Shakespeare, desperation, romance and a little cross dressing abound when Maurer Productions OnStage presents the Ken Ludwig comedy “Leading Ladies” at Mercer County Community College’s Kelsey Theatre.
Dates and show times are Sept. 27-28, and Oct 5 at 8 p.m., and Sept. 29 and Oct. 5-6 at 2 p.m. Kelsey Theatre is on the college campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor.
The community is invited to an opening night reception with the cast and crew on Sept. 27, according to a press release.
Ken Ludwig’s “Leading Ladies,” called “a cross between ‘Some Like It Hot’ and ‘Twelfth Night,’ ” is a hilarious comedy by the author of “Lend Me A Tenor” and “Moon Over Buffalo,” according to the press release.
It is the story of two English Shakespearean actors, Leo and Jack, who find themselves so down on their luck they are performing “Scenes from Shakespeare” on the Moose Lodge circuit in the Amish country of 1952 Pennsylvania.
When they hear an old lady in York, Pa., is about to die and leave her fortune to her two long lost English nephews, they resolve to pass themselves off as her beloved relatives and get the cash. The trouble is, they later find out the relatives aren’t nephews, but nieces.
Romantic entanglements abound, especially when Leo falls head-over-petticoat in love with the old lady’s vivacious niece, Meg, who is engaged to the local minister. Meg knows there is a wide world out there, but it’s not until she meets “Maxine and Stephanie” that she finally gets a taste of it, according to the press release.
The cast features Steven Brandt of Mountainside as Leo Clark, Thomas Coppolecchia of Bordentown as Jack Gable, Erin Leder of Bordentown as Meg Snider,Peter Sauer of Yardley, Pa. as Doc Myers, Barry Leonard of Monroe as Duncan Wooley, Jessica Braynor of Lawrenceville as Audrey, Brian Wurtz of Levittown, Pa. as Butch Myers, and Cathy Coryat of Cream Ridge as Florence Snyder. The understudy for Leder is Haley Schmalbach.
The show is directed by Diana Gilman Maurer and produced by John M. Maurer.
Tickets are $21 for adults and $19 for seniors and students and may be purchased online at www.kelseytheatre.net or by calling 609-570-3333. Kelsey Theatre is wheelchair accessible, with free parking next to the theater.
