarity in community venues of its size.
Ludwig, best known for the Broadway hit “Moon Over Buffalo” starring Carol Burnett, built “Leading Ladies” on the classic cross-dressing farce tradition of Shakespeare, trading on quick-witted one-liners and escalating disguise gags rather than plot depth — a formula the company’s cast played for steady laughs through the show’s happily-ever-after finale.