The Farmington Players Present: LEADING LADIES, A Fast-Paced Farce By Ken Ludwig

Imagine a cross between the hit film Some Like It Hot and Shakespeare's famous comedy Twelfth Night. The result: Leading Ladies, a hilarious farce playing November 28 - December 20 at the Farmington Players Barn Theater. Tickets are on sale now at www.farmingtonplayers.org and at the box office 248-553-2955.

"Leading Ladies is about the crazy things we do for love," says director Tony Targan of West Bloomfield. "Despite our best (or worst) intentions, love can make us behave like fools."

The comedy focuses on a pair of struggling Shakespearean actors Leo Clark and Jack Gable who wind up dressing as women to try and steal the fortune of a dying millionaire. Their quest begins as they decide to impersonate her nephews and heirs "Max" and "Steve. " When Clark and Gable discover the nephews are actually nieces, they have no problem transforming to "Maxine" and "Stephanie."

"It's fun directing a fast-paced farce," says Targan. It's like piecing together a rotating, three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle."

The main two pieces of that puzzle include Keith Firstenberg of Livonia as Leo/Maxine and Lance Alan of Farmington Hills as Jack/Stephanie. As their characters press on in drag, they fall in love with real women and find themselves frequently switching between their identities as both men and women.

As Ken Ludwig (author of Leading Ladies, Lend Me a Tenor, and Moon Over Buffalo) has written, "There's a bit of the female in all men and a bit of the male in all females; it's just how we're made. To see it emerge full blown like that can be very funny and very joyous."

The fun only intensifies when the duo discovers that the dying heiress Florence Snider (Ellen Doman of West Bloomfield) is still clinging to life. Leo falls madly in love with Florence's niece Meg (Emilie Tole of Farmington) who's engaged to the local minister Duncan (Mike Gingerella of Royal Oak), while Jack meets his dream girl Audrey (Sarah Lovy of Berkley). Jim Snideman of Commerce Township plays Doc, the cantankerous country doctor, and Daniel Tarjeft of Southfield plays his son Butch.

The magic of Leading Ladies lies in its bag of comedic tricks, including numerous doors, double-entendres, letter mix-ups and of course, mistaken identities. Also, audiences can expect to hear fabulously funny lines and see phenomenal facial expressions. Lance Alan's physical humor as a seductive Stephanie is guaranteed to generate side-splitting laughter.

Targan admits it's quite refreshing to see how the actors keep their characters real despite the ridiculous situations they encounter. And he invites anyone who loves comedy to "come laugh like a fool," and "join in on our folly."

Leading Ladies is sponsored by Cadillac Travel. Reserved seats are available at www.farmingtonplayers.org and at the box office (248) 553-2955.

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