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"Leading Ladies"
March 3-5, 2011
Childs Auditorium, Deep River
written by Ken Ludwig
directed by Karen Shewchuk and Ike Dimayuga
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"LEADING LADIES" STARTS RUN THIS THURSDAY
The Deep River Players present the comedy "Leading Ladies" this Thursday to Saturday, March 3-5, at Childs Auditorium.
Come meet Leo and Jack (a.k.a. Jeremy Whitlock and Marko Pilic), two Shakespearean actors looking for a way out of the Moose Lodge circuit in 1950s Pennsylvania.
Meet vivacious Audrey (Phyllis Heeney), who leads them to dying millionairess Florence (Nancy Rose) and her niece Meg (Kristen Glowa).
Meet Audrey's boyfriend Butch (Ian Graham), Meg's fiancé Duncan (Terry Myers), and Florence's physician Doc Myers (Gordon Burton).
Will Leo and Jack fool everyone with their charade as Maxine and Stephanie, Florence's two long-lost nieces from England?
Will Leo woo Meg from Duncan in time to cancel the wedding?
Will Butch keep Audrey's attention now that dashing Jack has traded his dress for a suit?
Will Florence survive Doc's ineptitude and make it to the end of the show?
Will everybody remember their lines to "Twelfth Night" in time for the performance at Meg's wedding?
Don't miss the answers to these and a dozen other zany questions at "Leading Ladies" this Thursday to Saturday, directed by Karen Shewchuk and Ike Dimayuga.
Tickets are $18 in advance at Pinecrest Florist, or at the door. (Showtime is 7 PM)
The show is considered to have a "PG" rating - including situations and innuendo that will be missed by most young minds, and likely found humorous.
For more information call Marion Thompson at 584-3003 or visit the Players website, www.DeepRiverPlayers.ca.
FOUR NEW FACES ACCOMPANY "LEADING LADIES"
The upcoming Deep River Players comedy "Leading Ladies" (March 3-5, Childs Auditorium) introduces four fresh new faces to the theatre scene.
"New" may not be the best word since most have been involved with the Players before, but "Leading Ladies" brings them soundly onto the boards, as it were.
The newest Player is Marko Pilic, a recent arrival in town who plays opposite Jeremy Whitlock as one of two down-and-out Shakespearean actors determined to make a buck, even if it means dressing in drag and stealing it.
Marko got a taste for acting in a friend's short film back in Ottawa, leading him to seek out local theatre upon arrival in Deep River.
The rest, as they say, is history.
He's enjoying the experience, in particular the challenge of playing both a male and "female" role, sometimes within seconds of each other.
What does it feel like to wear a bra and nylons in one's first turn at small-town theatre?
"Itchy!" says Marko, and it's suspected that at least half of the audience would sympathize.
Local boy Ian Graham, on the other hand, claims that wearing pink tights in the Shakespeare scenes is his favorite part of the show (possibly with a note of sarcasm in his voice).
Ian burst onto the local theatre scene in anonymous splendor as a soldier, CIA guy and gang member in 2001's Jesus Christ Superstar, and more recently he appeared in the Players' "Yellow Shoe" amateur skit show fundraiser.
In "Leading Ladies" Ian plays Butch, a well-meaning under-achiever who learns what it means to lose his girlfriend and his lines all in one day.
Ian says he's enjoying participating in a fun community event and meeting new faces, even if two of them look like hairy women.
Which brings us to Nancy Rose - a new face, that is.
Like Ian, Nancy is not exactly new to the Players, having applied her professional make-up talents behind the scenes of "Noir Suspicions" last Spring.
Observant fans of that murder mystery will also recognize Nancy as the lovely "Quiet!" girl who shushed the crowd so effectively after each dinner course.
Nancy is having fun playing the role of cranky, eccentric millionairess Florence, the dying diva with dollars to disposition.
(She claims this role requires no acting on her part, save perhaps toning down the crankiness a notch or two.)
The fourth "newcomer", Sam Melnyk, is also not that new to the Players.
Like Ian, Sam appeared in Jesus Christ Superstar (notably as the guard who applied the 39 lashes), and more recently in the "Yellow Shoe" fundraiser.
Over the years Sam has helped numerous Players productions behind the scenes, including
Stage Manager for "The Good, the Bad, and the Nerdy" (2008) and "Noir Suspicions".
In "Leading Ladies" Sam does double-duty on and behind the stage, performing a brief but critical scene near the beginning, while also providing lead stagecrew services.
In addition Sam has enjoyed playing just about every role during rehearsals as he filled in for missing actors.
The remainder of the cast is familiar to local theatre audiences: Kristen Glowa, Jeremy Whitlock, Phyllis Heeney, Terry Myers, and Gordon Burton.
At the creative helm are co-directors Karen Shewchuk and Ike Dimayuga, two more familiar faces from the Players stage.
Advance-seating tickets for "Leading Ladies" can be purchased for $18 at Pinecrest Florist in Deep River.
For more information, visit the Players website (www.DeepRiverPlayers.ca) or call Marion Thompson at 584-3003.
TICKETS ON SALE FOR "LEADING LADIES"
It's time to plan a little laughter to chase away those winter blahs.
Tickets go on sale this week for the Deep River Players production of "Leading Ladies" by Ken Ludwig, to be presented March 3-5 in Childs Auditorium.
A classical farce of mistaken identity, absurd situations, innuendo, confusion, and fast-paced catastrophe, "Leading Ladies" will be sure to have you in stitches from beginning to end.
Co-directed by Karen Shewchuk and Ike Dimayuga, the story concerns a pair of down-on-their-luck Shakespearean actors (played by Jeremy Whitlock and Marko Pilic), tired of playing the Moose Lodge circuit and looking for a way out.
When they hear that dying millionairess (Nancy Rose) is seeking to leave her fortune to two long-lost nephews whom nobody's seen for years, an unlikely plan hatches to portray the pair and defraud the old lady.
The plan takes our scheming thespians to sleepy 1950s York, Pennsylvania, where they meet charming niece Meg (Kristen Glowa) and her minister fiancé Duncan (Terry Myers), but not before learning that the long-lost nephews are actually nieces!
Does this foil the plan? Of course not! It's on with the dresses, and on with the show.
Of course, hilarity ensues as the plan deepens and unravels, entwining an unsuspecting clutch of quirky neighbours played by Phyllis Heeney, Gordon Burton, Ian Graham, and Sam Melnyk.
Will our devious duo succeed? Is Pennsylvania ready for a little Shakespeare on Meg's wedding night? What do men in drag do when hormones take over? Why hasn't the old lady died yet?
The answer to these and other questions will tickle your funny bone, not to mention challenge your credulity.
Tickets for "Leading Ladies" are $18, and are available with advance seat selection at Pinecrest Florist.
Visit www.DeepRiverPlayers.ca or call Marion at 584-3003 for more information.
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