Retro Cross Dressing Comedy in Waukesha

Ken Ludwig might have come out of a different era. The playwright behind such classic farces as Lend Me a Tenor and Moon Over Buffalo was born in the midst of the mid-twentieth century that serves as the setting for his classic comic farces. One such farce is Leading Ladies, which makes an appearance at Waukesha Civic Theatre next week. The comedy, which debuted only a little over a decade ago, is set roughly eight years after Ludwig was born in the midst of the ’50s. It concerns a couple of struggling actors who are touring the work  of William Shakespeare through smaller markets all over America. When the two men become aware of a woman looking to unload a multi-million dollar inheritance onto her sister’s children, they scheme to pose as the siblings in order to get the money. It’s only later that they realize that the two siblings are sisters . . . so they have to pretend to be women. Charming.

Part of the humor here comes from getting the right men for the roles. The Waukesha Civic Theatre production has cast Kevin Koehne and Nicholas Callan Haubner in the roles of the two actor/con artists. I’m not terribly familiar with the work of Koehne, who has had quite a lot of work over the years, but Haubner is an actor I’ve seen in a number of productions. The obvious comedy here for Haubner is the fact that he’s a really tall mesomorphic guy. The physical aspect of the humor for him should be fun to work with, especially in drag. Director Dustin J. Martin has quite a bit of experience in local theatre as well, so Mr. Ludwig’s retro comedy is clearly in good hands. 

Waukesha Civic Theatre’s production of Leading Ladies runs Mar. 4 - 20 on 264 W. Main St. in Waukesha. For more information, visit Waukesha Civic Theatre online.