Leading Ladies wows audience on opening night

New Artistic Director David Savoy and the team at the Sudbury Theatre Centre have made a smart choice for Savoy’s introduction to Sudbury and the first production of the 2009-10 season. If you make an audience laugh they won’t be looking for mistakes or making comparisons to past artistic directors. They’ll just want to go along for the ride — and a wild ride this is.

Leading Ladies by Ken Ludwig is the broadest kind of farce, and proud of it. With a plot about two down-on-their-luck Shakespearian actors who decide to impersonate the long-lost nieces of a dying rich woman, we don’t expect anything like reality. But the best farce still depends on the actors playing it for real — broadly but not too broadly — with staging that’s necessarily artificial but never looks it. That’s where an experienced director and a talented cast really show their stuff, and STC’s production pulls it off brilliantly. Leading Ladies is a love story, but with outrageous complications that make you doubt the loose ends can ever be tied up. It almost wouldn’t matter because it’s so much fun along the way.

Each member of the ensemble hits their peak form just as the script demands the most from them, exactly as it should be. The most normal character is Meg, played by Laura Caswell, who simply radiates personality. Even the smallest of her gestures and facial expressions reaches from the back of the stage to the back of the theatre to thoroughly charm the audience. Caswell has performed at STC numerous times, and I’m more impressed by her with each new outing.

As the two actors, Leo and Jack, Jeff Miller and Mark McGrinder each has standout moments. Miller’s manic laugh immediately establishes the persona of “niece Maxine” and he hits the perfect note of desperation at the play’s climax. McGrinder makes the audience squirm right along with him, feeling every bit of the indignity heaped on him in the second act.

Ashley Magwood’s performance as Audrey is another gem, creating a dim-witted roller-skating waitress whose innocence is irresistible. And William Vickers’ opening appearance, enthusiastically leading a Moose Lodge meeting, is the play’s first injection of real energy. His sometimes outlandish performance as Doc never quite goes too far, making it a delight to watch.

Comments from the opening night audience like “Awesome” and “One of the best I’ve ever seen here,” plus an ovation that was one of the longest I’ve ever seen, all tell me that Leading Ladies will have a great run at STC. Welcome to Sudbury David Savoy.

If you need a good laugh, Leading Ladies is tears-in-the-eyes, face-hurting funny. Go see it.

Leading Ladies by Ken Ludwig runs October 1 – 18 at the Sudbury Theatre Centre. STC Box Office 674-8381 x21

Scott Overton is the former morning show host of AM 790 CIGM. He writes theatre reviews for Northern Life.