A Few Good Cross-Dressing Men

Chris Duva as Jack and Brent Barrett as Leo in the Alley Theatre Production of Leading Ladies, directed by the author Ken Ludwig; PC: T. Charles Erickson

The Farmington Players are holding auditions for Leading Ladies on Saturday September 13 at the Barn Theater.  Despite the feminine title, Leading Ladies actually describes two men who seek to steal an inheritance by posing as women.   It’s the old gender-bending gambit of deceit, disguise and mistaken identity. Sort of like Some Like It Hot meets Twelfth Night.  In fact, Twelfth Night is featured prominently in Leading Ladies, as the characters rehearse scenes for a planned performance of Shakespeare’s famous play.  Auditions are in the Barn Theater (capacity 232) and 12 performances are planned from November 28 – December 20.

In Leading Ladies, the two male leads (British Shakespearean actors Leo and Jack) must constantly alternate between their male and female roles.  There are five male and three female roles (including the lead, Meg), with age ranges from 20s to 70s; however, there are no roles for children.   Complete character descriptions and audition cuts are listed in the Audition Notice at the Farmington Players website, http://www.farmingtonplayers.org/documents/LadiesAuditionNotice.pdf   

Or check out the Facebook event page (“Auditions: Leading Ladies”) at https://www.facebook.com/events/1450495938544324/

As Director Tony Targan says, “Leading Ladies is all about love. Despite our best (or worst) intentions, love derails our well-constructed plans and makes us behave like fools for those we love and can’t live without.”  But love can be messy.  At first, Leo and Jack scheme to steal an inheritance from an old lady (Florence) by posing as her long-lost relatives, “Max” and “Steve.” But when the “nephews” turn out to be “Maxine” and “Stephanie,” the undaunted actors press on in drag. Hilarious complications ensue when Leo falls in love with Meg (who is engaged to Duncan) and Jack falls for Audrey (who is pursued by Butch, to the dismay of his father, Doc.  

Send an email to leadingladies@farmingtonplayers.org with any questions, or to request a copy of the script.  (No memorization is required for auditions.)